NSW Music Festivals Will Trial Pill Testing In 2025

Pill testing is coming to New South Wales music festivals in 2025.

Announced Thursday, December 19th, the Minns Labor Government has approved a 12-month trial, a sea-change decision that advocates are convinced will save lives.

Among those supporters is the Australian Festivals Association, which, since its inauguration in December 2018, has repeatedly called for a shift in evidence-based harm reduction and festival strategies.

“Today marks a huge shift in the approach of the State Government to music festivals in NSW,” comments AFA managing director Mitch Wilson in a statement.

“This trial is a testament to what can be achieved through persistence, collaboration, and a shared commitment to safety. I look forward to working closely with the NSW Government and health experts to ensure the trial’s success and its expansion in the future.”

NSW becomes the first state to green-light pill testing, and does so following recommendations by health and legal experts and a growing campaign for change.

The trial is intended to reduce risks and harms associated with illicit drug use, though the contraband will remain illegal, a statement from the Minns government warns.

The trial “will help people make safer choices, will ensure they can speak to a health professional and it could save lives.”

Throughout the program, which is free and anonymous, festival-goers can bring a small sample to be tested by health staff for purity, potency and adulterants.

Importantly, sniffer dogs and a heavy-handed police presence won’t greet them; amnesty will be provided as part of this trial, though only for punters seeking to check drugs for their own personal use.

“This trial is a significant step forward for festival safety in NSW and a win for evidence-based policy,” notes AFA chair Adelle Robinson.

By prioritising harm reduction and collaboration, “the government is demonstrating a commitment to keeping festival-goers safe whilst also supporting industry,” Robinson continues.

“We’re proud to see years of advocacy result in meaningful change and look forward to continuing to work together to ensure its success.”

The development represents a paradigm shift from previous successive Liberal leaderships, in particular the Berejiklian-led government, which took a hardline approach.

It was the former premier Gladys Berejiklian who, following a spate of drug-related deaths at open-air events, instigated a strict licensing regime for music festivals. 

That tough (and expensive) set of rules came into force in early March 2019 and was blamed for a succession of festival collapses, including Psyfari and Mountain Sounds festivals.

Organisers at the time said they were unfairly targeted, and lumped with unreasonable costs that would force their events to run at a slim margin, at best. Or bankrupt the show, at worst. 

While NSW is the first to test the waters on a statewide basis, it’s by no means the first state to welcome smaller-scale tests. 

Just last month, Beyond The Valley announced it would be the first festival in Victoria to enable punters to test drugs on site.

Before that, Queensland’s Rabbit Eats Lettuce festival ran its own trial during its Easter long weekend show. 

Talk on pill testing finally became action when, in April 2018, the Groovin the Moo festival in the Australian Capital Territory became the first to test drugs. Producers of the show later confirmed two potentially deadly samples were identified and half the drugs tested were found to contain no psychoactive substances.

The NSW trial, which closely follows the conclusion of the state Government’s Drug Summit, will run for 12 months, with a cost just over $1 million associated with its rollout to festival sites. 

Throughout, NSW Health will consult with the music festival industry and harm reduction organisations to select events to include in the trial.  

Read the state government’s communique here.