NSW government to resume pill testing at music festivals but rejects calls for wider community rollout

Starting October, a pill testing service will be available at up to 15 music festivals annually in New South Wales (NSW). Health Minister Ryan Park announced the permanent service, emphasizing it is not a "silver bullet" and will not endorse drug use. The program was praised by Jennie Ross-King, whose daughter died of an MDMA overdose at a Sydney festival in 2019.

The pill testing initiative, launched following a trial at music festivals, resulted in a decrease in drug-related hospitalizations. Health Minister Ryan Park stated that the program would ultimately save lives, despite acknowledging that drug use involves risks. The trial, recommended by the drug summit in December 2024, ran for a year from March 2025, with more than 1,800 people visiting the service and almost 1,500 samples analyzed.

The drug checking service at the festivals correlated with reduced rates of drug-related hospital presentations. Hospital presentations per festival day during the trial stood at 2.3, compared to an average of 3.6 over the previous two years. Several festivals, such as Hyperdome, Yours, Owls, Laneway, and Mighty Hoopla, reported zero drug-related hospital presentations during the trial.

Unexpected substances were found in 8.1% of drugs tested, with MDMA being the most common, detected in 64.3% of samples. The trial also revealed that 4.4% of MDMA tablets and capsules tested contained a high dose. Jennie Ross-King expressed gratitude to the government for acting on the evidence, stating that the program will provide young people with the information they need to make safer choices and ensure they return home safely to their loved ones.

The government has allocated $4.3 million to continue the services, which are managed in part by NUAA.