Setting the example in 2018, the ACT led the way for the introduction of pill testing in Australia. Their pioneering pill testing trial has evolved to the highly successful, permanent ‘CanTest’ service in July 2022.

The ACT has provided the blueprint for other states to expand their harm reduction strategies. Last year, Queensland and Victoria took significant strides with the introduction of pill-testing trials at festivals and permanent sites. Even NSW’s long standing resistance to pill testing has finally ended with the announcement of a 12-month trial at this year's leading summer festivals.

While the growing embrace of harm reduction services represents a long-fought victory for festival-goers, NSW's commitment to pill testing reform remains luke-warm. The Minns Government, lagging significantly behind its neighbouring states, must learn from their models and prioritize genuine safety and health over cautious drug policy measures. Therefore, while “brilliant and long overdue” as experts like Dr. Hester Wilson, Chair of RACGP Specific Interests Addiction Medicine exclaimed, NSW still has some catching up to do.

What Exactly Is Pill Testing And Why Do We Need It?

Australia has a rich drug culture when it comes to music festivals, despite the tough policing measures. The association between young people, dance music scenes, or "raves", has fostered an environment where "party drugs" like MDMA and methamphetamines are often seen as a rite of passage for many young Australians.

The 2019 Global Drug Survey found Australia had the highest single-consumption rate of MDMA.

Given the undeniable prevalence of drugs, harm reduction strategies, such as pill testing at festivals, offer a crucial opportunity to mitigate adverse health consequences associated with illicit drug use.

So what is pill testing and why is it so important?

Pill testing (or otherwise named drug checking), is a health-based service that aims to save lives and keep people out of preventable harm.

By providing critical information on the purity and potency of illicit substances in a non-judgmental setting, pill testing encourages individuals to have a small sample of their drug analysed by a specialist. A harm reduction worker will then inform the patron about the substance's contents, effects, and potential risks.

This service also offers a valuable opportunity for a more detailed health conversation and space to ask questions, enabling users to make safer drug-consumption choices.

Pill testing also provides a clear benefit by publishing warnings about dangerous substances to the public in real time.

(CHEQPOINT Pill Testing warning. Source: The Loop Australia)

It is important to understand that pill testing does not endorse the use of illicit drugs. Instead, this harm reduction strategy aims to minimize preventable and often fatal risks of drug use. It does so by creating an opportunity for vulnerable groups to engage with education and support.

Australia’s Success - How The ACT Has Become The Pin-Up For Pill Testing Reform

Australia’s approach to pill testing has remained fragmented. Some states have actively embraced pill testing, while others remain staunchly opposed. The biggest breakthrough success has been the ACT who has committed to servicing their community by introducing pill testing to fixed-sites outside of the festival calendar.

Since opening, CanTest has engaged with roughly 2,000 patrons, tested nearly 2,600 substances, issued 20 community notices regarding the unexpected contents of a substance, and identified 4 previously unknown substances. This has saved lives and “altered the trajectory of thousands of young people who use drugs and paved the way for other jurisdictions to take the plunge”, said Dr Caldicott in ABC Radio Canberra.

The ACT government has announced it will extend the CanTest initiative funding to June 2027.

Queensland has followed in the ACT’s footsteps, with their initial rollout of event-based pill testing in March 2024 at the Rabbits Eat Lettuce festival. This was followed up with the states first fixed-site drug checking service ‘CheQpoint’ in April. While there were indications of potential backtracking by the new QLD government, pill testing went ahead for the 2024 end of year celebration ‘Schoolies’ with great success.

Victoria has also embraced the need for harm-reduction strategies, implementing their first pill testing service at Beyond the Valley in December 2024. During this event, over 600 samples were tested. This 18-month trial also has plans to establish a fixed-sites in inner Melbourne by mid-2025.

The Anti-Pill Testing States

Several factors contribute to the absence of pill testing programs in Tasmania, Western Australia, South Australia, and the Northern Territory.

These include strong political opposition, especially in WA and SA, where a "war on drugs" approach prevails, along with stalled legislative processes and concerns about resource constraints - notably from the smaller states.

This resistance persists despite high levels of public support, ranging from 73-81% in the NT and Tasmania, underscoring a deep-seated ideological barrier to implementation.

NSW’s Pill Testing Policy

Driven by a concerning increase in drug-related harm at public music venues, including recent tragedies at Knockout Circuz and Epik, NSW has pledged $1 million into a 12-month pill testing trial.
While a small-victory for NSW’s festival-goers, this policy remains woefully limited in scope.

Despite the Minns Labor Government's commitment to festival-based pill testing trials this summer, NSW police will continue to enforce existing laws aggressively.

This means amnesty will be restricted to pill testing sites. Existing laws, including the presence of sniffer dogs, strip searches, and police tents will continue to be applied to these festivals.

In contrast, the ACT's Groovin the Moo festival integrated police enforcement and pill testing services by implementing bag checks at the entrance and maintaining visible crowd surveillance. Sniffer dogs were not utilized at the event.

This lack of decriminalisation, which was proposed extensively at NSW’s Drug Summit last December but later dismissed, acts as a mere contradiction to the trial's harm-reduction purpose. Instead, the lack of safeguards outside the tent may potentially deter people from seeking out the very help that the NSW’s Government is trying to advertise.

So what does that mean for festival-goers?

Rather than embracing a progressive approach that acknowledges the realities of drug use among young people, the government has opted for a mediocre policy reform. By maintaining strict penalties for drug possession while offering pill testing, the government sends mixed signals: it acknowledges that drug use occurs but simultaneously criminalizes those who partake in it.

Moreover, those interested in using the service may miss out due to the lack of urgency and unsuccessful timing of its implementation. The NSW Health Minister Heath Ryan commented that the trial may be up and running by February this year, which completely misses the peak festival period of December/January.

This trial is also intended to provide drug-checking services to 12 music festivals and events within a 12-month period, which remains relatively limited.

What Are The Future Adoption Prospects?

It is unsurprising that Australia's approach to pill testing is a patchwork of progressive action and staunch opposition.

While some Australian states stubbornly cling to outdated and ineffective drug policies, the growing adoption of pill testing nationwide demonstrates a clear and evidence-based path toward harm reduction.

The ACT's pioneering and successful 'CanTest' program serves as a leading example, motivating other states such as Queensland and Victoria to embrace pill testing policy.

While the hesitant steps taken by NSW are a move in the right direction, their policy is ultimately undermined by the continued reliance on prohibition-based approaches. This highlights how political considerations can tragically water down policies designed to save lives.

Despite this resistance, the undeniable momentum of public opinion, combined with the urgent need for expanded harm reduction strategies, points towards the inevitable and necessary nationwide adoption of pill testing.

The continued need is made clear by ANU's David Caldicott, who asserts: "There is no future scenario in which pill testing will become less necessary."

The adoption of pill testing within Australia is the first step in drug policy reform.