Pill testing is being made a permanent part of the NSW music festival landscape. After a 12-month trial at music festivals in NSW, the government has announced that drug-checking services will continue at selected festivals each year.
The trial ran from March 2025 until February 2026 and provided festivalgoers with the opportunity to have small samples of substances tested and receive information about what they contained.
The move represents a significant change in NSW’s approach to drug-related harm at music festivals. However, it is important to understand that pill testing does not make drugs legal.
Following the trial, NSW Health has announced that ongoing drug-checking services will be available at up to 15 music festivals each year. The festivals will be selected based on where the service is expected to have the greatest impact in reducing drug-related harm.
If you are attending a music festival in NSW, possessing, supplying or dealing in an illicit drug can still result in criminal charges.
What is pill testing?
Pill testing, also known as drug checking, is a harm-reduction service designed to provide people with information about substances they already possess. At participating festivals, people can provide a small sample of a pill, capsule, powder, crystal, or liquid to trained health professionals for analysis.
The service can provide information on the detected substances and, where possible, their potency. Individuals can then receive information. About the risks of what has been detected.
However, drug testing cannot guarantee that a substance is safe. The technology has limitations, and some substances may be difficult to detect at very low concentrations.
The purpose is not to tell people that a drug is safe. Rather, it is intended to give people more information and reduce the risk of serious drug-related harm.
NSW Health has made clear that illicit drugs remain illegal. The fact that a person can take a substance to a drug-checking service does not create a general exemption from NSW’s drug laws.
If police find you in possession of an illicit drug, you may still be investigated and charged. You can read more about possession of an illicit drug here.
What did the NSW pill-testing trial achieve
By the final festival of the trial, 12 music festivals had participated. NSW Health reported that more than 1,800 people have accessed the service during the first 11 festivals and that more than 1,400 samples have been tested. Â The service was free and anonymous, with festivalgoers receiving information about substances detected in their samples and advice to reduce drug-related harm.
The results of the trial were then used to inform the decision to continue drug checking beyond the initial trial period.
Drug checking is one of several harm reduction strategies used to:
- Help people identify and avoid particularly dangerous substances or unexpected ingredients.
- Encourage people to safely dispose of high-risk drugs through amnesty bins.
- Provide brief interventions, health information and referrals to appropriate support services.
- Complement other festival safety measures, including medical services, peer-based harm reduction services, chill-out spaces and free water.
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