The NSW Government has announced that it will implement a twelve-month pill testing trial for music festivals in the state. They will be starting with the 2025 Yours & Owls Festival with the aim of reducing the risks and dangers of illicit drug consumption.
About the trial, the Yours & Owls Festival co-founder, Ben Tillman, said,
“Yours and Owls maintains a zero-tolerance policy to illegal drugs, we are realists and see the abstinence-only approach as unhelpful. Pill Testing is not a panacea. However, it is a proven harm minimisation strategy that has been successfully implemented in many countries overseas for the past twenty or so years.”
This project will run for one year in no more than 12 music festivals. It is a free service conducted by qualified health staff and will be independently evaluated. As an individual enters the drug checking area, a trained harm reduction worker will guide them through the testing.
Attendees will provide a small sample, which will be evaluated by professional staff. The pills will be tested for purity, potency and adulterants. After testing, the attendee will discuss the results with a qualified counsellor. Every person whose pill(s) are tested will need to sign a waiver acknowledging the limitations of testing and the risks of consuming drugs in any amount.
The Minister of Health, Ryan Park, said,
“No level of illicit drug use is safe and pill testing services do not provide a guarantee of safety. There will always be risks involved when consuming these substance.”
The NSW Police will still be on site undertaking activities that may involve drug dog and strip search operations.
This procedure was trialled in Victoria at the Beyond The Valley music festival over the 2025 New Year. Trials have also been conducted in The ACT and Queensland previously.
More information about the trial can be found on the NSW Government website.
The 2-day festival boasts Fontaine’s D.C., Denzel Curry, The Goo Goo Dolls, and The Kooks as the headliners. It will be held at the Wollongong Foreshore, South Beach, NSW, on the 1st and 2nd of March. Tickets to Yours & Owls are still available here.
