New South Wales will follow the lead of Canberra, Victoria, and Queensland this March, launching its first-ever pill testing trial at Yours & Owls Festival in Wollongong.

While it was announced that pill testing would occur in NSW in December, NSW Premier Chris Minns confirmed the initiative would happen this morning (19 February).

The free service will be held in a medical tent within festival grounds on Saturday, 1 March, and Sunday, 2 March. ABC reports that the trial will be in an amnesty area where punters can have drugs tested anonymously and without judgment.

NSW Health staff will lead the medical tent alongside peer workers, health workers, and analysts.

In a statement, Yours & Owls Festival co-founder Ben Tillman said, “We enthusiastically welcome this move by the NSW Government. Pill testing is something we have been fighting for, for some time now.

“While 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.”

State Minister for Health Ryan Park added, “Let me be clear: 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 substances.

“However, this trial has been designed to provide people with the necessary information to make more informed decisions about drug use, with the goal of reducing drug-related harm and saving lives. Illicit drug use remains illegal in NSW. These services will not be made available to suppliers, and police will continue to target them.”

The Australian Festival Association has also welcomed the pill testing trial at Yours & Owls.

AFA Managing Director Olly Arkins said: “This is an important moment for harm reduction in NSW. Festival organisers have long called for evidence-based approaches that prioritise health and safety. Pill testing has been trialled successfully in other states and internationally, and we are pleased to see NSW take this step forward.”

Arkins continued, “We know from trials in other jurisdictions that these services don’t encourage drug use—they provide lifesaving information that helps reduce harm. Yours & Owls have been strong advocates for harm reduction, and we applaud their commitment to creating a safer festival environment.

“We thank Premier Chris Minns, Minister Ryan Park and Minister Yasmin Catley for being the first NSW Government to allow pill testing, which has been recommended by health and legal experts for many years.”

Since pill testing was introduced at the Canberra edition of Groovin The Moo in 2018, the initiative has been offered at Spilt Milk Festival, Beyond The Valley, Wildlands, and Rabbits Eat Lettuce festivals. In 2025, pill testing services will be extended at Victorian music festivals, including Pitch Music & Arts, Ultra, and The Warehouse Project.

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