Midnight Mafia on 3 May 2025 will be the second music festival to participate in the NSW pill testing trial.
Illicit drugs remain illegal in NSW. The NSW Government reiterates that there will always be risks involved when consuming these substances and this is not an endorsement of illicit drug use.
The pill testing trial is designed to help patrons make safer choices by connecting them with experienced health and peer staff who can provide information along with harm reduction advice.
The first trial site was located at the Yours and Owls music festival in Wollongong on 1 and 2 March 2025.
The free and anonymous drug checking service allows festival patrons to bring a small sample of substances they intend to consume to be analysed. Qualified health staff provide a rapid evaluation of the main components of the substance in line with available technology, and an indication of potency where possible.
The service is staffed by peer workers, health workers and analysts who clearly communicate the capabilities and limitations of pill testing to festival patrons. Patrons are never advised that a drug is safe to use.
Staff at the service can also provide patrons with referral to health and welfare services available at the event and in the community.
NSW Health and NSW Police Force are working closely with festival organisers and other stakeholders to ensure safe and effective implementation of the trial at these events. The trial operates alongside other harm reduction and medical services at participating festivals.
The trial will run for 12 months and will be independently evaluated. Up to ten additional festivals will be included in the trial following Midnight Mafia.
The trial comes after the NSW Government's Drug Summit concluded in early December. The recently released Report on the 2024 New South Wales Drug Summit provides a priority action recommending a trial of music festival-based drug testing.
Further information on the NSW drug checking trial can be found on the NSW drug checking trial web page.
More information for young people around how to keep themselves and their friends safe at music festivals is available on the Your Room website.
Quotes attributable to Minister for Health Ryan Park:
"We want to make clear no level of illicit drug use is safe.
"This trial is about helping festival goers make more informed decisions about drug use with the goal of reducing harm and saving lives.
"As we saw at the first trial site at the Yours and Owls festival, collaboration between all stakeholders is critical to ensuring the trial runs effectively.
"We thank their event team for hosting, the patrons who visited the service, the dedicated NSW Users and AIDS Association (NUAA) peer workers, and the Forensic & Analytical Science Service.
"The NSW Government looks forward to listening to the evidence and applying the lessons learned as this drug checking trial progresses."
Quotes attributable to Member for Sydney Alex Greenwich:
"I commend the NSW Government and NSW Health for this evidence-based and harm reducing trial.
"Pill testing is all about keeping people safe, Informed, and can ultimately safe lives."
