Victoria's pill testing trial

Why we need pill testing

Victoria's pill testing service aims to reduce harms from drug use and save lives.

Victoria has seen a rise in drug-related emergency department admissions and overdose deaths involving novel synthetic drugs.

The evidence shows that pill testing doesn't encourage people to use drugs. It allows people to see what's really in their substances and make informed, safer choices.

Pill testing does not promote drug use. It's about making sure people who are already taking risks can do so as safely as possible.

Victoria's pill testing service

Victoria's pill testing trial started during the 2024-25 music festival season. The mobile service attended 5 events:

• Beyond the Valley Festival
• Hardmission
• Pitch Music and Arts Festival
• Ultra
• The Warehouse Project

For drug checking reports, see The Loop Australia.

The mobile service will attend up to 10 festivals and events during the 18-month implementation trial.

A fixed-site service is due to open in mid-2025. It will operate from inner Melbourne, close to nightlife and transport.

The pill testing service is staffed by chemists, who analyse samples, and trained harm reduction workers, who provide tailored information and support to help people make more informed and safer choices.

The service is a safe space for people to ask questions and get help without judgement.

A consortium of 3 organisations are delivering Victoria's first drug checking service. It consists of lead service provider Youth Support and Advocacy Service (YSAS), The Loop Australia and Harm Reduction Victoria.

The consortium partners with:

• Melbourne Health to provide medical consultancy.
• Youth Projects to offer linked crisis care and pathways into secure housing, employment and education for service users.
• Metabolomics Australia (University of Melbourne) to provide secondary and confirmatory testing of substances.

Changes to the Drugs, Poisons and Controlled Substances Act 1981 provides protections for the services, for its staff, and for its clients – so no one is breaking the law by operating or using the pill testing service.

The service is a key part of Victoria's strategy to reduce drug harms and save lives. It adds to initiatives underway in the Statewide Action Plan.

What to expect at a pill testing service

Not all substances are what they seem. Pill testing helps people see what's really in their drugs, so they can make more informed and safer choices.

The pill testing service is free, confidential and anonymous.

At the pill testing service, people are asked to provide a small sample of their drugs. This is usually a tiny scraping of a pill or a bit of powder that a chemist will analyse.

The drug checking technology at services can test the make-up of most pills, capsules, powders, crystals, or liquids and identify substances such as dangerous synthetic opioids, like fentanyl and nitazenes. It cannot test organic substances.

A harm reduction worker provides the test results and offers tailored advice. This includes information about potential risks and how the drug may interact with prescription medications and existing health conditions.

For many, this will be the first time they've had a chance to talk openly with a health professional about drug use in a private, judgement-free space.

Research shows pill testing services work to reduce harm

Pill testing isn't a new idea – it's a proven one. With more than 30 drug checking programs operating around the world, we have seen the impact of using both fixed-site and event-based models.

Data from these services and those operating in other Australian jurisdictions shows pill testing works to reduce harms from illicit drugs.

Research includes:

• A 2023 evaluation of the Australian Capital Territory drug checking service, CanTEST, revealed only 53% of substances tested matched the expected drug. For those where an additional drug, a different drug or an inconclusive result was found, one-third reported that they 'definitely will not' use the drug.¹
• A study at English festivals found the rate of onsite medical incidents and hospitalisations from accidental drug harm is significantly lower at festivals that provide pill testing services compared to those that don’t.²
• Police and medical services at a UK festival attributed a 95% decrease in drug-related hospital admissions to pill testing services.³
• In a 2022 study, 86% of consumers in Portugal and 69% in the UK didn’t consume the drug when test results indicated the drug was different than expected.⁴

While the trial seeks to save lives, reduce drug harm, and improve public health at music festivals, it also aims to reduce pressure on frontline services and enhance Victoria's drug surveillance capabilities.