Key messages
- Pill testing, or drug checking, helps people make safer and informed choices by giving them information about their drugs and harm reduction advice.
- Victoria’s pill testing trial includes a mobile service for events and a fixed site service at 95 Brunswick Street, Fitzroy.
- The Victorian Pill Testing Service a free, legal and confidential walk-in service that is open to all.
- Detailed pill testing service reports are available at Victorian Pill .
Why we need pill testing
The Victorian Pill Testing Service aims to reduce drug harm and save lives.
Victoria has seen a rise in drug-related emergency department admissions and overdose deaths involving novel synthetic drugs.
About half of Australian adults have used drugs at some point in their lives. With new and highly potent drugs circulating, the risk of harm and overdose is increasing.
Pill testing can detect life-threatening substances and reduce potential harms by giving people the information they need to make safer and informed decisions.
Victoria's approach to harm reduction puts people's health and safety first.
Evidence shows that pill testing doesn't encourage people to use drugs. It allows people to see what's really in their substances.
Fixed site pill testing service in Fitzroy
The Victorian Pill Testing Service is located at 95 Brunswick Street Fitzroy. It will operate as an implementation trial until June 2026.
The free, walk-in service is close to public transport, nightlife, community health and social services.
The service is legal, confidential and open to all. This means more Victorians can access year-round testing, health and harm reduction advice.
The service operates three days a week, opening:
- Thursdays 12pm-4pm
- Fridays 3pm-7pm
- Saturdays 1pm-7pm
From 1 December 2025, the service will be open for extended hours over summer, opening:
- Thursdays 10am-4pm
- Fridays 1pm-7pm
- Saturdays 1pm-7pm
To support festival goers during the summer season and meet increased demand ahead of major events and public holidays, the service will also open on the following dates:
| Date(s) | Opening Hours |
|---|---|
| Monday 22 December | 10am–4pm |
| Tuesday 23 December | 10am–4pm |
| Saturday 27 December | 9am–7pm (extended hours) |
| Monday 29 December | 10am–4pm |
| Tuesday 30 December | 10am–4pm |
| Wednesday 31 December | 10am–4pm |
For details visit the Victorian Pill Testing website.
Mobile pill testing service
The Victorian Pill Testing Service will operate a mobile service at 10 events as part of the trial.
During the 2025-26 music festival season the service will be at five major events providing free, legal and confidential drug checking to help keep festival goers safe, starting with:
- Spilt Milk - 6 December 2025
- Dangerous Goods 6XXL – 24 January 2026
- Pitch Music and Arts – 6-10 March 2026
With two more events to be announced soon.
Last summer the mobile service supported more than 1500 people and tested close to 1400 samples at five events. Events included Beyond the Valley Festival, Hardmission, Pitch Music and Arts Festival, Ultra and The Warehouse Project.
Data from the events shows the service's focus on harm reduction is working. For 65% of service users, it was the first time they had ever spoken to a health professional about drug and alcohol safety. More than 30% said they would take a smaller amount after having this conversation.
Last season ten onsite notifications were issued to event patrons and two statewide drug advisories were also issued to the public following the detection of highly potent and unexpected substances with unpredictable effects.
About the pill testing service
The pill testing service is staffed by scientists 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 can test the make-up of most pills, capsules, powders, crystals and liquids. It can’t test plants, edibles or very diluted substances.
The service is a safe space for people to ask questions and get help without judgement.
A consortium of 3 trusted and experienced organisations are delivering Victoria's first pill testing service. It consists of lead service provider Youth Support and Advocacy , The and Harm , with support from Youth Projects, Melbourne Health, and Metabolomics Australia (University of Melbourne).
For more information about the consortium, see the Victorian Pill .
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. Drug checking provides information about your drugs and harm reduction advice, so you can make more informed and safer choices.
The pill testing service is free, legal and confidential.
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 scientist will analyse.
A harm reduction worker provides the test results and offers tailored advice. This includes information about expected and unexpected substances 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.
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- Olsen A, Baillie G, Bruno R, McDonald D, Hammoud M, Peacock A (2023). CanTEST Health and Drug Checking Service Program Evaluation: Final . Australian National University: Canberra, ACT
- Measham F, Simmons H. Who uses drug checking services? Assessing uptake and outcomes at English festivals in . Drugs, Habits and Social Policy. 2022;23(3):188-99. doi:10.1108/DHS-02-2022-0008
- Measham, F. C. (2019). "Drug safety testing, disposals and dealing in an English field: Exploring the operational and behavioural outcomes of the UK’s first onsite ‘drug checking’ " International Journal of Drug Policy 67: 102-107. doi:10.1016/j.drugpo.2018.11.001.
- Measham F, Turnbull G. Intentions, actions and outcomes: A follow up survey on harm reduction practices after using an English festival drug checking . International Journal of Drug Policy. 2021;95:103270. doi:10.1016/j.drugpo.2021.103270
- Valente H, Martins D, Pinto M, Fernandes L, Barratt MJ. A longitudinal study of behavioural outcomes following a visit to the Boom Festival 2018 drug checking service: individual and group level Drugs: Education, Prevention and Policy. 2023;30(4):373-82. doi:10.1080/09687637.2022.2072187
Reviewed 01 December 2025