It’s safer to know what you’re in for
You can’t always see what’s hidden.
People should be able to check.
But in March the NSW Health Minister let the pill testing trial lapse, and hasn’t replaced it. Right now, there’s no life-saving pill testing service operating anywhere in NSW.
Other states have permanent services, at festivals and in our communities; so people can check what they’re taking, so parents can sleep better at night, and so no one’s left to guess what’s safe. NSW should too.
Email your local MP. Tell them: this is how we keep each other safe.
1. Your address is only used to match you with your local MP. It won’t be shared.
2. Send this pre-written email, or edit to personalise.
3. We’ll also send it to the Health Minister.
What happened
Dangerous synthetic opioids and high potency MDMA are turning up where no one expects them. The ACT and Victoria have responded with permanent pill testing services, at festivals and in communities. People in NSW used to be able to check what they were taking. Now they can't.
Two in three people in NSW support pill testing. The more of us who speak up, the sooner these services are back in action: properly, permanently, across the state.
To read the full case for pill testing / drug checking in NSW, click button below.
FAQs about pill testing / drug checking
- What is pill testing and how does it work?
Pill testing (also called drug checking) lets people find out what’s actually in what they’ve got before they take it.
You bring a sample to the service, a qualified chemist analyses it using lab-grade equipment, and you get the results along with a conversation with a health professional about what they mean and how to stay safe.
The service is free, confidential, and designed to help people make informed decisions. It operates in at least 26 countries and has been running in parts of Australia since 2019.
- Are pill testing and drug checking the same thing?
Yes. Pill testing is the name most people know. Drug checking is the more accurate term because the service tests all kinds of substances, not just pills – powders, crystals, capsules, whatever someone has. You’ll see both names used. They mean the same thing.
- I'm a parent. How does this help my kids?
It gives them a safety net you can’t provide on your own. No parent can test what their child might take at a festival or a house party.
A pill testing service can.
Across Australian and international evaluations, up to 97 per cent of people who used drug checking services had never spoken to a health professional about their drug use – for many, it was the first honest conversation they’d had about what they were taking.
Pill testing doesn’t replace what you do as a parent. It adds something no parent can do alone.
- Doesn't pill testing encourage drug use?
No. A major review of 67 international studies found no evidence that drug checking increases drug use.
What it changes is how people use.
When results show something unexpected, people take less, ditch what they’ve got, or decide not to use at all. People are already making these decisions. Pill testing gives them real information to make safer ones.
- Is pill testing only for festivals?
No, and it shouldn’t be.
Festivals get the most attention, but nearly three quarters of MDMA-related deaths in Australia happened in private homes, not at events. People use drugs in all kinds of settings, and the risks don’t stop at the festival gate.
That’s why we’re calling for permanent community drug checking services – places people can visit any time to check what they’ve got.
- Drug use is irresponsible - why should I support this?
You don’t have to approve of drug use to support keeping people safe.
Millions of Australians use illicit drugs every year – people across every postcode, every income bracket, every family. Pill testing doesn’t say drug use is a good idea. It says people deserve information that could save their life.
That’s a principle most of us already share.
- How accurate is pill testing?
Testing is conducted by qualified analytical chemists using laboratory-grade equipment that’s been validated across 26 countries over more than 30 years.
In the recommended model, samples that need more detailed analysis go to a central hub with higher-specification instruments for confirmatory testing. The system is designed for reliability and precision at every level.
- How much would this cost?
The exact figure depends on the model, but the recommended approach keeps costs down. Expensive equipment and specialist staff sit at a central hub. Access extends through satellite sites in existing health services, which need only portable equipment and trained staff. Once the hub is running, adding new sites is relatively cheap.
On the other side of the ledger, drug-related emergency presentations, hospitalisations and deaths already cost the health system significantly. This is an investment in prevention.
- What about the police?
Drug checking services work alongside police, not against them.
Police forces across Australia already have established guidelines for working with health services like needle and syringe programs, and similar arrangements have operated during drug checking trials.
People who use the service aren’t arrested. The goal is keeping people safe, and that’s something police and health services share.
- Isn't this the government's job to figure out?
Yes. And where governments have trialled pill testing, it’s worked. The question is whether they’ll act on what they’ve found.
The evidence is there. Public support is overwhelming.
The only thing missing is political will. That’s exactly where your voice makes a difference.