Greens MP Cate Faehrmann is bringing a Pill Testing Trial Bill to the Upper House for debate. We need your support to pass the message to NSW Health Minister Ryan Park that we cannot wait for this essential health service.
Why Pill Testing Can’t Wait:
Increased Risks: Nitazenes, which can be up to 500 times stronger than heroin, are increasingly found in illegal drugs in NSW.
Global Evidence: Successful drug checking services have been established in more than 31 jurisdictions including New Zealand, Switzerland, Canada, the UK, and the Netherlands, and have proven drug checking reduces harm.
Proven Local Success: ACT has proven that Pill Testing works in the Australian context, leading to the QLD and VIC government also committing to introduce pill testing.
Key Recommendations: Pill testing is a major recommendation from both the Special Commission of Inquiry into Ice and the Coronial Inquest into Music Festival Related Deaths.
Join the Movement: We need your support to ensure this vital harm reduction measure is passed without delay.
How You Can Help 🔹 Sign the Petition: Click this link and add your name to demand immediate implementation of pill testing in NSW.
🔹 Spread the Word: Share this message with friends, family, and on social media to amplify our call for action.
🔹 Advocate: Reach out to your local representatives and urge them to support the Pill Testing Trial Bill.
Proven harm reduction measures like pill testing should not have to wait. Let’s act now to save lives and protect our communities.
Currently in Australia, there is no regular mechanism to unite and bring those working in and around harm reduction and related sectors together at the national level. The National Harm Reduction Forum 2024is a free, online event for important conversations on harm reduction and drug policy reform in Australia.
This year’s forum will focus on current gaps in the response and areas for innovation in harm reduction and drug policy reform in Australia in 2024 and beyond. The forum will include a compelling keynote address byFiona Patten (advocate, former member of Victorian Parliament and leader of the Reason Party)on achieving major policy reform in challenging political and social contexts including:
conducting strategic political advocacy on drug policy and legal reform;
utilising parliamentary and government policy levers effectively;
making the most of opportunities for reform in challenging political environments; and
staying energised and committed when the pace of change is slow.
Fiona will be joined by astellar panel of seasoned advocates, current and former politicians, bureaucrats and leading researchersfor a lively discussion (with audience participation) on how to secure more just and humane drug policies and laws in Australia in 2024 and beyond.
In the second part of the forum, participants will be able to choose from 3 interactive, deep-dive sessions on key areas of HRA’s work and advocacy:
Status Update on Pill Testing –hear the latest data from PTA’s festival-based testing and other recent developments in the drug checking space and discuss where to next for pill testing in Australia?
Current Challenges and Future Reforms in Medicinal Cannabis –including driving laws, workplace drug testing and the growing demand for medicinal cannabis in Australia.
Future of Opioid Dependence Treatment (OTP) in Australia –ODTP is now more affordable than ever, but how do we make it more accessible and address the ongoing access, flexibility and workforce problems threatening the program?
The online format is designed to provide an affordable and accessible way for the widest possible range of organisations, services and individuals to participate in this national event.
The HRA National Harm Reduction Forum is free to attend. Register now and secure your place…
Pill Testing Australia (PTA) and Harm Reduction Australia (HRA) are pleased to advise that approval has been given by the ACT Government to pilot Australia’s first ever fixed site pill testing service.
The approval was announced in last night’s ACT Government’s Budget and includes funding for this vital public health service to proceed.
Discussions with the ACT Health Department on the start date and hours of operation will commence in coming weeks but details on the initiative’s announcement can be found in the ACT Budget Outlook Papers (see page 189)
HRA & PTA want to thank the ACT Government, in particular the Chief Minister and Health Minister, as well as many other Assembly Members and officers within the ACT Government that gave their support and assistance to help develop this very important public health service.
The experience and expertise within the PTA & HRA teams in having already successfully delivered Australia’s only pill testing services at festivals has given the ACT Government the confidence to proceed with Australia’s first fixed site pill testing service.
There will be significant data collection and an independent evaluation built into the pilot program to allow the ACT Government to determine its future beyond the pilot period. It is also hoped that the information provided by the pilot program will allow other Governments in Australia to consider the evidence and determine the public health benefits from replicating the ACT Government decision.
PTA & HRA also confirmed their offer to provide a cost-free trial of its pill testing service at a music festival to all other Governments – this was an offer accepted in 2018 by the ACT Government and demonstrated the incredible value of our services to the health and wellbeing of festival goers by helping them make informed choices.
Pill testing has been shown to significantly reduce the harms from drug use by providing accurate information directly to people about the content of those substances. Too many Australian young people lose their lives each year from drug use and pill testing, along with a range of other harm reduction strategies, can help reduce that risk.
As announced in a recent media release PTA will have increased testing technology available at the fixed site pill testing service – 26 August 2021 Media Release
Please also see some links below to our reports from pilot pill testing programs in Canberra
2018 Report 2019 Media Release 2019 Report 2019 Independent Review
For further information, please contact:
Dr David Caldicott 0478 906 634
Ms Bronwyn Hendry 0417 827 776
Mr Gino Vumbaca 0408 244 552
Given the recent recommendations by the NSW Deputy Coroner, Pill Testing Australia have shared a short video which highlights the harm caused by preventing young people from having knowledge about the content of their drugs.
The one-minute piece produced by Sydney based Andrew McWilliam is titled “Don’t Leave Young People in the Dark” and shows a young person heading off to a music festival blindfolded.
“By providing pill testing at festivals we can start to remove the blindfolds and provide people with information that we know changes their behaviour” said Pill testing Australia spokesperson Gino Vumbaca.
“By engaging with people who use drugs and by providing scientifically backed knowledge, our pill testing services can achieve a reduction in the number and volume of drugs consumed and consequently reduce harm.” said Mr Vumbaca.
This is the second video produced in Australia for Pill Testing Australia in the last six months.
“We continue to be overwhelmed with the support for Pill Testing Australia by members of the Australian public who recognise the urgent need for this proven harm reduction strategy.” Said Mr Vumbaca.
“The fact that people are donating their valuable time and talent to assist us with advocating for best practice harm reduction keeps us motivated and driven to succeed.”
After releasing a detailed operational report on the second Australian pill testing pilot conducted at Groovin The Moo in April, Pill Testing Australia has launched an advert to support and drive conversation around pill testing at festivals.
The advert, directed byDylan Harrison from Hooligan Collective, shows a young man hesitating at the top of a cliff while his friends dive into the water below.
A labcoat-wearing woman appears beside the young man telling him that she can’t stop him from jumping but she can help him mitigate the risks by looking at “what’s inside.”
The scene then cuts to a pill testing tent at a music festival. The implication is clear: taking a pill without pill testing is like taking a blind jump off a cliff.
Pill Testing Australia spokesperson Gino Vambucca applauded the creativity of Dylan Harrison for producing a very relevant and strong community service announcement around the important harm reduction strategy.
“The fact that members of the Australian public like Dylan feel so motivated to play an active role in advocating for pill testing to be introduced, is incredibly rewarding for all the public health practitioners and volunteers involved with our work.” Mr Vambucca said.
“The Australian model of pill testing has been designed to interact with people who are about to consume an unknown substance, and this has been captured so poignantly by Dylan. We are looking forward to sharing his incredible work with our stakeholders and the general public through our social media platforms and website.” Mr Vambucca continued.
The pill testing report from Groovin The Moo shows that the free service for consumers tested 170 substances for 234 participants, twice the number tests conducted at the first pill testing pilot a year earlier.
