NSW Government Greenlights Pill Testing Trial, But High Policing Costs Remain a Threat to Festivals

The NSW Government’s decision to trial pill testing at music festivals marks a historic shift in drug policy. Yours and Owls festival in Wollongong will be the first event in the state to offer the service. The trial, which kicks off on March 1-2, represents a long-overdue embrace of harm reduction strategies, bringing NSW in line with other states that have successfully implemented similar programs.

Festival organisers, health experts, and harm reduction advocates have welcomed the move, recognising it as a step forward in prioritising attendee safety. NSW Health's free pill-testing service, run in partnership with trained peer workers and analytical scientists, will provide festivalgoers with information about the contents and potency of substances, allowing them to make more informed decisions.

However, while this announcement signals progress, it does little to address the financial burden that continues to cripple the festival industry in NSW—the exorbitant costs of user-pays policing.

The Cost of Over-Policing Remains a Major Barrier—Despite the government’s willingness to support harm reduction measures, it has not reformed the user-pays policing model. This model forces festival promoters to foot the bill for police presence at their events. The costs have been devastating, leading to festival cancellations, financial losses, and a decline in NSW’s live music and festival scene.

The numbers paint a stark picture. A festival that travelled to three states faced policing fees of $107,852 in NSW for 16,000 attendees, while Victoria and Queensland charged just $45,000 for a similar number of people. Another event paid $67,000 in NSW for 22,000 attendees, compared to $37,000 in Queensland and just $7,500 in Victoria for a 30,000-person event.

These inflated costs have led to a wave of festival cancellations in recent years. Return to Rio, a long-running festival, was forced to cancel its 2024 edition due to a 529% increase in police and medical costs. Mountain Sounds Festival met a similar fate in 2019 when it was suddenly hit with a $200,000 bill for 45 police officers just days before the event.

While the government’s recent reforms to festival regulations address some industry concerns, they have not included changes to the user-pays policing system, leaving promoters struggling to operate financially sustainably.

Pill Testing Won’t Save the Festival Industry Alone - Pill testing is vital to making festivals safer. Still, it is not a solution to the broader crisis in the NSW festival industry. Festival organisers have long argued that the government’s policing policies are disproportionately applied to music events, particularly those with younger audiences.

Under the current model, police determine the number of officers required at festivals, leaving organisers with little control over their security expenses. Many industry stakeholders argue that this system amounts to price gouging, with festival organisers left to foot the bill for an excessive and sometimes intimidating police presence.

“This is an important moment for harm reduction in NSW,” said Australian Festival Association (AFA) Managing Director Olly Arkins, praising the introduction of pill testing. However, he also emphasised that festivals need broader regulatory reform to survive in NSW. “Festival organisers have long called for evidence-based approaches prioritising health and safety, but we also need a sustainable operating environment.”

What Needs to Change? - For the festival industry to thrive in NSW, the government must address the issue of over-policing and the financial burden it places on event organisers. Some potential reforms include:

• A transparent, standardised policing cost model that prevents excessive fees from being imposed on festivals.

• A shift toward self-policing and harm reduction models has been successfully implemented in other states and countries.

• Greater collaboration between festival organisers, security teams, and local authorities to determine appropriate policing levels rather than relying on arbitrary decisions.

• Reduced police presence around medical and harm reduction services, ensuring attendees feel comfortable seeking help without fear of criminal repercussions.

A Step Forward, But Not Enough - The introduction of pill testing at Yours and Owls Festival is a landmark moment for NSW, signalling a shift toward a more progressive, health-focused approach to drug policy. However, without urgent reform to the user-pays policing model, festivals will continue to face financial pressure that could force more events to fold.

Suppose the NSW Government is serious about supporting its music and festival industry. In that case, it must go beyond harm reduction and address the root financial challenges that are making it nearly impossible to run a festival without incurring massive losses. Until then, festival organisers will continue to operate under the shadow of unsustainable costs—regardless of how progressive the state’s drug policies become.

See the NSW police user pay fees PDF here - https://www.police.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0012/876738/USER_CHARGES_2024-25_for_external_publication.pdf