Health authorities and festival organizers stress harm reduction and safety, reiterating that tests indicate contents and risks rather than ensure safety.

Patrons can voluntarily submit samples for analysis by qualified staff and receive information on contents and risk-reduction guidance, with peer workers available for confidential support.

Field Day organizers thank volunteers and NSW Health, calling the on-site drug checking a step toward statewide harm-minimisation practices.

Sydney’s Field Day music festival will pilot on-site, voluntary drug checking for a one-year period as part of a state-approved harm-reduction program, joining nine NSW festivals.

The NSW government will provide anonymous testing at Field Day, with health professionals offering risk guidance and confidential support to attendees.

The trial follows a 2024 Drug Summit recommendation and marks Field Day as the ninth NSW festival to offer drug checking.

Opposition voices question the trial’s effectiveness, arguing it may create a false sense of security and won’t necessarily save lives.

NSW Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant emphasizes harm reduction and informed decision‑making, noting the service aims to reduce harm but cannot guarantee safety.

The rollout follows scrutiny of earlier trials, including the Knockout Festival incident, where about 60,000 attendees saw multiple overdoses and only roughly 319 used the drug-testing service.

Illicit drugs remain illegal in NSW, but authorities acknowledge use at festivals; drug checking is designed to help attendees make safer choices, not guarantee safety.

Organizers praise the program as a positive, globally validated approach and acknowledge the collaboration that made it possible.

The initiative aligns with government recommendations and comes after a 2024 report noting 64 drug-related festival deaths in Australia over two decades, with nearly half due to drug toxicity and most deaths unintentional.