Victorian government chooses Beyond the Valley as first festival with pill testing

New Year’s festival Beyond the Valley in regional Victoria will be the first in the state to run pill testing.

The state government has now chosen the first event, and the organisations, who will run the trial at 10 festivals across the state.

Premier Jacinta Allan said the move was “a simple and commonsense way to save lives”.

The trial is not a test of whether the state will have pill testing - which has already been backed by new legislation - but rather how it would be implemented.

Victoria moved to introduce pill testing after 46 overdose deaths statewide in 2022 involving novel synthetic drugs, while dangerous substances such as fentanyl and Nitazenes are increasingly found cut into drugs across the country.

Beyond the Valley is an over-18s electronic, dance, indie and hip-hop festival which goes for four days, 130kms west of Melbourne from December 28.

Headliners this year are Australian DJ Fisher and US rapper Ice Spice. Organisers expect 35,000 festivalgoers through the gates, many of whom will be camping at the grounds.

At the testing site, six different organisations will be working together to analyse substances and give confidential health information.

Pills, capsules, powders, crystals, and liquids can all be tested.

Mental Health Minister Ingrid Stitt said the way to stop overdoses was testing and support services.

“Honest, open, health-focused conversations and advice is how we reduce drug harm and help Victorians make safer, more informed decisions,” Ms Stitt said.

In New Zealand in 2023, 98 drug checking clinics tested more than 2000 samples. When people had substances they did not expect, the testers reported 40 per cent of people said they would not take the substance, 31 per cent would take a lower dose and 36 per cent would avoid mixing with alcohol, other drugs or medications.

The Loop Australia is a not-for-profit organisation of chemists, health workers and researchers providing and developing drug checking services in Queensland, NSW and Victoria.

The Loop will be on the ground at Beyond the Valley as part of the consortium, and the chief executive says testing substances is crucial.

“Our drug-checking service will test the make-up of most substances, providing people with vital information, confidential health advice, and honest conversations to help them make safer choices,” chief executive Cameron Francis said.

The Victorian government has pumped $95m into reducing opiate deaths across the state, and a fixed pill-testing site in Melbourne is expected to open in mid-2025.

Beyond the Valley is the first of 10 festivals which the government has selected to have testing.

Pill testing has run successfully in Queensland and the ACT now, though the NSW government has not followed suit.

The other states and the Northern Territory also have no similar drug testing schemes.