Tuesday, 26 August 2025

Ministers statements: pill testing

Ingrid STITT (Western Metropolitan – Minister for Mental Health, Minister for Ageing, Minister for Multicultural Affairs) (12:21): I rise to update the house on the Allan Labor government’s pill-testing trial. Last week I was very proud to mark the beginning of operations at Victoria’s first fixed site for pill testing, located at 95 Brunswick Street, Fitzroy. This important initiative is all part of our government’s 18-month pill-testing trial, which started with a mobile testing service attending five events during the summer music festival season. The service’s harm reduction focus is working, and now we have expanded access with a fixed site offering access to the same life-saving advice and testing services that we delivered during the festival season.

This free walk-in service is here to help everyone, no matter who you are or what your experience is. The service will operate three days a week, opening Thursday 12 pm to 4 pm, Friday 3 pm to 7 pm and Saturday 1 pm to 7 pm, providing more access hours and days than any other pill-testing service in Australia. It will test more pills, capsules, powders, crystals and liquids, but it cannot, however, test plants, edibles or very diluted substances. The service is completely anonymous – you will not need to show ID or provide your name – and importantly, the results are delivered in a private consultation where a harm reduction worker will explain what was found and discuss how someone can make safer, more informed decisions.

On this side of the chamber we know that pill testing is absolutely about saving lives. It is about giving people choice by providing access to the information they are asking for, and with an increasingly volatile and unpredictable drug market, this has never been more important. The new Victorian pill-testing service in Fitzroy marks a significant next step in Victoria’s nation-leading strategy to reduce drug harm and save lives, and I am really excited to see it open.