Drug-checking trial at festivals five years in making

A potentially life-saving trial allowing people to see what's really in their illicit substances has been welcomed as a great step forward, five years after a coroner urged its use.

But advocates want NSW to follow the lead of Victoria, Queensland and ACT and roll out drug-checking beyond music festivals.

The one-year trial announced on Thursday, and shortly after a statewide drug summit, will allow revellers at 12 NSW festivals to check drugs intended for personal use without fear of being arrested.

The amnesty will not change police powers or extend to drug suppliers.

"The trial has a clear purpose - to reduce harm and save lives," Premier Chris Minns said.

"This trial does not change police powers and if you commit a crime you may be charged and prosecuted."

Harm-reduction experts and parents of some young overdose victims have pleaded with successive state governments to implement drug checking.

It was also the No.1 recommendation of a 2019 independent inquiry into the deaths of six young people at music festivals, after coroner Harriet Grahame found the evidence to support community- and festival-based services was "compelling".

That recommendation was rejected by the then-Berejiklian government, which opted instead for amnesty bins at festival entrances.

Unharm co-founder Will Tregoning said the new trial was a "great step forward" and he hoped work was also under way to implement a service outside music events.

"Drug use and drug overdoses don't just happen at festivals," he told AAP on Thursday.

"Even with pill testing, there should be community-based services, just like has happened in Victoria and Queensland.

"It's especially important with the rise in synthetic opioids ... particularly with substances like nitazenes turning up in all sorts of things, from cocaine to cannabis products to nicotine vapes."

Advocates note drug-checking offers some users their first chance to discuss the health risks of illicit drug use as they await results.

"Giving people good information about the drugs they are planning to take saves lives and helps people make more informed choices," Uniting NSW/ACT advocacy director Emma Maiden said.

Police and NSW Health will implement the trial, which will cost more than $1 million to roll out and be independently evaluated.

It is expected to begin as early as February, though that will come after many of the larger summer festivals.

Peer workers will also provide harm-reduction advice, while information gathered could increase the reach and speed of community warnings.

The decision follows interim advice from the NSW Drug Summit held in November and December ahead of a final report early in 2025.

Health Minister Ryan Park said the interim advice reflected a diverse range of views from experts, frontline workers and drug users, although he repeated the premier's line that drug checking was "no silver bullet".

Drug checking has been a headline policy of Labor's left wing for years, leading Opposition Leader Mark Speakman to accuse the premier of caving to that arm of the party.

He meanwhile adopted anti-testing rhetoric roundly dismissed by the coroner five years ago.

"We have no evidence pill testing saves lives," Mr Speakman said.

"In fact, it may encourage a false sense of security."

Ms Grahame in 2019 said there was evidence of behavioural modification, including reductions in multi-drug use, a known risk factor in overdoses.

Victoria announced an 18-month trial of pill testing, which also included a fixed-site service near Melbourne nightclubs, in June.

Both trials are due to conclude around the same time.

Queensland and the ACT already have drug-testing services at fixed sites.