Friday, 28 August 2026

 Ryan BATCHELOR (Southern Metropolitan) (09:56): I rise to mark one year of Victoria’s pill-testing service. Pill testing reduces harm and saves lives. We know that no drug is safe, but with the rise in drug-related emergency department admissions and overdose deaths in Victoria, it is our job to reduce harm and save those lives. Pill testing is doing exactly that. Since launching last August, the fixed-site and mobile pill-testing services combined have tested over 5000 drug samples from around Victoria at music festivals, events and the fixed site in Fitzroy. They have held more than 2500 conversations between service users and experienced harm reduction workers, where 40 per cent of people discuss their substance use with a health professional for the first time. Around 12 per cent of the tested samples contained unexpected psychoactive substances with the potential to cause serious harm. But with this service 28 drug notifications were issued warning the community about dangerous substances. The service has also provided 700 units of naloxone, the life-saving overdose reversal medication, which is also being rolled out for free by way of naloxone dispensing machines, thanks to the Labor government. Pill testing and medication like naloxone do not make drug use safe, but the evidence shows that they help people to make safer and more informed choices and help reduce harm. Pill testing is doing its job.