Pill Testing Australia has been forced to pull their services from Groovin' The Moo's Canberra music festival at the last minute, after being unable to secure insurance.
Spokesman for Pill Testing Australia Gino Vumbaca said insurmountable roadblocks were put up by the organisation's insurer at the last minute.
"Despite having the support of the ACT government, health, police, Venues ACT, and strong support from the promoters, we're unable to secure insurance," he said.
"Companies have put a number of roadblocks in our way at the last minute, knowing full well we aren't able to fulfil those, so we don't have insurance, and without insurance we can't legally provide the service."
The music festival will take place on Sunday at Exhibition Park.
After submitting all the required paperwork to an insurer, on Tuesday Pill Testing Australia was informed that it would have to "provide further information and provide further guarantees, increased coverage, expanded policies".
"A whole range of things that could not be done within a day," Mr Vumbaca said.
He said brokers had approached all the companies they could, but there wasn't appetite to insure services that engage with people who use drugs.
Mr Vumbaca said he was frustrated that private companies were able to have the final say on a public health service.
"It shouldn't be in the hands of the private insurance market to decide whether or not Canberra can have a particular health service operate."
He said festival organisers were informed Wednesday, and had been "extremely disappointed, like us".
"We reduce their risks, we provide an important service to patrons at the festival, and we're not there. They want us there [and] we want to be there."
A pill-testing trial at the festival in 2019 found seven cases of the lethal substance N-ethyl pentylone, which has been linked to multiple overdoses overseas at music festivals. All seven participants with the substance discarded the pills when they found out what was in them.
Pill testing was also available at the same festival in 2018.
