Queensland government to ban pill testing in move criticised by health advocates

AMA Queensland says pill testing ‘minimises harm by identifying unexpected and potentially dangerous substances in the community’. Photograph: Alchemy/Alamy

Queensland’s state government is expected to ban pill testing, including at festivals, by attaching amendments to an unrelated bill in parliament in a move criticised by health advocates.

Under the previous Labor government, Queensland was the first state to establish a fixed pill-testing strategy on an ongoing basis, in 2024. Clinics were opened on the Gold Coast and in Brisbane.