The ACT government will allow pill testing at Canberra's Spilt Milk music festival in an Australian first.
Festival-goers at the November 25 event will be able to access the free service provided by the Safety Testing and Advisory Service at Festivals and Events (STA-SAFE) consortium.
The testing facility, positioned alongside medical services, will be enclosed to ensure people have privacy, with a small "scraping" taken to be analysed.
Information about the result will be provided as well as the risks of drug-taking.
Amnesty bins containing bleach will be available.
"This is a really good measure to make sure that young people stay safe," Health Minister Meegan Fitzharris told reporters in Canberra on Friday.
Ms Fitzharris insists taking illicit drugs is illegal but says the government is being realistic in recognising young people do take them.
She cited evidence from New Zealand which showed that 63 per cent of people who have their pills tested, and were told that it wasn't what they thought it was, decided not to take it.
Harm Reduction Australia's David Caldicott says the decision has been a long time coming.
"I think our opponents would probably try to portray this as new and dangerous," he said.
"We represent a safety net."
At music festivals people were already committed to using drugs and there are already best-practice guidelines for such tests in Europe, Dr Caldicott said.
The testing data will be collated and presented to the territory government.
