After months of waiting, the NSW Government finally released its response to the Drug Summit on 28 October 2025, nearly a year after the Summit took place in December 2024. 

We had hoped to end 2025 on a positive note, but we are left feeling somewhat disheartened and conflicted. While there are elements of validation in the government’s response, it also highlights how much work remains to be done. 

The NSW Government has delivered its response to the 2024 Drug Summit Report, and there's both progress to acknowledge and work still to be done.  

The government supported or supported "in principle" over 50 of the 56 recommendations – a significant commitment that reflects months of consultation with over 700 Summit participants and 3,669 written submissions.  

While many in our community and the sector had hoped for bolder reform, there are genuine wins here that will make a difference to people's lives. 

The long-awaited NSW Drug Summit has finally taken place, and NUAA (the organisation that publishes Users News) worked hard to make sure that voices of people with lived and living experience of illicit drug use were represented. While we won’t see the government’s final recommendations until early 2025, on December 19 NSW Premier Chris Minns announced a welcome step in the right direction — drug sample testing at festivals.

An update on the NSW Drug Summit and how you can contribute.