NSW introduces the Music Festivals Amendment Bill 2024

After countless national cancellations, public festival outcry, drama over the passing around of government funded grants and the critique of government owned venues being out of step with police costs, NSW's government have finally released a series of amendments to the MusicFestivals Act 2019.

After an extensive review into the state's festival sector, NSW's government found two weeks ago that "the regulatory framework would benefit from a closer focus on harm reduction, industry sustainability, and ensuring costs for festivals in NSW are at a level comparable to other states, while still prioritising health and safety at festival events."

READ: Mode Festival forced to pay for NSW Police with arts grant funding

In the opinions of many within the industry, the most pressing concerns to ensure the safe running of festivals had to do with user paid policing costs, pill testing and rising insurance costs. Shared overnight, the Music Festivals Amendment Bill 2024 addresses some of those concerns, albeit behind a veil of understandably legal jargon.

Mixmag has examined the legislation, and while this does not constitute legal advice, our take is as follows:

• "promoting harm minimisation measures relating to the consumption of liquor and drugs at music festivals to ensure the safety of persons attending the music festivals."

Throughout the bill, there have been amendments that change language from "safety management plans" to "agreed health and medical plans." As other states introduce pill testing trials, one can only assume that this change in language is to more accurately reflect drug use at festivals as one that involves NSW Health, and less so ILGA or NSW Police.

• Omit “subject festival”

The term "subject festival" has been a point of major contention for festival organisers, particularly those in dance and electronic spaces. The Festivals Act 2019 was claimed, by many, to be a pointed attack by the Berijiklian government at dance festivals. NSW Police's deeming of such festivals in the years since then as "subject" has only further deepened the divide between dance organisers and stakeholders within the government.

• Omit “ILGA”. Insert instead “the Health Secretary”

The Independent Liquor & Gaming Authority (ILGA) has been responsible for approving of Development Applications (DA) for festivals for many years now. While the state government's own release two weeks ago claimed that "Liquor & Gaming NSW will become the key decision maker, on advice from NSW Health and NSW Police. The Independent Liquor & Gaming Authority will retain a role if a festival organiser appeals a requirement to have its Health and Medical plan agreed by health", this change in wording would imply that some of ILGA's responsibilities have been shifted to NSW Health.

• ...“appeal against imposition of government charges in relation to music festivals”

While user paid policing is not referenced within this document, one could assume from this line and those following, that the government is looking to set up a means for festivals to push back on costs being asked of them by government organisations (e.g NSW Police).

• Involvement of a "music festival roundtable"

• (a) a member representing the Premier’s Department nominated by the Secretary of the Premier’s Department,
• (b) a person representing Sound NSW nominated by the Head of Sound NSW,
• (c) a person representing Destination NSW

The introduction of such a body, with particular focus on a representative voice from music & tourism based government organisations, implies that these groups will assess the impact and viability of a particular event, particularly when attempting to rebuke aforementioned costs going to government agencies (e.g police).

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Without a clear word from John Graham, Minister for Music and the Night-time Economy (+ Minister for Roads, Minister for the Arts and Minister for Jobs and Tourism), we're left to make assumptions on what much of this wording could ultimately mean for festivals.

Outside of these changes, the government's commitment to providing stimulus packages and grants to festivals is not one that's gone over particularly well with festivals who have already had to cancel events.

The government has promised $3 million total to assist with festivals over 15,000 in capacity, available to be claimed over the next two years. For reference, this year's Strawberry Fields, its 15th anniversary, is 14,000 in size.

Return To Rio recently shared its disapproval of the commitment, via its social channels.

One thing above all else has been made very clear however, the government's commitment to health as opposed to 'safety'. Could we be about to see pill testing in NSW? Time will tell.

Mixmag ANZ has reached out to the office of Minister John Graham for an interview.

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Jack Colquhoun is Mixmag ANZ's Managing Editor, find him on Instagram.