Tanya Plibersek issues stark warning amid rise suspected drink spiking cases ahead of Schoolies

Young Australians heading to Schoolies are being urged to look out for their friends and seek immediate medical attention if someone appears to be losing control of their faculties, amid warnings about the dangers of drink spiking.

Social Services Minister Tanya Plibersek said preventing drink spiking and sexual assault must be a shared responsibility.

WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Urgent call to combat drink spiking before schoolies

“People are heading off to Schoolies. We do have to say to young people, girls and boys, be careful. Watch your drink. Don’t leave it unattended. Watch your friends’ drinks,” she told Sunrise on Tuesday.

“If someone offers to buy you a drink, make sure you see it poured by the bartender. All of that safety advice still stands.”

But Plibersek said the focus also needed to shift towards the people planning and carrying out the assaults, and those around them who could intervene.

“For someone to spike someone’s drink, they have to have bought the drug. They have to be sitting there waiting and watching. They have to take that moment. They have to get the person on their own and then sexually assault them,” she said.

“The level of planning that takes, surely, the friends they have around them, the people that they’re in company with, should be saying to them, mate, honestly, what are you planning? Think twice.”

Senior emergency medicine specialist Dr Stephen Parnis said thousands of people were believed to present to emergency departments across Australia each year after suspected drink spiking. Parnis warned the effects of the drugs used to spike drinks could range from relatively mild symptoms to life-threatening emergencies.

“We have to remember that the most common drug that causes the numbers and the severity of harm is alcohol, and that can put people in a hospital bed,” he said.

“It can have them fighting for their life if they’ve suffered trauma as a result of being intoxicated.”

Plibersek urged young people to act quickly if someone in their group appeared severely intoxicated or unwell.

“If you’re out with a group and someone looks like they’re losing control of their faculties, get them somewhere safe. Get them to hospital,” she said.

Dr Parnis said identifying drink spiking could be challenging because symptoms varied significantly depending on the substance involved.