The McGowan Government is spending $50,000 this weekend testing festival-goers for sexually transmitted infections.

Revellers at Falls Festival are being rewarded with free condoms, water, mints, cologne/perfume, glitter and use of superior toilet cubicles.

“Brand ambassadors” provided an “entertaining, theatrical experience” and participants exited the facility “through a green puff of smoke, designed to add mystery and fun”.

The urine samples will be sent off site to check for STIs including chlamydia and gonorrhoea, with the results returned via text message in one to two weeks.

The $50,000 bill includes testing kits, equipment, social media campaigns, condoms, refreshments and educational material. The Health Department said the festival would attract 16,500 people, most of whom would be 16 to 24 year-olds who are at a “higher risk” of having STIs.

Camera Icon Test cases: Sarah Taillier and Daniel Cox after visiting the STI Testing tent. Credit: Justin Benson-Cooper

Communicable disease control acting director Professor Paul Effler said he expected about 500 people would get tested over the two days.

The initiative is part of a broader program to tackle STIs and blood-borne viruses that is costing $265,000.

“If STI testing at Falls Festival is successful in terms of reach, engagement and numbers tested, then similar outreach opportunities might be considered,” Professor Effler said.

Chlamydia is the most common STI in WA. People aged 16 to 24 accounted for more than 50 per cent of 11,486 chlamydia cases in the year to September 30, 2018.

Left untreated, chlamydia can cause infertility in both men and women and increase a person’s risk of catching – or passing on – HIV.

Gonorrhoea can also cause infertility in men and women. There were 3150 gonorrhoea notifications in WA in the 12 months to September 30, 2018, with 16-24 year-olds accounting for 30 per cent of cases.