*** FINAL REPORT ***
6 August 2025
Phil Wheeler
Procurement Lead
Impaired Driving Programme
National Road Policing Centre
Police National Headquarters
180 Molesworth St
Wellington, New Zealand
Re:
Assessment of the Pathtech Roadside Drug Testing Device
NZ Police:
RFP TN/25/18
IFC Expert Report No.:
25-0105
Dear Mr Wheeler,
You and your organisation have retained Independent Forensic Consulting represented by Dr
Michael Robertson as consultants in toxicology and analytical chemistry in the above captioned
matter.
You have requested that I review the results of the Pathtech Securetec Drugwipe® 3 S drug device
verification and comment on whether the results of the on-site testing device conform to the
requirements of Appendix C of the current oral fluid standard: AS/NZS 4760 - Procedure for
specimen collection and the detection and quantitation of drugs in oral fluid (the Standard).
Expert Report No. 25-0105
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METHODS / PROCEDURE
Device verified - Pathtech: Securetec Drugwipe 3 S. Batch Y1647.25092, Expiry 2026-02.
The device was assessed against the screening cut-offs for on-site immunoassay screening test
listed in Table A1; Appendix A of AS/NZS 4760:2019 and are as follows:
Stock solutions of the required calibrators (methamphetamine, cocaine or benzoylecgonine and
THC) were prepared immediately prior to performing the verification.
Blank human oral fluid specimens were spiked with the appropriate volume of the stock solutions,
one spiked at +50% of the screening cut-off concentrations and the other at -50% of the screening
cut-off concentrations.
A separate set of stock solutions of MDMA were also prepared immediately prior to performing
the verification.
The concentrations of the MDMA stock solutions prepared were dependent on the cross reactivity
of MDMA on the methamphetamine strip of the respective device.
In order to test to section C3 of Appendix C of AS/NZS 4760:2019, device verification was
assessed by testing a minimum of twenty (20) spiked samples. Ten (10) kits with oral fluid samples
spiked at -50% of the screening cut-offs, and ten (10) kits with oral fluid samples spiked at +50%
of the screening cut-offs.
All testing was performed in accordance with the provided manufacturer’s instructions.
Section C3 of Appendix C states that if a total of twenty kits are tested, no more than two failures
in total (either false ‘not-negative’ or false ‘negatives’) are permitted for each drug class tested.
A separate verification was performed for MDMA due to its cross reactivity on the
methamphetamine strip.
Prior to testing, all components were brought to room temperature prior to verification.
Expert Report No. 25-0105
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Fresh oral fluid was collected from drug free human donors. Specimens were pooled, centrifuged
and frozen until required for evaluation. Centrifugation was required to remove bubbles etc. to
allow for a more accurate measurement of oral fluid volume, an important aspect of verification.
To ensure the correct concentration of drugs were spiked into the samples, aliquots of the blank
oral fluid, -50% spiked oral fluid and +50% spiked oral fluid were also assessed by LCMS.
The Pathtech: Securetec Drugwipe® 3 S device has the following drug test strips and cut-off
concentrations, all of which conform to the Standard:
Aliquots (3 x 10μL) of the appropriate spiked oral fluid specimen were added to the sample
collector pads before being placed back onto the test device. The test device was held upright, a
thumb placed over the word PRESS before pressing down hard once, breaking the internal
ampoule. The device was held upright for a further 10 seconds before being placed on the bench
surface (Instructions for Use, S 304 G.91).
A control line must be observed for the test to be valid. Any visible line or part thereof on the test
strip indicates a positive or non-negative result. No visible line indicates a negative result. All
results were read at 5 minutes after the test was started.
The temperature during verification was recorded by a calibrated data logger and was 23.2°C.
Expert Report No. 25-0105
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RESULTS
1. All compounds and cutoff concentrations comply with AS/NZS 4760:2019.
2. The results for the evaluation of the Pathtech: Securetec Drugwipe® 3 S device are shown in
the tables below.
3. Control lines were present for all observed tests.
4. There were two false positives for methamphetamine and one false positive each for THC and
MDMA, however this is within the required criteria of the Standard.
5. Concentrations of the spiked oral fluid samples were confirmed by LCMS and were within
acceptable ranges for all drug groups.
CONCLUSION
The Pathtech: Securetec Drugwipe® 3 S device was verified and complied with the criteria
outlined in Appendix C3 of AS/NZS 4760:2019 for methamphetamine, cocaine, THC and MDMA.
The Pathtech: Securetec Drugwipe® 3 S device has been tested and does comply with the Standard
and therefore does meet the required cut-off thresholds defined in Table A1 of the joint
AS/NZS4760:2019 Standard and it’s cut off thresholds and false positive/negative results as
required by pre-condition 5 of NZ Polices OFTE RFP.
Sincerely,
Dr Michael Robertson
Pharmacologist, Forensic Toxicologist, Analytical Chemist
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Qualifications, experience and expertise in the field of drug and alcohol policies,
procedures and testing
I am a pharmacologist and forensic toxicologist at Independent Forensic Consulting (IFC). After
completing my undergraduate degree majoring in pharmacology and toxicology, I earned my
Ph.D. in medicine studying at the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine (Monash University),
specialising in toxicology. I subsequently completed my post-doctoral fellowship in forensic
toxicology at National Medical Services (NMS) in Pennsylvania (USA).
As a pharmacologist and forensic toxicologist with more than 30 years professional experience, I
have studied the affects and effects of drugs and poisons on humans and animals including
mechanism of action; desirable effects and non-desirable or adverse effects. I have also performed
research in the field of pharmacology and toxicology including methods of drug analysis; affects
of drugs on humans; evaluation of the safety and efficacy of drugs on humans. I have assigned,
supervised, performed, certified and interpreted hundreds of toxicological analyses for a range of
clients including pathology and forensic laboratories, pharmaceutical companies, regulatory
agencies and legal professionals.
I have prepared expert reports and testified throughout Australia and overseas in local, state,
federal and military courts for prosecution, defence and plaintiff lawyers relating to forensic
toxicology including matters involving:
• Criminal Law (including drug facilitated sexual assault; DUI and DUID; cause or contribution
to death; human performance and behaviour; poisonings; drug possession and matters of legal
status of drugs including the evaluation of Synthetic
Cannabis and Synthetic Stimulants e.g.
‘Bath Salts’ and issues associated with analogue provisions);
• Family Law (including the interpretation of urine, drug and hair follicle testing; Liver Function
Tests (LFT), Carbohydrate Deficient Transferrin (CDT) and Ethyl Glucuronide (EtG) testing
and result interpretation);
• Personal Injury, Medical Negligence, CTP, Insurance claims;
• Workplace Disputes (including the interpretation of urine, oral fluid and/or hair test results and
compliance with acceptable drug testing procedures);
• Workplace Accidents (involving the cause and contribution of drugs and alcohol to an
incident); together with matters including exposure to chemicals and other poisons;
• Doping disputes and investigations including professional athletes (ASADA; WADA) and
Steward enquiries involving the racing industry (jockeys, riders, racehorses, harness racing,
greyhounds etc.);
• Miscellaneous civil matters and disputes involving drugs and chemicals.
I have lectured at numerous Universities on topics such as pharmacology and forensic toxicology.
I have authored a number of peer-review papers, and I routinely attend national and international
scientific conferences. I currently hold membership of The International Association of Forensic
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Toxicologists (TIAFT), the Society of Hair Testing (SoHT), the Society of Forensic Toxicologists
(SOFT), The Australian and New Zealand Forensic Science Society (ANZFSS) and the Forensic
and Clinical Toxicology Association (FACTA) and am bound by the Code of Ethics of these
Societies. I have been a member of the SOFT Drugs and Driving Committee and SOFT Drug
Facilitated Sexual Assault Committee and served as an invited reviewer on the SOFT Scientific
Advisory panel. I currently serve as an invited reviewer for the international journals, Forensic
Science International and Forensic Science, Medicine, and Pathology.
With respect to workplace drug testing, I am a consulting toxicologist to a number of national drug
testing organisations and an expert in Australian Standard compliant drug testing for both urine
and oral fluid (AS/NZS 4308:2023 and AS/NZS 4760-2019 respectively). I am the immediate
past Chair of the Standards Australia oral fluid committee reviewing and updating AS/NZS 4760
– Procedure for specimen collection and the detection and quantitation of drugs in oral fluid. I am
the immediate past Chair of the Standards Australia urine committee reviewing and updating
AS/NZS 4308 – Procedure for specimen collection and the detection and quantitation of drugs in
urine. I am the current Chair of Standard Australia’s technical committee (CH-039) that is
responsible for the ‘Detection and Analysis of Drugs in Specimens of Human Origin’. I am a
contributing member of the FACTA technical committee on Hair Drug Testing Guidelines.
I have been involved in and testified in a number of workplace disputes before Fair Work Australia
and other tribunals including: Endeavour Energy and CEPU, ASU and APESMA; The Maritime
Union of Australia v DP World Brisbane Pty Ltd and Ors; and CFMEU v PKCT; among others.
As a qualified trainer in the workplace collection and testing of breath, urine and oral fluids in
compliance with AS 3547:2019, AS/NZS 4308:2008; AS/NZS 4308:2023; AS 4760-2006 and
AS/NZS 4760-2019 respectively, I perform drug and alcohol training throughout Australia for a
number of clients to ensure compliance with the Australian Standards. This training includes
ensuring compliant collection, on-site testing, storage, and transportation to the laboratory. Policy
review and recommendations to ensure the respective drug-testing program in place is both
compliant to the respective Australian Standard and is able to achieve the desired outcome or intent
of the client. In the last 10 years I have performed more than 200 training sessions across more
that 150 organisations.
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