5, 9 and 12-Panel Hair Drug Tests Explained
What a 5-panel, 9-panel or 12-panel hair drug test covers, which substances are left out, and why we screen 95 as standard with no per-drug surcharges.
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Most hair drug tests sold in Australia screen five drug classes. Anything beyond that is quoted as an extra — which means choosing what to look for before you know what is there.
A “panel” is a drug class, not a drug
This is the detail that catches people out. A “5-panel” test does not screen five substances — it screens five groups. One of those groups, opiates, may cover morphine, codeine and heroin together. Another, amphetamines, may or may not report MDMA, depending entirely on how that laboratory has configured it.
So two providers can both sell you a “5-panel hair test” and return meaningfully different results from the same head of hair. There is no legislated standard panel in Australia, and beyond the basic five the configurations are set by each laboratory rather than by any common rule.
The five classes themselves are inherited from a United States federal workplace standard. That is why phencyclidine (PCP) — a drug rarely encountered in Australia — occupies one of only five slots, while benzodiazepines, which appear constantly in Australian family law matters, do not.
A standard panel, compared
The right-hand column describes standard hair drug testing as it is commonly offered in Australia, drawn from the published pages listed at the foot of this article and accurate as at July 2026. It is a characterisation of the general market, not a statement about any particular provider. Panels and prices change — confirm both directly with any facility you are considering.
| Our standard panel | A typical 5-panel test | |
|---|---|---|
| Substances covered | 95, as the standard panel | 5 drug classes on a standard panel; 9 and 12-panel options add a handful more |
| Adding a substance | Nothing to add — the full panel is what you buy | Extended panels are quoted separately, often “price on application” |
| Deciding what to test for | Not a decision you have to make | You choose the panel before you know what is there |
| Benzodiazepines | Included | Not in the standard 5; usually an add-on |
| Fentanyl & synthetic opioids | Included | Not in the standard 5; usually an add-on |
| Synthetic cannabinoids | Included | Rarely offered at all |
| Chain of custody | Standard on every test | Frequently a paid upgrade over a personal-use test |
What each configuration contains
The 5-panel: the industry default
Five drug classes, near-universally:
- Amphetamines, including methamphetamine
- Cocaine
- Cannabis (THC)
- Opiates — typically morphine, codeine and heroin
- Phencyclidine (PCP)
Whether MDMA is reported under the amphetamines class varies by laboratory. If ecstasy is the substance in question, that is worth confirming in writing rather than assuming.
The 9-panel
The same five classes, plus roughly three or four more — commonly methadone, benzylpiperazine and propoxyphene. The additions are prescription and designer compounds rather than the drugs most often at issue in Australian proceedings.
The 12-panel
Builds further, commonly adding meperidine, oxycodone, oxymorphone and tramadol. There is no standardised 11, 12 or 14-panel configuration — the composition differs between laboratories, so the number alone tells you very little.
What is still missing at 12
Even a 12-panel test routinely omits substances that decide Australian matters: benzodiazepines, fentanyl and its analogues, ketamine, buprenorphine, synthetic cannabinoids and the great majority of prescription medications.
Our panel covers 95 substances — see the full list.
The problem with paying per substance
A tiered panel asks you to predict the answer before you run the test. If you order a 5-panel screen and the substance in issue turns out to be a benzodiazepine, the result is not wrong — it is silent. It says nothing at all about the thing that mattered.
Re-testing is not always possible. Hair grows out, the window moves, and in a court matter the timeline may have passed. Where a second sample can be collected, you have paid twice and lost weeks.
That is why the full 95-substance panel is our standard offering rather than an upgrade. One price, $599 for a 3 cm sample, with no per-drug surcharges — see fees.
What was found is exact. When it happened is an estimate.
Which substances are in the hair, and how much of each, is measured to a very high degree of certainty. The laboratory uses mass spectrometry, which identifies a molecule by its mass rather than inferring it from a colour change or a reaction, and reports both the parent drug and its metabolites. A positive result is a positive result.
Dating that use is the approximate part. Hair does not all grow at the same speed — individual follicles grow at slightly different rates, and some are resting at any given time. It is the same reason a haircut never grows out perfectly evenly. So a length of hair corresponds to an approximate period, not to a particular day.
These are two separate questions, and this is the part worth being clear about: an estimated timeline does not make the substance finding any less reliable. The chemistry is precise. The calendar is approximate.
One thing a bigger panel does not fix
Screening more substances tells you what is present. It does not tell you whether a prescription explains it, whether the level fits the use alleged, or whether the sample was contaminated. Where those are the questions, they need a forensic interpretation, not a longer list.
Sources
Provider pages consulted July 2026. Figures are those published by each provider at that date and may since have changed.
- Absolute DNA — Hair 5 Panel (H5P), $180, with extended H5P–H18P options
- DT Solutions — laboratory confirmation for 5 panels, up to 16 extra panels priced on application
- EasyDNA Australia — panels $165–$300 depending on substance count; legal testing +$250
- National Drug Screening — what the 5, 9 and 12-panel configurations contain
Frequently asked questions
Does a 5-panel hair test screen five drugs?
No. It screens five drug classes. One class, opiates, may cover morphine, codeine and heroin together, so the number of individual substances reported is higher than five — but the number of groups looked for is still only five.
Is there a standard 9 or 12-panel configuration in Australia?
No. Beyond the basic five classes there is no legislated or industry-wide standard, so each laboratory sets its own composition. Two providers can both sell a '12-panel' test and look for different substances. Ask for the substance list in writing rather than relying on the number.
Are benzodiazepines included in a standard hair drug test?
Usually not. Benzodiazepines sit outside the standard five classes and are typically quoted as an add-on, despite appearing constantly in Australian family law matters. Our standard panel covers them — see the full list of 95 substances.
What happens if I order the wrong panel?
The result is not wrong, it is silent — it says nothing about the substance that mattered. Re-testing is not always possible, because hair grows out and the detection window moves. That is the reason we run the full 95-substance panel as standard rather than as an upgrade.
