A Specialist GP arranges your test over a quick phone call — they review your symptoms and risk, then send your pathology referral by SMS — a full STI screen covering chlamydia, gonorrhoea, syphilis, HIV and hepatitis B. No Medicare? Prefer no call? Order it online for $39 instead.
Book a bulk-billed phone consult — or order a $39 referral
Get tested at any pathology lab in Cairns or far north QLD — simply walk in
Results by SMS in 2-3 days — free telehealth if positive
Walk into any pathology clinic across Cairns with your Clinic365 referral. No appointment needed.
Australian Clinical Labs and other major pathology networks run collection centres across Cairns and the surrounding region. Find your nearest on the map above or our STI testing locations page.
STI Testing in Cairns
No symptoms? The online STI test suits routine screening. If you have any symptoms — discharge, sores, pain, unusual bleeding, or a rash — book a Specialist GP phone consult instead, so they can take a history, choose the right tests, and arrange treatment if you need it.
Testing too soon after sex can miss an infection. Each test has a window period before it turns positive: chlamydia and gonorrhoea about 2 weeks, syphilis up to 6 weeks, HIV 4 to 6 weeks, and hepatitis B from 6 weeks.
The standard screen covers five infections. A routine screen tests for chlamydia, gonorrhoea, syphilis, HIV, and hepatitis B from one blood test and a urine sample. Optional add-ons: herpes, Mgen, trichomonas, BV, and thrush. If you have had oral or anal sex, add a throat or anal swab — a urine sample alone misses throat and rectal infections.
Pathology coverage across far north Queensland. Cairns is the major regional centre for far north Queensland and connects to Cape York, the Tablelands, and the Torres Strait. Collection centres are concentrated in the inner suburbs and northern beaches (Edge Hill, Trinity Beach, Smithfield, Edmonton, Gordonvale), with extensions through the Tablelands (Mareeba, Kuranda), Cassowary Coast (Innisfail, Tully), and north to Mossman and Port Douglas. Patients in remote areas can also use Aboriginal community-controlled health services. Queensland recorded over 18,000 chlamydia and 7,000 gonorrhoea notifications in 2023, with rates significantly higher in remote and First Nations communities. Far north Queensland is a focus of the syphilis-in-pregnancy response. PrEP and DoxyPEP are available through Australia-wide telehealth pathways.
If a result is positive, treatment is arranged on the same call. A Specialist GP calls you to talk it through and arranges treatment — the treatment consult is included at no additional cost. Partner notification is supported via the Let Them Know SMS tool. Chlamydia, gonorrhoea, syphilis, and HIV are reported anonymously to Queensland Health for surveillance; this is handled for you and does not appear on your personal records.
A possible HIV exposure is urgent. HIV post-exposure prevention (PEP) must start within 72 hours of exposure to work. Our Emergency PEP service can arrange same-day treatment and a pathology referral within hours; Cairns Hospital emergency department can also provide PEP outside business hours.
How often should you test? If you are sexually active, a yearly STI screen is a sensible baseline. Test more often — around every three months — if you have new or multiple partners, after a condom breaks, or if a partner tests positive. And test whenever symptoms appear, whatever your last result was.
Medicare and pathology costs. The pathology for a standard five-infection screen is covered by Medicare and most private health insurers, so there is usually nothing to pay at the collection centre. Without Medicare, additional lab fees may apply — check with the lab you attend.
Walk into any pathology clinic across Cairns with your Clinic365 SMS referral — Cairns CBD, Edge Hill, Stratford, Trinity Beach, Smithfield, Edmonton, Gordonvale, and through the Atherton Tablelands and Cassowary Coast. No appointment needed at most locations. Most are open Monday to Saturday.
Yes. The major pathology networks extend through the Atherton Tablelands, Cassowary Coast, Cape York Peninsula, and the Torres Strait. Patients in remote areas can use Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Service (ACCHS) collection points where available. We also have a dedicated Townsville page.
Yes. Results go directly to you by SMS. We do not notify your regular GP, employer, or insurer. At the pathology clinic, STI tests are processed like any other blood test — staff don’t know which tests are ordered. Notifiable STIs are reported anonymously to Queensland Health under the Public Health Act 2005 — this is anonymous from your perspective and doesn’t appear on your records.
A Specialist GP calls you by telehealth to discuss the result and arrange treatment. Treatment is arranged on the call. The GP also walks you through partner notification using the Let Them Know SMS tool.
Chlamydia and gonorrhoea: 2 weeks. Syphilis: 6 weeks. HIV: 4–6 weeks. Hepatitis B: 6 weeks to 6 months. Testing too early may give a false negative — your Specialist GP can advise on retesting if needed.
HIV post-exposure prevention (PEP) is time-critical — it must start within 72 hours of exposure. Cairns Hospital emergency department can provide free PEP. Our Emergency PEP service can arrange same-day treatment and a pathology referral within hours, which is particularly useful for people in remote far north Queensland.
