At-Home STI Testing for Men in Australia: What You Need to Know

Men in Australia are significantly undertested for sexually transmitted infections. According to Kirby Institute modelling, most chlamydia and gonorrhoea cases in Australia remain undiagnosed and untreated - and among heterosexual men specifically, research consistently identifies lower testing rates than in women or men who have sex with men. The reasons are well documented: stigma, fear of the test itself, cost, and GPs who rarely raise sexual health unless the patient does first.

Men bear a disproportionate share of diagnoses. In 2024, 70% of gonorrhoea notifications in Australia were in men, and 80% of syphilis cases - against a backdrop where gonorrhoea has doubled and syphilis has tripled in Australia over the past decade.

TestSmart offers at-home STI testing for men across Australia - including urine self-collection for chlamydia and gonorrhoea, which until recently wasn’t available outside a clinic or collection centre. Order online, collect at home, and receive your results with GP oversight, without visiting a medical centre or collection centre.

It’s not that men don’t care about their sexual health. Research identifies several specific, well-documented barriers:

•       No system-level prompt. There is no structured system prompting men to test regularly. STI testing for men relies entirely on individual initiative.

•       Stigma and shame. Australian research published by Healthy Male (Andrology Australia) identifies STI-related stigma as a key barrier for men, noting that the anticipation of shame - even before a diagnosis - deters testing. A 2024 Kirby Institute report flagged stigma as one of the most significant ongoing barriers to testing nationally.

•       Fear of the test itself. Research published in the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health found that young men in particular feared the testing procedure, imagining it to be invasive or painful. In reality, testing for chlamydia and gonorrhoea requires only a urine sample.

•       GPs don’t routinely ask. Studies show that healthcare providers frequently fail to take a sexual history during consultations. Without this, they cannot assess risk or offer a test - and many men leave a GP visit without the conversation ever coming up.

•       Cost and inconvenience. With GP bulk billing increasingly unavailable in many areas, a standard consultation to receive the pathology referral now costs $50 or more, followed by another appointment to receive results.

The result is that most chlamydia and gonorrhoea cases in Australia remain undiagnosed and untreated, according to Kirby Institute modelling. For chlamydia specifically, fewer than half of all cases are estimated to receive a diagnosis.

At minimum, sexually active men should be testing for chlamydia and gonorrhoea - the two most commonly diagnosed STIs in Australia. Both are bacterial infections that are frequently asymptomatic in men, meaning you can carry and transmit them without any symptoms at all.

If you’ve had oral or anal sex, throat and rectal screening may also be relevant. This is the part of STI testing that most often gets missed, regardless of gender or sexual orientation:

•       Throat testing is relevant if you’ve given oral sex. Gonorrhoea in the throat is frequently asymptomatic and won’t show up on a urine test.

•       Rectal testing is relevant if you’ve had receptive anal sex. Again, frequently asymptomatic, frequently missed.

Australian STI guidelines recommend testing at all three sites - genital, throat, and rectal - for anyone with relevant exposure. In practice, most GP visits result in a urine test only, because throat and rectal sites are rarely offered unless you specifically raise it. With TestSmart, all three are available.

TestSmart’s male kit is built around urine self-collection - a sample type that tests for chlamydia and gonorrhoea at the urethra. This is the clinically recommended test for men and, until recently, required a clinic or collection centre visit to complete. TestSmart makes it possible to collect at home and post directly to ACL Laboratories, with a GP-reviewed referral issued as part of the process.

Every kit includes a urine sample for chlamydia and gonorrhoea. If relevant to your sexual history, we may also recommend:

•       Throat swab - tests for chlamydia and gonorrhoea in the throat, available as an add-on where relevant to you.

•       Rectal swab - tests for chlamydia and gonorrhoea in the rectum, available as an add-on where relevant to you.

All samples are returned to ACL Laboratories using the prepaid label in your kit. Results are delivered securely online.

1.     Order at testsmart.com.au to get started

2.     Complete a short health questionnaire - a GP reviews your responses and determines which sample types are appropriate, then issues your pathology referral

3.     Receive your kit in discreet, plain packaging

4.     Self-collect your samples at home, following the step-by-step instructions in the kit

5.     Return everything to ACL Laboratories using the prepaid label

6.     Receive your results securely online, with a doctor available to explain them

No appointment. No waiting room. No conversation you’d rather avoid.

The Australian STI Management Guidelines (ASHM) recommend 3-monthly STI testing for men who have sex with men (MSM), covering all relevant sites. For heterosexual men, the guidelines take a risk-based approach rather than specifying fixed intervals. As a general guide:

•       Annual testing is a reasonable minimum if you have occasional new partners and consistent condom use.

•       More frequent testing is warranted if you have multiple partners, don’t consistently use condoms, or have been notified a partner has tested positive.

•       Every 3 months is the ASHM guideline for MSM and men on PrEP, covering all relevant sites.

Sometimes, but often not. Most men with chlamydia have no symptoms at all. When symptoms occur, they might include discharge from the penis, burning when urinating, or discomfort in the testicles - but these are the exception. Gonorrhoea is more likely to produce noticeable symptoms in men, but throat and rectal gonorrhoea are frequently asymptomatic regardless of who has them.

Waiting to feel unwell before testing is not a reliable strategy for either infection.

Yes. TestSmart is the only service in Australia offering fully at-home urine-based STI testing for men, with throat and rectal swabs available as add-ons where clinically indicated. Samples are processed by ACL Laboratories and every order includes a GP-reviewed referral and results oversight.

Order at testsmart.com.au, collect at home, and know your status - on your own terms.

Your reviewing doctor will ask you to book an appointment to explain what your result means and discuss next steps and treatment options. You’ll also be advised on notifying recent partners.

Regular STI testing is one of the most straightforward things you can do for your health and your partners’ health. Order your at-home kit at testsmart.com.au.