Resources for health professionals

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​​​​Make STI testin​​​g part of your routine practice​

Sexually transmissible infections (STIs) and HIV are important public health priorities. Health professionals should ask relevant questions about sexual practices and avoid assumptions about a patient's risk.

​Stay up to date with the latest ​​ NSW Health infectious disease alerts​.

Sexually Transmissible Infection (STI) fact sheets​ have information about STIs including how they are transmitted, symptoms, prevention methods, when to get tested, and how to get treated. More infectious diseases fact sheets can be found on the NSW Health website.​

​​​​Health profess​ional STI support

Phone​ lines and sexual health services are available to clinicians and sexual health workers who need advice and guidance on patient management at an individual level.

  • The NSW Sexual Health Infolink​ (SHIL)​ is a state-wide, nurse-led, NSW Health service. SHIL supports health professionals to manage STIs, blood-borne viruses (BBV), HIV PrEP and PEP, and other emerging infections. The health professionals phone line is available Monday to Friday from 9:00am to 7:00pm on 1800 451 624.
  • Health professionals can call the PEP hotline on 1800 737 669 for guidance on a client’s HIV risk, whether HIV post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) is recommended, and where it can be accessed. For exposures that occur after hours call healthdirect on 1800 022 222 (24 hours) to find the best option to ensure PEP is started as soon as possible.
  • The Blood and Body Fluid Exposure (BBFE) Phoneline 1800 804 823 provides information, support and referral services for NSW based healthcare workers, paramedical workers and emergency services workers who sustain a needlestick injury and/or experience occupational exposure to blood or body fluids during the course of their work duties. The BBFE Phoneline is staffed Monday to Friday from 9:00am to 7:00pm. ​
    ​​Members of the public who sustain a needlestick injury or blood/body fluid exposure are advised to seek an assessment from their general practitioner, a medical centre or the Emergency Department of their local hospital.
  • ASHM run training courses on HIV, blood-borne viruses, and sexual and reproductive health with in-person, virtual, and online self-paced options.​
  • The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners  provide HIV and STI on-demand training, along with topical webinars and podcasts.

​​Sexual health gu​idelines

Guidelines, information and advice are available to health professionals for screening, diagnosis, treatment and management of STIs and BBVs.

  • The Australian STI Management Guidelines provide concise information to support the prevention, testing, diagnosis, management and treatment of STIs for adults and adolescents.
  • NSW HealthPathways is an online health information portal for junior doctor​s, general practitioners, hospital specialists, nurses, and community and allied health providers. HealthPathways provide clear, concise information on how to assess and man​age >500 medical conditions, and how to refer patients to local specialists and services including referral criteria and contact information. HealthPathways are not designed to be used by patients or general community members and the pathways do not require patient information to be entered.
  • ​Patient Delivered Partner Therapy (PDPT) is when treatment is prescribed or supplied for the sexual partner(s) of a patient diagnosed with genital chlamydia infection (the index patient). The index patient then delivers a prescription or treatment to their partner(s). Clinical trials have shown that PDPT with a single 1 gram dose of oral azithromycin for chlamydia is a safe and effective method of treating sexual partner(s) of people with chlamydia.
  • The mpox information for health professionals section has information for clinicians treating patients with mpox who require hospitalisation, management of ocular mpox infections and guidance for infection prevention and control.
  • Australian PrEP Guidelines have recommendations to support clinicians in prescribing HIV PrEP using approved coformulated tenofovir and emtricitabine medications, as well as bioequivalent generic drugs available through self-importation, private prescription, or participation in Australian PrEP clinical trials.
  • Australasian Contact Tracing Guidelines have recommendations to support clinicians in contact tracing for STIs and blood borne viruses. They outline best practice approaches and practical tools to assist in notifying contacts for timely testing, treatment, and support.
  • ASHM Testing Portal: National HIV Testing Policy, National Hepatitis C Testing Policy and National Hepatitis B Testing Policy provides information for health professionals ordering HIV, hepatitis C and hepatitis B tests and receiving, interpreting and delivering results to patients.
  • Australian National Guidelines for Post-Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP) after Non-Occupational and Occupational Exposure to HIV outline the management of individuals who have been exposed (or potentially exposed) to HIV in non-occupational and occupational settings. Risk of transmission, the timing of PEP, baseline assessment, preferred regimen and follow-up are outlined. Also included is the use of HIV PEP in the era of the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS)-subsidised HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP).

​Sexual health tools​​​​​​​​

Decision-making tools are available to assist clinicians and sexual health workers to have conversations around sexual health, and support routine and guideline-based testing.​

  • ​The STI Testing Tool​​ guides health professionals to support routine and guideline based testing for STIs.
  • The ASHM Decision Making in PrEP Tool​​ is a two-page tool specifically designed for primary care providers, highlighting the crucial role of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) in reducing the transmission of HIV.
  • The ASHM Decision Making in HIV PEP tool provides clinicians with considerations around and guidance on prescribing HIV post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) in Australia.
  • The ASHM Doxy-PEP Decision Making Tool supports prescribing doxycycline post-exposure prophylaxis (Doxy-PEP) to gay and bisexual men and transgender women at increased risk of syphilis.​
  • The ASHM Could It Be Syphilis?​​​ Clinical Indicator Tool for healthcare workers provides information on priority populations for testing, syphilis symptoms, who to test, and treatment of syphilis.
  • The ASHM syphilis decision-making tool​ provides a quick reference resource for primary care professionals to streamline the decision-making process, ensuring accurate and timely care syphilis management, including screening, testing, and treatment protocols.

​​NSW Hea​lth policies,​ directives and guidelines

NSW Health organisations are required to comply with all policy directives and are encouraged to adhere to guidelines, as these represent best practice.​

STI and HIV Notifi​​cation Forms

The Public Health Act 2010​ requires that certain medical conditions be notified to the relevant NSW public health unit​. A number of other medical conditions are also required to be notified under the Public Health Act 2010. See Schedule 1 Scheduled medical conditions​ and Schedule 2 Notifiable diseases​ for the full list of notifiable conditions.

​​STI and BBV professional organisation / peak bod​​y

​​​ASHM is a peak organisation of health professionals in Australia and New Zealand who work in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), viral hepatitis, other blood-borne viruses and sexually transmissible infections.

Health promotion support

PlaySafe Pro is designed for professionals working with young people in NSW. PlaySafe Pro provides information and resources for youth workers and health professionals on how to start conversations around safer sex. Services can order free condoms.

Current as at: Wednesday 3 December 2025
Contact page owner: Centre for Population Health