Understanding your STI test results

When and how results arrive

With Prickly, a doctor reviews every lab test result before it reaches you. You’ll get an email 3–8 business days after you post your lab samples back – there’s no portal or account to log into. If you haven’t heard within 14 days of posting, email [email protected] and we’ll look into it.

The fingerprick HIV self-test is different: you read it yourself at home, 15 minutes after the fingerprick, so that result isn’t emailed.

What a negative result means

A lab reports a negative result as “not detected”. It means the test found no sign of that infection in the sample you collected. It doesn’t cover infections you weren’t tested for, or sites that weren’t sampled – a urine test can’t find an infection in the throat.

Timing matters too. If you collected your samples inside a window period, an infection may not have shown up yet, so test again once you’re outside it.

What a positive result means

A lab reports a positive result as “detected”. It means the infection was found and needs treating – and both chlamydia and gonorrhoea are very manageable. Your email is worded neutrally, for your privacy: it says action is needed, with a secure link to book your telehealth follow-up appointment, which is included at no extra charge.

• Chlamydia. Your doctor can usually manage treatment directly at your follow-up, including an electronic prescription where clinically appropriate, which you can fill at any pharmacy.
• Gonorrhoea. This needs treatment given in person, so your doctor sends a formal referral to a local sexual health clinic (opens in new tab), GP clinic (opens in new tab) or urgent care clinic (opens in new tab).

Your doctor will also talk you through telling recent partners – we can help with that if you’d like – and how long to hold off sex. Chlamydia, gonorrhoea and HIV are notifiable conditions, so confirmed positive results are reported to your state or territory health department, as they are by every clinic and lab in Australia.

Inconclusive, indeterminate or failed

Sometimes the lab can’t give a clear answer. The sample may have been too small, damaged in transit, or affected by how it was collected; occasionally a test gives a borderline reading. None of these means you have an infection – it means the test needs repeating. Your email will say action is needed, and we’ll arrange replacement collection equipment at no extra charge.

Can a result be wrong?

The PCR tests used for chlamydia and gonorrhoea are highly sensitive, and wrong results are uncommon. The situations worth knowing about:

• A negative inside the window period. The most common reason an infection is missed is testing too soon after the exposure.
• A site that wasn’t tested. Infections in the throat and anus rarely cause symptoms and are only found when those sites are sampled.
• A positive soon after treatment. Genetic material from a treated infection can linger and produce a positive result for a few weeks.
• A rare false positive. It happens occasionally, particularly with gonorrhoea in the throat. If a result doesn’t fit your circumstances, your doctor will talk it through with you at your follow-up.

Reading your HIV self-test

The HIV self-test has 3 possible readings: HIV negative, HIV positive, or the test did not work. Two things to know about any HIV self-test: the test may not detect HIV acquired in the last 3 months, so consult a medical practitioner if exposure was possible during this time; and the test is a screening test and a positive test result requires confirmatory laboratory testing on the request of a medical practitioner.

A positive self-test isn’t a diagnosis – it’s a screening result. If your self-test reads positive or doesn’t work, see a sexual health clinic (opens in new tab), GP clinic (opens in new tab) or urgent care clinic (opens in new tab) as soon as possible for confirmatory testing. You can always book a telehealth follow-up appointment with Prickly if you’d like to talk it through first. Always read the label and follow the directions for use (opens in new tab).

If you don’t act on a result

We follow up. If a result needs action and you haven’t booked your telehealth appointment within 14 days, we’ll contact you directly – by phone first, and then, where the law requires it, with formal notification to your state’s public health department or a letter to your address. An untreated infection is a risk to you and to others, so this isn’t something we leave.

Getting a copy of your results

Results arrive as an email notification rather than an attached report, for your privacy. You’re always entitled to a copy of your own records – email [email protected] and we’ll provide them once your identity is verified. After a positive result you’ll also get a summary of your care, which you can ask us to forward to your own sexual health clinic (opens in new tab) or GP clinic (opens in new tab). A negative lab report can also be viewed on My Health Record (opens in new tab), unless you’ve opted out of uploading – more on that in what an STI test costs.

How at-home testing works with Prickly

• Request online. Complete a five-minute online request. A doctor then reviews your answers and confirms that at-home STI testing is suitable for you.
• Receive your equipment. Collection equipment tailored to your exposures usually ships the next business day in an unmarked mailer box with Australia Post tracking.
• Collect at home. Follow the included STI testing self-collection guide – swabs and urine for the lab, and a fingerprick HIV self-test you read at home in 15 minutes.
• Post to the lab. Post your lab samples back the same day using the included prepaid return label – at any Australia Post Office, red street posting box or Parcel Locker.
• Get your results. A doctor reviews every lab test result and emails you privately. Telehealth follow-up included – with help accessing treatment and telling partners, if needed.

The same steps are on the home page under How it works, and fees are under Pricing.

When at-home testing isn’t right

See someone in person at a sexual health clinic (opens in new tab), GP clinic (opens in new tab) or urgent care clinic (opens in new tab) instead if you have symptoms or if you’re under 16. And if you may have been exposed to HIV in the last 72 hours, don’t wait for a test – visit www.getpep.info (opens in new tab) or go to a sexual health clinic (opens in new tab) or emergency department (opens in new tab) as soon as you can. If something happened without your consent, 1800RESPECT (opens in new tab) is also available 24/7 for free, confidential support.