New Relationship? When You Should Actually Get an STI Test

In 2024 alone, more than 100,000 Australians were diagnosed with chlamydia, and cases of gonorrhoea and syphilis have more than doubled over the past decade.

To make that even more surprising: up to 9 in 10 people with chlamydia don’t get any symptoms at all.

So you can feel perfectly fine, be crazy about your new partner, and still have no idea an STI is quietly in the mix.

If you’re starting fresh in 2026 with a new relationship, you’re definitely not alone in wondering:

• “When should we actually get tested?”
• “How long after sex is a test accurate?”
• “Do I have to wait weeks for results?”
• “Can I get a pathology referral online without the awkward GP waiting room?”

In this guide, we’ll walk through exactly when to get an STI test after a new partner, how testing “window periods” really work, what to know about chlamydia symptoms, and how to arrange a discreet pathology referral online anywhere in Australia.

We’re writing this from our experience at NextClinic, where our Australian‑registered GPs provide telehealth consultations, prescriptions, referrals, and sexual health advice to people all over the country every day. Our goal is to give you clear, evidence-based information drawn from Australian government and expert sexual health guidelines, and to make the whole topic feel a lot less awkward and a lot more doable.

By the end, you’ll know:

• When to get tested in a new relationship
• How long to wait after sex so your test is reliable
• Typical STI test wait times for results in Australia
• What “sexual health check Australia” really means
• How to get a pathology referral online through telehealth
• How to talk about safe sex and testing with a new partner

This is general information for adults in Australia and doesn’t replace personalised medical advice, but it should give you a solid roadmap for protecting yourself and your partner in 2026 and beyond.

Looking for a specialist referral?

Starting from $39.90

Request Now

Looking for a specialist referral?

Starting from $39.90

Request Now

Why STI testing matters in a “serious” new relationship

It’s common to think of STI testing as something you do after a wild weekend or a scare, not when you’re starting a loving, committed relationship. But Australian data tell a different story.

Over the past two decades:

• Chlamydia notifications in Australia have roughly tripled compared to the early 2000s.
• In 2024, there were over 101,000 chlamydia diagnoses, 44,000 gonorrhoea cases, and nearly 6,000 syphilis diagnoses nationwide.

At the same time, many infections cause no symptoms. Chlamydia is the most frequently notified STI in Australia, yet most people who have it feel completely normal.

Why that matters in a new relationship:

• Your new partner might have had few or no tests in the past.
• They (or you) might have picked up something in a previous relationship and never known.
• Even if you’ve both had “checks before”, you might not know exactly what was tested or when.

Untreated STIs aren’t just an inconvenience. They can lead to:

• Pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) and infertility
• Chronic pelvic or testicular pain
• Complications in pregnancy (including miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy, and serious newborn infections)

So getting a test when you start seeing someone new isn’t a sign of distrust. It’s a sign of respect for yourself and for them. It says: “I want us both to be healthy and safe.”

What is a “sexual health check” in Australia?

When people Google “sexual health check Australia”, they’re usually talking about a bundle of STI tests plus a quick chat about sexual history, contraception and risk.

According to Australian Government guidance, anyone who is sexually active should have regular STI tests, and you should be tested when:

• You have a new sexual partner
• You’ve had unprotected sex (vaginal, anal or oral)
• A condom broke or slipped off
• You or your partner have any STI symptoms
• You’re pregnant or planning pregnancy

A typical sexual health check may include:

• Urine test – often for chlamydia and gonorrhoea
• Blood tests – usually for HIV and syphilis, and sometimes hepatitis
• Swabs – from the cervix/vagina, penis/urethra, anus or throat, depending on the kind of sex you have

The appointment normally also covers:

• Your sexual history (partners, practices, contraception)
• Any symptoms you’ve noticed
• A brief physical exam, if needed

You can get a sexual health check via:

• Your regular GP
• Public sexual health clinics or family planning clinics (often free or low-cost)
• A telehealth GP consultation (like ours at NextClinic), which can include a pathology referral online for STI tests and follow‑up treatment where clinically appropriate.

All of this is confidential. Your results are treated like any other medical information.

New partner? When you should actually get an STI test

Let’s break down the common situations in a new relationship and what most Australian guidelines recommend.

1. Before you stop using condoms with a new partner

If you’re thinking about “making it official” and ditching condoms, this is the ideal time for both of you to get a full sexual health check.

A good plan is:

1. Both partners book STI tests (GP, sexual health clinic, or telehealth‑initiated pathology referral).
2. Ask to be tested for at least:
   • Chlamydia
   • Gonorrhoea
   • Syphilis
   • HIV
   • Hepatitis B (and sometimes hepatitis C, depending on risk)
3. Keep using condoms (or avoid sex) until:
   • You’ve both had your results back and
   • Enough time has passed since any previous partners or risky encounters for the tests to be reliable (we’ll get to “window periods” shortly).

Even if you’re already on reliable contraception (pill, implant, IUD, etc.), remember that contraception doesn’t protect against STIs. Condoms are still the go‑to for safe sex with a new partner.

If you want more on contraception options while you’re sorting STI testing, you can also read our guide to birth control options in Australia, which explains pills, implants, IUDs and more in depth.

2. After any unprotected sex (even once)

We see this all the time in telehealth: a condom slips during a hook‑up that later becomes a relationship, or there’s one night where you “didn’t mean to” have unprotected sex.

If that’s you, here’s the basic approach:

• As soon as possible (within 72 hours)
  • If the situation involved a higher risk for HIV (for example, you know or suspect a partner might have HIV and be untreated), seek urgent care – a hospital emergency department or specialist sexual health clinic – to discuss PEP (post‑exposure prophylaxis). PEP is a course of medication that can dramatically reduce the chance of HIV infection if started within 72 hours.
• Within the first week
  • Book a sexual health check. Your doctor may:
    • Do baseline tests straight away (especially if you’re anxious or have symptoms)
    • Plan follow‑up tests later to account for window periods
    • Offer emergency contraception if pregnancy is a concern
• Over the following 3 months
  • Follow through with repeat testing as recommended, especially for HIV and syphilis, which can take longer to show up on tests.

During this period, it’s safest to use condoms with the new partner, or avoid sex altogether, until everyone’s testing is up‑to‑date and outside relevant window periods.

3. When you change partners or start dating again

Australian health authorities generally recommend at least a 6–12 monthly sexual health check for anyone who is sexually active, with extra testing when you:

• Change sexual partners
• Have multiple or casual partners
• Start or end a relationship

So if you’ve come out of one relationship and are now seeing someone new:

• Get a check soon after the break‑up or before becoming sexual with the new partner, especially if there was any unprotected sex in between.
• If you’ve had multiple partners or inconsistent condom use, aim for testing every 3–6 months rather than waiting a full year.

4. If you or your partner have multiple partners / an open relationship

If either of you has additional partners or you’re in an open relationship, regular testing is non‑negotiable.

Most sexual health experts suggest:

• At least every 3–6 months for people with multiple or casual partners
• More often if there are specific risks (PrEP use, chemsex, local outbreaks, etc.)

In this situation, STI testing should just be part of the routine of the relationship, like renewing a script or getting a dental check.

5. If you notice any possible symptoms

This one’s simple: don’t wait.

Common STI symptoms can include:

• Unusual discharge from the penis or vagina
• Burning or stinging when you pee
• Bleeding between periods or after sex
• Pain during sex
• Sores, ulcers, lumps, rashes or warts around the genitals, anus or mouth
• Anal pain, discharge or bleeding

If you notice anything like this, book a test as soon as you can and avoid sex (even with condoms) until you’ve seen a doctor and know what’s going on.

But remember: most STIs have no symptoms at all, especially chlamydia – so testing shouldn’t depend on symptoms alone.

6. If you’re pregnant or trying to conceive

If you’re planning a baby with a new partner, getting on top of STIs is crucial for both fertility and pregnancy outcomes.

Australian antenatal guidelines recommend STI testing in pregnancy, with repeat testing for higher‑risk groups.

A good rule of thumb:

• Get a full STI screen before trying to conceive, or as early in pregnancy as possible
• Follow your GP or midwife’s advice on any repeat testing during pregnancy

Testing “window periods”: how long after sex should you wait?

One of the most confusing parts of STI testing is the window period – the time between when you’re exposed to an infection and when a test can reliably pick it up.

Testing too early can give you a false sense of security, because the infection hasn’t reached levels a test can detect yet.

Here are general window‑period guidelines for common STIs, based on Australian sexual health resources. Always follow the timing your own doctor recommends.

Chlamydia and gonorrhoea

• Best time to test: from about 1 week after exposure, more reliable by 2 weeks
• Why: These are bacterial STIs that usually become detectable in urine or swab tests within 7–14 days.

If you test earlier than a week and it’s negative, your doctor may suggest retesting at 2 weeks to be sure.

Syphilis

• Best time to test: often detectable by around 3–6 weeks after exposure, but some guidelines consider the window period up to 12 weeks for a final negative.

If there’s a strong suspicion or known exposure:

• Your doctor might test now, then repeat at 6–12 weeks to confirm.

HIV

Modern blood tests in Australia are highly sensitive, but timing still matters.

• Standard lab HIV test (4th‑generation): often accurate from 2–6 weeks after exposure
• Final “conclusive” result: usually confirmed at 3 months (12 weeks)

What this means in practice:

• If you’ve had a higher‑risk exposure, your doctor may recommend:
  • An initial test at around 6 weeks
  • A follow‑up test at 12 weeks to be certain

Self‑test kits and rapid tests can be useful, but they may have longer window periods and are generally confirmed with a laboratory blood test.

Herpes and HPV

There isn’t a standard “screening” blood test for genital herpes in people without symptoms in Australia, and HPV (human papillomavirus) is usually detected via cervical screening tests in people with a cervix.

• Herpes is best diagnosed by swabbing a fresh blister or ulcer
• There’s no routine test to check “general herpes status” in asymptomatic people

So if you get blisters, ulcers or odd sores in the genital or anal area, see a doctor as soon as possible for assessment and swabbing.

So when should you test after a new partner?

Putting it together:

• After sex with a new partner, aim for:
  • A baseline test as soon as you can reasonably attend (especially if you’re anxious or had unprotected sex)
  • Follow‑up tests at:
    • 1–2 weeks (for chlamydia/gonorrhoea)
    • 6 weeks (for an early HIV/syphilis check)
    • 3 months (for final HIV/syphilis clearance if there was a higher‑risk exposure)

Your GP or telehealth doctor will tailor this to your situation.

STI test wait times: how long until you get results in Australia?

This is the other kind of “sti test wait times” people care about – not just when to test, but how long you’ll be nervously checking your phone.

Australian government advice suggests that once you’ve had your tests collected, you should allow up to a few days for results to come back from the lab.

In practice, this often looks like:

• Major cities & larger regional centres
  • Many labs return STI results in 1–3 business days
• More remote or rural areas
  • It can take up to a week, especially if samples need to be transported longer distances

How you receive results depends on the service:

• Some GPs or clinics use “no news is good news”, and call only if something’s positive or needs follow‑up
• Others will SMS all results, positive or negative
• Telehealth services (like ours) usually:
  • Receive your pathology report directly
  • Contact you by SMS/phone
  • Arrange a telehealth consult and treatment script if anything is positive

If you haven’t heard within a week, it’s always reasonable (and responsible) to follow up with the clinic or telehealth provider.

Common chlamydia symptoms (and why you can’t rely on them)

Because “chlamydia symptoms” is such a common search, let’s tackle it specifically.

Chlamydia is:

• The most frequently reported STI in Australia
• Especially common in people aged 15–29
• Often completely silent – up to 90% of people have no symptoms

When symptoms do appear (usually 2–14 days after infection), they can include:

If you have a vagina / uterus

• Change in vaginal discharge
• Bleeding or spotting between periods or after sex
• Burning or stinging when you pee
• Pain during or after sex
• Cramping or pain in the lower abdomen

If you have a penis

• Clear or milky discharge from the penis
• Irritation or redness at the tip
• Burning or stinging when you pee
• Sore or swollen testicles

Any sex anatomy

• Anal pain, bleeding or discharge (after anal sex)
• Sore throat, if the throat is infected

The problem?

• Those symptoms are non‑specific – they overlap with other infections and conditions.
• Most people with chlamydia have no symptoms at all – you can’t “wait and see” and assume no news is good news.

Untreated chlamydia can lead to:

• Pelvic inflammatory disease and infertility
• Chronic pelvic or testicular pain
• Higher risk of ectopic pregnancy and pregnancy complications
• Eye/lung infections in newborns if passed on during birth

So even if you and your partner feel totally fine, a sexual health check when you start a new relationship is still incredibly important.

If you’re diagnosed with chlamydia, treatment is usually a short course of antibiotics, and your doctor will recommend retesting about 3 months later to check for reinfection.

At NextClinic, our online doctors can assess symptoms, arrange testing if needed, and prescribe treatment for chlamydia where clinically appropriate through a quick telehealth consultation.

Safe sex in a new relationship: protecting each other while you wait

Waiting out window periods and STI test wait times can be nerve‑wracking, especially when you’re excited about someone new. But there are practical ways to protect each other without killing the vibe.

Australian sexual health organisations consistently recommend these safe sex basics:

1. Use condoms (and dams) correctly and consistently
   • Use condoms for vaginal, anal and oral sex until you’ve both had recent, negative STI tests.
   • Check the expiry date, use water‑based or silicone lube, and put them on before any genital contact.
2. Keep partner numbers low and be honest
   • Agree on whether the relationship is monogamous or open.
   • If you do have other partners, build regular testing into your routine (3–6 monthly).
3. Get vaccinated where relevant
   • HPV vaccine (usually given in school but catch‑up is possible)
   • Hepatitis B vaccine if you’re not already immune
4. Talk openly about STIs and testing
   • You might say something like:
     • “I’d love for us to both get a sexual health check so we can relax and stop worrying about it.”
     • “I’ve booked my tests next week – do you want to book together?”
5. Avoid sex if either of you has symptoms
   • No sex (even with condoms) until you’ve seen a doctor and had appropriate tests or treatment.

If you’re keen to understand how your contraception and STI protection fit together, you might also like our explainer on implants, IUDs and long‑term birth control, which highlights that most contraception doesn’t protect against STIs – so condoms still matter with new partners.

How to get a pathology referral online for STI testing

If the idea of sitting in a crowded waiting room to ask for an STI test makes your stomach drop, you’re not alone. Cost‑of‑living pressure, long waits, and stigma are all reasons many Australians delay or avoid testing.

That’s where telehealth can really help.

At NextClinic, here’s how we (and similar services) typically support you through an STI check with a pathology referral online:

1. Start a telehealth consultation

• You complete a quick, secure online form about your symptoms, recent partners and concerns.
• One of our AHPRA‑registered GPs calls you for a confidential phone consult (no awkward waiting room).

You can discuss:

• New or ongoing symptoms
• Your relationship situation and partner history
• Which STIs you’re worried about
• How recently you’ve had unprotected sex

2. Your doctor arranges a pathology referral

If testing is appropriate, the GP can:

• Issue an electronic pathology referral for STI screening (for example, chlamydia, gonorrhoea, syphilis, HIV and others as needed)
• Send it to you securely so you can attend a local pathology collection centre at a time that suits you

You then:

• Take your online pathology request to any participating collection centre (most major pathology providers around Australia accept standard GP requests)
• Provide a urine sample, blood test and/or swabs as listed on the form

Because this happens via telehealth, the most “exposed” you’ll feel is handing a piece of paper (or digital QR code) to a pathology receptionist who sees dozens of similar forms every day.

3. Get your results and next steps, all online

Once your results are back:

• They’re sent to the same NextClinic GP who ordered the tests
• If everything is negative:
  • Depending on your preference and the doctor’s policy, you may receive an SMS or app notification confirming this
• If anything is positive:
  • The doctor will arrange a follow‑up telehealth call
  • You’ll discuss the diagnosis, treatment and partner notification
  • If appropriate, the doctor can issue e‑scripts for antibiotics or antivirals during the same consult

You can attend your local pharmacy to pick up medication, and we’ll talk you through:

• When it’s safe to resume sex (often 7 days after you and your partner finish treatment, for chlamydia and gonorrhoea)
• Whether and when retesting is needed
• How to let partners know discreetly (including anonymous notification services like Let Them Know)

Because STI testing and treatment via telehealth fits easily around work, kids and study, we find patients are far more likely to test regularly – which is ultimately how we bring those national infection numbers down.

Bringing it all together: your new‑relationship STI plan

If you’ve read this far, you’re already ahead of most people when it comes to sexual health. Here’s a simple way to put it into action in your own life.

In your next new relationship:

1. Talk about testing early.
   • Suggest that you both book a sexual health check before stopping condom use.
2. Get a baseline test soon after becoming sexually active together.
   • Especially if there’s already been any unprotected sex.
3. Time your tests with window periods in mind.
   • Chlamydia/gonorrhoea: most reliable from 1–2 weeks after exposure
   • Syphilis: consider follow‑up at 6–12 weeks
   • HIV: early test around 6 weeks, final clearance at 3 months for higher‑risk exposures
4. Use condoms and other safe sex strategies while you wait.
   • It protects both your health and peace of mind.
5. Consider telehealth for convenience and privacy.
   • Use a pathology referral online via a service like ours at NextClinic to avoid long waits and awkward conversations.
6. Test regularly (6–12 monthly), or more often if you have multiple partners.

Your challenge for this week

Knowledge only helps if you actually use it.

This week, pick one concrete action from this list and do it:

• Book a sexual health check (GP, clinic or telehealth) if your last one was more than 12 months ago – or you’ve started seeing someone new.
• Start a conversation with your partner about STI testing and safe sex.
• If you’re nervous about in‑person appointments, start an online telehealth consult with us at NextClinic to discuss your options and, if appropriate, organise a discreet pathology referral.

Then, come back and let us know in the comments:

• Which strategy did you choose?
• How did it go – and what would you tell someone else who’s hesitating?

Your future self (and your future relationships) will thank you for making sexual health a normal, confident part of life in 2026.

References

• Australia’s 2024 sexual health checkup: increases in syphilis and gonorrhoea, chlamydia stable, and HIV declining
• Chlamydia (chlamydial infection) | Australian Centre for Disease Control
• Online Doctors: Telehealth Consultations at NextClinic
• STIs are increasing in Australia. Can anything lower these rates? - ABC News
• Chlamydia | healthdirect
• Chlamydia | Health and wellbeing | Queensland Government
• Testing for sexually transmissible infections | STI campaign – Beforeplay | Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing
• Safe sex | Health and wellbeing | Queensland Government
• Sexual health | healthdirect
• Birth Control Options and How to Get Them in Australia | NextClinic
• Safe sex | healthdirect
• When to get an STI test | Stop the Rise of STIs
• Syphilis | Health and wellbeing | Queensland Government
• Testing periods for STD after the exposure - iSeeGP
• HIV | Health and wellbeing | Queensland Government
• STI Testing
• How it works | Health and wellbeing | Queensland Government
• Implants, IUDs, and Shots: Long-Term Birth Control Online | NextClinic

FAQs