How Much Does It Cost
Straight answer, no surprises at the desk.
The appointment is $120. It’s a standard 15 minute consultation. With Medicare you get $43.90 back, so you’re about $76.10 out of pocket.
The test itself costs you nothing. Dorevitch Pathology takes the sample here on site and bulk bills it. There’s no separate pathology bill and nothing to pay on top.
So with Medicare: roughly $76.10, all up.
If you don’t have Medicare
You can still get tested. Plenty of people I see are visitors, on student or working visas, or just don’t have a card.
Without Medicare there’s no rebate on the $120 appointment, so you’d pay the full amount. The pathology is the part that changes: without a Medicare card it comes down to the health cover you have, so it’s worth checking with your insurer before you come in. Tell us when you book and we’ll talk it through rather than surprise you afterwards.
Nobody gets turned away for not having a card.
What you get for it
You see a doctor, and there’s time to actually talk. What your risk was. What the result will and won’t tell you. Whether you need PEP. Whether PrEP is worth considering.
Dorevitch takes the blood here on site. It’s a laboratory 4th generation test, and your result comes through by SMS the next day.
We do it this way because a lab test on serum reads a recent exposure far better than a fingerprick does. You wait until tomorrow instead of twenty minutes, and in exchange your negative means more, sooner. The full explanation is on how accurate the test is.
Booking
Phone 03 8575 6900 and ask for an appointment with Dr George Forgan-Smith for an HIV test.
Collins Street Medical Centre, Level 7/267 Collins St, Melbourne VIC 3000.
If it’s been less than 72 hours since the exposure you’re worried about, don’t wait for an appointment. PEP is the time-critical thing. Go to a sexual health clinic or an emergency department today, or ring 1800 PEP NOW (1800 737 669).
Fees are current as at July 2026 and can change. This information is general in nature and not a substitute for personalised medical advice. Speak to your doctor about your specific situation.
Dr George Forgan-Smith, GP, practising in Sydney and Melbourne. AHPRA MED0001197864.