Prickly launches at-home STI testing across Australia

Melbourne GP Dr Tom Morley has launched Prickly, a doctor-reviewed at-home STI testing service for people in Australia, as national gonorrhoea diagnoses topped 42,000 in 2025. The service aims to make chlamydia, gonorrhoea and HIV testing easier for people without symptoms, with results returned privately and follow-up care included when needed.

Why it matters: - Gonorrhoea diagnoses in Australia reached 42,393 in 2025, and chlamydia diagnoses hit 94,184. - Most infections can have no symptoms, so access to routine testing affects how quickly people can find and treat them. - A Kirby Institute analysis found 84% of Australians aged 16 to 49 have never been tested for an STI, pointing to access and convenience as major barriers. - Prickly is aimed at people who want STI testing without a clinic visit, while still keeping doctor oversight in the process.

What happened: - Melbourne sexual health GP Dr Tom Morley launched Prickly, an at-home STI testing service available across Australia. - The service went live days after national surveillance data showed gonorrhoea diagnoses had risen 57% in a decade. - Prickly is available now at prickly.com.au and can be delivered to any Australia Post address, including PO Boxes and Parcel Lockers.

The details: - Prickly tests for chlamydia, gonorrhoea and HIV. - A 5-minute online request is reviewed by an Ahpra-registered Australian doctor before collection equipment is posted. - Samples are returned by prepaid mail and analysed by PCR at a NATA-accredited partner lab. - Results are emailed privately 3–8 business days later. - If a result needs action, the service includes telehealth follow-up with a doctor at no extra charge. - Follow-up can include prescriptions, referrals and help telling partners. - The service is for people 16 or older who are physically in Australia. - Anyone with symptoms, or a possible HIV exposure in the last 72 hours, is directed to in-person care. - Prickly plans to add syphilis testing when an at-home option becomes available in Australia. - Pricing is a flat fee per test: $69 for Medicare card holders, $69 for overseas student and visitor health cover holders, and $139 for a Private test. - Medicare card holders get bulk-billed pathology to Medicare. - Overseas student and visitor health cover holders have pathology billed to their insurer. - Private tests bill nothing to Medicare or an insurer and are opted out of My Health Record by default. - Each fee covers doctor review, delivery, return shipping, home sample collection and follow-up. - Prickly says privacy is built into the service, with no advertising trackers or analytics pixels on its website. - Health and payment data are stored under the Australian Privacy Principles in an ISO 27001-certified medical record. - The mailer box carries nothing that identifies its contents.

Between the lines: - Prickly is trying to package a clinical service as a convenience product without losing medical gatekeeping. - The model appears designed to remove common friction points: appointments, waiting rooms, visible packaging and uncertainty about whether testing is appropriate. - The company is also leaning on privacy features as a differentiator in sexual health, where discretion can affect whether people test at all. - Dr Morley framed the service as doctor-led rather than a retail test kit, saying a doctor decides whether at-home testing is right, which sites to test and what happens next.

What's next: - Prickly is likely to expand awareness around at-home STI testing as more people learn the service exists. - The company plans to broaden testing if a suitable at-home syphilis option becomes available in Australia. - The business is now taking bookings and requests through its website for eligible users nationwide.

The bottom line: - Prickly is betting that doctor-reviewed home testing can help close Australia’s STI testing gap without sacrificing clinical oversight.