We provide consultations and advice on all aspects of travel medicine. We are a World Health Organisation-approved Yellow Fever Vaccination Centre, and are able to provide you with an official International Certificate of Vaccination and Prophylaxis which is required for travelling to and from certain countries.

Before you go

During your pre-travel visit, the doctor will discuss your travel plans with you and give you an assessment of the health risks that you might encounter. Your health risks will depend on your destinations, the duration of your stay, your style of travel, your activities while you are away, and your personal medical history.

Recommendations are tailored for each individual traveller, and we are therefore unable to provide specific advice over the phone. To obtain the best travel health advice for your trip, you should make an appointment with a travel medicine doctor to discuss your needs.

Depending on your trip, some or all of the following may be discussed:

• Vaccinations
• Insect borne diseases including malaria, and medications for malaria prophylaxis
• Food and water precautions
• Risk of diseases from insect and animal bites
• Environmental health risks such as altitude sickness
• Sexually transmitted infections
• Jetlag
• Deep Vein Thrombosis
• Medications and first aid items to bring on your trip
• Parasites to be aware of and tests that might be recommended on your return
• Recent disease outbreaks around the world

We are also able to provide you with specific advice for:

• Travellers with complicated or extended trips
• Travellers to remote and exotic destinations
• Travellers to high altitude and extreme environments
• Expatriates
• Pregnant or breastfeeding women
• Children
• Travellers with chronic medical problems

If you would like a general guideline on travel health issues at your destinations, you can visit the CDC’s Traveller’s Health website for a summary on each country.

How long will the visit take?

Depending on the nature of your trip, you will spend 20 to 30 minutes with a travel medicine doctor on your first visit. You will then be seen by one of our experienced travel medicine nurses, who will administer the vaccinations, prepare your vaccination records, and help you with medication kits, first aid kits, and other items that will be useful for your trip. With some of the vaccinations, you might also be required to stay at the clinic for 30 minutes after the injections. You should therefore allow an hour for your first visit.

Your subsequent visits for follow-up vaccinations will generally be much shorter, and only take 5 to 15 minutes.

How much will it cost?

The consultation cost of your visit is time based, and is similar to the cost of visiting your General Practitioner. Most of the cost can be rebated by Medicare.

The cost of the vaccines will vary between each traveller, and depends on where you are travelling, your own vaccination history, and what you choose to be protected against. This will be discussed in detail with you during your visit.

Depending on the level of your private health cover, you may be able to claim part or all of the cost of your vaccines from your insurer.

While you are away

To ensure that you are able to deal with common medical problems quickly and easily during your trip, we can provide you with medication kits and first aid kits appropriate for your trip. These are supplied with detailed instructions on when and how to use the medications.

For more serious problems, we are able to provide you with recommended travel medicine clinics around Australia and overseas.

You should also ensure that you have adequate travel insurance that covers for medical services and evacuation.

After your trip

If you are unfortunate enough to be unwell on your return, our doctors are experienced at diagnosing and managing post-travel medical problems. With postgraduate training in travel and tropical medicine, we have expertise in many exotic diseases around the world that do not occur in Australia.

Common problems that we treat include persistent travellers’ diarrhoea, malaria, dengue fever, skin rashes, respiratory infections, and parasitic infections such as schistosomiasis (bilharzia) and strongyloides. We are able to arrange blood tests, urine tests, or stool tests for you if necessary. We also stock many of the medications that are used to treat post-travel illnesses.