All Medicare-eligible consultations are bulk billed for patients with a valid Medicare card. Some items, including privately purchased vaccines and consumables, attract a fee.
Cervical screening, contraception, menopause, breast health and fertility — the whole picture, in one place. Female GPs are available; ask for who you would prefer when you book.
Standard GP consultations are bulk billed for everyone with a valid Medicare card.Australia's screening programs start at different ages and run on different clocks, which is why things get missed. Move the slider to see what generally applies.
General information for the Australian population, not a personal screening plan. What is right for you depends on your own history — that is the conversation to have in the room.
Since 2022, everyone eligible for cervical screening in Australia has been able to choose self-collection. You take the sample yourself, from a swab, in private. There is no speculum and no examination by the doctor.
Both samples are checked for HPV and both are accurate for screening. There is one practical difference worth knowing up front: if a self-collected sample comes back positive for a type other than HPV 16 or 18, you will be asked to return for a clinician-collected sample, because the cell-check part of the test cannot be run on a self-collected swab. Most people never need that step.
Human papillomavirus. HPV is a common virus — most people who have ever been sexually active will have had it, and in most cases the body clears it without anything happening. A small number of infections persist, and it is those that can slowly change cervical cells over many years. Testing for the virus rather than for cell changes is what allows a five-year interval.
People with a cervix aged 25 to 74, every five years, if your previous results have been normal. You should still be screened if you have had the HPV vaccine, if you are no longer sexually active, and if you have gone through menopause.
Self-collection is for screening — for people without symptoms. If you have unusual bleeding, bleeding after sex, pain or an abnormal discharge, that is not a screening situation and needs to be examined properly. Follow-up after an abnormal result may also need a speculum examination.
It depends which type. If HPV 16 or 18 is found, you are referred straight for colposcopy, where the cervix is looked at closely.
If another oncogenic type is found and you collected the sample yourself, you will be asked to come back within about six weeks for a sample taken by a clinician — the cell-check part of the test cannot be done on a self-collected swab. That second result then decides between a repeat test in twelve months and a colposcopy referral.
Finding HPV is not a cancer diagnosis. It is the system working as designed, years earlier than it used to.
The consultation is bulk billed with a valid Medicare card. The laboratory test is covered under the National Cervical Screening Program for eligible participants.
Most people know two or three methods and choose between them. There are more, they work in quite different ways, and the one that suits you at 22 is often not the one that suits you at 38.
The things worth weighing are how long it lasts, whether you have to remember it, what it does to your bleeding, how quickly fertility returns, and whether it can be used alongside your other health conditions. That is a conversation, not a menu.
The long-acting reversible methods — intrauterine devices and the implant — are the most effective because they remove the possibility of human error. Nothing has to be remembered daily or repeated on time.
Return of fertility after stopping is generally prompt for most methods. The injection is the exception — it can take longer for cycles to return afterwards, which is worth knowing before you choose it rather than after.
Ask when you book. Insertion of an intrauterine device is a procedure that requires specific training and equipment, and where it is not done on site we will arrange it. Either way the assessment, the discussion and the follow-up happen here.
Some methods reduce bleeding and pain substantially and are used for that reason as much as for contraception. Others do not. Which is which depends on the method and on what is causing the pain, so it is worth raising both at once.
Most methods remain suitable, but the calculation changes — blood pressure, migraine history, smoking status and clot risk all carry more weight. Contraception is still needed until menopause is confirmed.
A small device placed in the uterus, and among the most effective methods there is. Effective for up to eight years as contraception.
For many people it makes periods lighter or stops them altogether — but where it is being used mainly for heavy bleeding, it is replaced at five years rather than eight. We will tell you which applies to you.
Hormone-free, which matters to some people. Highly effective and long lasting.
It can make periods heavier or more painful, particularly in the first few months, so it suits some people and not others.
A small rod placed under the skin of the upper arm under local anaesthetic. Very effective, and nothing to remember.
Bleeding becomes unpredictable for many people — lighter for some, irregular for others. Ask when you book whether insertion is done on site or arranged for you.
Taken every day. Effective when taken consistently, and less so when it is not, which is the main practical difference between it and the long-acting methods.
Some types are unsuitable if you have migraine with aura, high blood pressure, or a clot history — which is why it is a conversation rather than a repeat script.
Seek help urgently for calf pain or swelling, chest pain, breathlessness, a sudden severe headache or a change in your vision.
Inserted and left in place for three weeks, then replaced. Nothing daily to remember.
Similar considerations to the combined pill, so the same history questions apply.
Given every twelve weeks. Effective and private, with nothing to store at home.
Return of fertility can take longer than with other methods, sometimes many months. Worth knowing in advance if pregnancy is on the horizon.
Available from a pharmacy without a prescription, and it works better the sooner it is taken. It does not protect you for the rest of the cycle, so ongoing contraception is still needed. Guidelines describe a copper IUD fitted within five days as the most effective option — if that is what you want, ring us the same day and we will tell you where it can be done in time.
Your consultation here is bulk billed with a valid Medicare card. The device or medicine itself, and any insertion or removal procedure, may carry a separate cost depending on what you choose and where it is done — ask for the figure before you go ahead.
Perimenopause commonly begins in the forties and can run for several years before periods stop. Because cycles are still happening, the symptoms often get attributed to stress, work or age rather than to hormones — sleep that has broken up, mood that has shifted, brain fog, joint aches, heavy or unpredictable bleeding, and hot flushes that may or may not turn up at all.
Since July 2025 there has been a Medicare-funded health assessment specifically for perimenopause and menopause, including premature ovarian insufficiency and early menopause. It is a longer, structured appointment covering symptoms, bone and heart health, contraception if it is still needed, and the management options with their risks and benefits laid out properly.
Usually from the pattern rather than a test. Blood hormone levels fluctuate so much during perimenopause that a single result is often unhelpful, and can be actively misleading. Your age, your cycle changes and your symptoms tell us more.
They range from sleep, exercise, alcohol and weight through to non-hormonal treatments and menopausal hormone therapy. What is appropriate depends on your symptoms, your history — particularly clot, heart and breast history — and what matters most to you. That is precisely the discussion the assessment is designed to make room for.
Usually yes, for a period after your last period. Fertility falls but does not stop neatly, and how long to continue depends on your age. Worth asking rather than assuming.
Both change after menopause, which is why the assessment includes them. Blood pressure, cholesterol, weight, activity and bone health are all easier to act on early.
Please do. Symptoms are easier to describe from a written list than from memory, and it makes a long appointment far more productive.
Period pain that keeps you home from work or school, bleeding you plan your week around, and cycles that never settle — these are reasons to look, not things to wait out. On average it takes years for endometriosis to be diagnosed in Australia, and much of that delay is the assumption that severe pain is normal.
The same is true of heavy bleeding. It is common, it is often dismissed, and it is a frequent cause of iron deficiency — which produces its own exhaustion, breathlessness and poor concentration long before it shows up as anaemia.
Pain that starts before the bleeding and outlasts it, pain with sex, pain opening the bowels or passing urine around your period, and fatigue. Pain that is not controlled by ordinary pain relief is the part that should not be accepted as normal.
Polycystic ovary syndrome affects around one in ten women. Irregular or absent periods, acne, excess hair growth and difficulty with weight are common features, and it carries longer-term implications for diabetes risk and fertility that are worth managing early.
A history, an examination, blood tests including iron studies and thyroid, and often a pelvic ultrasound. There are effective treatments — several of them are things you may already have considered only as contraception.
If your periods are heavy, or you are tired in a way that sleep does not fix, iron studies are a reasonable request. Low iron without anaemia is common and is treatable.
Any bleeding once your periods have stopped for twelve months is always investigated, even a single spot. It is usually caused by something benign, but it is the one symptom that is never left to see how it goes.
A preconception appointment is one of the most useful and least used appointments in general practice. There are several things that only work if they are done beforehand — folate before conception, checking immunity to rubella and chickenpox in time to vaccinate, and reviewing medicines that may need changing.
It is also the moment to sort out the ordinary things: iron, thyroid, blood pressure, cervical screening if it is due, weight, alcohol and smoking. None of it is complicated. It is simply easier before than during.
At least a month before conception and through the first trimester. It reduces the risk of neural tube defects, and it works before most people know they are pregnant — which is exactly why it needs to be started in advance.
Bring everything, including over-the-counter and supplements. Some medicines need changing before pregnancy, some are fine to continue, and some conditions are more dangerous untreated than treated. Do not stop anything on your own — bring it in.
Generally worth investigating after twelve months of trying, or after six months if you are over 35. Investigation involves both partners, and there is more that can be done locally than most people expect before any referral is needed.
Postnatal checks for you and the six-week check for your baby happen here, along with immunisations, feeding support and an honest conversation about how you are actually going.
Standard consultations are bulk billed with a valid Medicare card. Some pathology and imaging carry costs depending on the item — you will be told before anything is ordered.
Cervical screening including self-collection
Contraception including implants and IUD referral
Perimenopause & menopause care
Medicare menopause health assessment
Period pain & heavy bleeding
Endometriosis investigation & referral
Preconception & pregnancy planning
Shared antenatal care
Postnatal checks
Sexual health testing
Breast concerns & referral
Iron studies
Cervical screening including self-collection
Contraception including implants and IUD referral
Perimenopause & menopause care
Medicare menopause health assessment
Period pain & heavy bleeding
Endometriosis investigation & referral
Preconception & pregnancy planning
Shared antenatal care
Postnatal checks
Sexual health testing
Breast concerns & referral
Iron studies
Cervical screening including self-collection
Contraception including implants and IUD referral
Perimenopause & menopause care
Medicare menopause health assessment
Period pain & heavy bleeding
Endometriosis investigation & referral
Preconception & pregnancy planning
Shared antenatal care
Postnatal checks
Sexual health testing
Breast concerns & referral
Iron studies
Yes. Dr Zahraa Hussein is a female GP at Muswellbrook Doctors. Ask for her when you book — if she is not available on the day you want, reception will tell you when she is.
No. Everything on this page is general practice care and you can book directly. Referrals are written by us where a specialist opinion is needed.
Standard consultations are bulk billed for everyone with a valid Medicare card. Some devices, procedures and privately purchased items carry a cost — reception will quote you before anything goes ahead.
Yes, at any point, for any examination, without giving a reason. Our practice nurse can be in the room and you can also bring someone with you.
Yes. Self-collection is available to everyone eligible for screening and is offered here as standard. It is the same test and it is accurate for screening.
A standard consultation runs about ten minutes. Contraception, menopause, period problems and anything with more than one issue need a long appointment — say what it is about when you book.
Yes, but tell reception so the time is allocated. Four problems will not fit into ten minutes, and the important one usually ends up last.
We refer to gynaecology and other specialties as needed, with your history and results attached so the appointment starts from something. Read more about how referrals work.
General information onlyThis page is general health information for anyone who finds it useful. It is not advice about your own situation and it does not replace a consultation with a doctor who knows you. If you are worried about a symptom, book an appointment or call (02) 6530 7404. In an emergency, call 000.
Bulk billed with a valid Medicare card · Mon–Fri 8:00am–5:00pm · Muswellbrook Fair, Rutherford Road.
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