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Helping trace: an explainer on contact tracing and how you can assist

By Oli McAuslan, updated 2 months ago in Health / Sexual health

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Contact tracing is an essential part of the health response to sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and blood-borne viruses (BBVs) in Australia.

We know that finding out you’ve been exposed to an STI is an inconvenient but familiar experience for gay and bi+ guys. Plus, speaking to your doctor or a health worker about your sexual practices and contacts can be a little daunting.

We’re here to clarify contact tracing — what it means, when it’s used, and your rights and privacy — so that if you get a call from a contact tracer, you know what to expect and, hopefully, feel comfortable assisting them in protecting the community.

What is contact tracing?

Contact tracing — also known as partner notification — is the process of identifying and contacting people who have been exposed to an infection.

What is contact tracing used for in Australia?

Partner notification is used in Australia to respond to STIs and BBVs in the community. Each state focuses on specific infections and uses contact tracing to help manage them. Infections that some gay and bi+ guys might be contact traced for include mpox (monkeypox), HIV, syphilis, and gonorrhea.

Why is contact tracing important?

Contact tracing plays an important role in managing the spread of infections. Effective partner notification can reduce transmission, prevent re-infection, and enable early treatment of STIs and BBVs. It can also help detect asymptomatic infections (when a person has no symptoms).

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What is the contact tracing process like?

We spoke to Jane Hooker from the Victorian Government Department of Health’s Communicable Disease, Public Health Protection, Practice & Response, who ran us through their partner notification process:

  1. The community member will get an STI and HIV test, and they will be called back to the testing service if their results come back positive for an STI.
  2. The doctor will discuss the diagnosis with the community member and ask if they want support contacting their recent sexual partners.
  3. If the community member doesn’t need support, they can contact their recent sexual partners themselves or through an anonymous service (more on this below).
  4. If the community member requests support, the doctor will offer support themselves or discuss if they would like a referral to the state’s partner notification team.
  5. The partner notification team — often a group of trained nurses with STI and HIV, mental health, and LGBTQ community experience — will contact the community member to get details of recent sexual partners. They may ask some questions to find out who needs to be contacted.

How this conversation may go:

Andres: “Hi, this is Andres.”

Tan: “Hey Andres, I’m Tan, a health worker calling on behalf of Perth Sexual Health Clinic. Is now a good time to talk?”

Andres: “Yes, I just got home from work.”

Tan: “Great. Your doctor from the clinic advised that you wanted some assistance in contacting your sexual partners about your recent gonorrhea infection?”

Andres: “Oh yes, I wasn’t comfortable doing it myself” (although you don’t need to provide a reason why if you don’t want to).

Tan: “No worries, Andres. As part of the process, we will ask you about your sexual partners and any details you have, and then we can reach out to them and let them know they need to get a sexual health test. We will always keep your name and all other details confidential when we reach out to your contacts.”

Andres: “Okay, thanks.”

Tan: “So, for this infection, we need to contact your sexual partners for either the last two months or since your last STI test. Would you be able to help me with these details?”

Andres: “Yeah, sure — I wrote them down in my phone…Well, there were Carlos and Ali and then two guys on Grindr, but I don’t remember their names.”

Tan: “Thanks, Andres. That’s a great start! Do you have a phone number for the names you gave me? And for the guys on Grindr, do you have any of their contact details?”

Andres: “Yes, I have their numbers… I just looked on my Grindr favourites and found that one of them has their Instagram attached… and the other guy’s handle is @Parap Otter🍑”

  1. The team will contact their partners (through calling, texting, social media, dating apps, email, etc.), inform the contacts of their exposure, and offer support, testing and treatment. They won’t bombard your contacts, but find the best way to get into contact with them. They will only contact someone via one channel at a time rather than all at once.

Some important things to know about contact tracing:

  • You can request to remain anonymous throughout the process and contact tracers will keep your name and all other details confidential.
  • It is always voluntary — you can opt-out at any time
  • You can choose to notify your partners yourself if you feel comfortable
  • Translation services may be available in your preferred language.

What can you do to help contact tracing?

Keep track of some basic contact details (name, phone number, or social media) for people you have sex with — even a Grindr handle can be helpful. This way, if you get an STI or are contacted by a tracer, it will be easier to identify who else might need to be informed.

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Stay on top of your sexual health by getting regular testing for HIV and STIs and looking out for symptoms of mpox. Find your closest sexual health service with our interactive map.

Anonymous services for telling someone you’ve got an STI

It’s never fun telling someone you may have passed on an STI. Check out our complete guide to telling someone you’ve got an STI. If you have their contact details and feel comfortable sending a message yourself, go ahead and do your own contact tracing. If you have an email or a number but want to send the message anonymously, several services do just that: