I wanted to start this chain to plug the awesome experience I had at Acon yesterday, but also to create a place for others talk about where they’ve had good experiences. Playsafe has such great resources, and when I went to look one up I was definitely overwhelmed by my options, so this may be helpful for others.
Through our testing link above, I discovered that Acon has a sexual health testing clinic on Tuesdays called Check Out- which is specifically for LGBTIQ+ people and sex workers. The service is free with a Medicare card and is in a very convenient central location. The amazing thing about this service is that all the medical records are linked to Family Planning, so they are centralised. Furthermore, the service is peer-led, meaning at your first visit you are met by a peer support worker who takes you through language used and asks what you are comfortable with. The peer worker then consults with the nurse before you do, so they act as an advocate. Everything was explained beautifully and the atmosphere was warm and inviting. After my tests were done, both the nurse and the peer worker offered me a complimentary play kit that included condoms, lube, toy cleaner, gloves and some toy maintenance guides.
The whole experience was ultra sex positive and information rich. It was a truly great experience and makes me so excited for the future of sex being seen as playful, joyful and well informed.
Acon is also plugging a new service called Trans Test, which is a peer led HIV and STI clinic specifically for trans and gender diverse people (transtest.org.au)