01Referral criteria
Who this service is right for
Persistent pain, a diagnostic question worth answering, or a patient who has run out of first-line options. If it fits one of these, it fits us.
Pain persisting beyond twelve weeks
Pain that has outlasted the expected healing time for the injury or episode, with or without imaging findings.
Nerve pain that has not settled
Radicular or neuropathic pain unresponsive to a reasonable trial of first-line medication and activity advice.
A diagnostic question worth answering
Where a targeted block would confirm or exclude a pain source, and that answer would change the plan.
Function lost, not just pain reported
Sleep, work, caring roles or mobility affected — the cases where a combined medical and rehabilitation plan does most.
Medication review needed
Escalating analgesia, opioid dependence concerns, or a patient asking to come off medication safely.
Second opinion before surgery
Patients weighing an operation who want the non-surgical options set out plainly first.
NoteSend elsewhere
Four things we would rather you did not wait on us for
- Suspected cauda equina, cord compression, or new progressive neurology — send to the emergency department, do not refer here.
- Undiagnosed weight loss, fever or night pain suggesting infection or malignancy — investigate first.
- Acute post-operative pain within the surgical team's own care pathway.
- Primary addiction treatment without a pain component — the local substance misuse service is faster and better resourced.
02Pathways
Three speeds, chosen deliberately
Marking every referral urgent slows the genuinely urgent ones down. These are the three routes and what each one commits us to.
01Routine
Assessed within one to two business days
The standard route for persistent pain. Triaged on receipt, with an appointment offer sent to the patient directly and a copy to you.
02Expedited
Same-day triage, earliest available clinic
For uncontrolled pain, a rapidly deteriorating function, or a patient at risk of losing work or a caring role. Mark the referral URGENT and call the referrer line.
03Emergency
Do not use this service
Suspected cauda equina, cord compression, new severe neurological deficit or possible spinal infection go straight to the emergency department.
03What to include
Six lines that let us triage on the first read
A referral with these details is booked directly. A referral without them usually costs the patient a phone call and a week.
The pain story in three lines
Onset, site and radiation, what makes it better or worse, and what has changed recently.
What has already been tried
Medications with doses and outcomes, physiotherapy, injections, psychology, and why each stopped.
Current medication list
Including analgesia, anticoagulants and any immunosuppression — these change procedure planning.
Relevant imaging
Report and date, and where the images can be retrieved. Please do not delay a referral to obtain new imaging.
Comorbidities and red flags considered
Diabetes, cardiac history, anticoagulation, and any red flags you have already excluded.
What you want from us
Opinion only, diagnostic block, procedure, or medication review — a stated question gets a direct answer.
FormPrintable template
A referral sheet, not a PDF hunt
Print this page's template, or dictate straight down the list into your own system. Either is accepted — the content matters, the letterhead does not.
Referral to Australia Pain Management
Specialist pain medicine referral
Level 2, 48 Macquarie Street · Sydney, NSW 2000 · +61 2 8000 0000 · care@australiapainmanagement.com.au
- 01Patient name, date of birth, contact number and address
- 02Referring practice, referrer name and direct contact
- 03Presenting pain: site, duration, radiation, character
- 04Impact on sleep, work and daily function
- 05Treatments tried, with doses and outcomes
- 06Current medications, including anticoagulants
- 07Allergies and relevant comorbidities
- 08Imaging performed, with dates and where held
- 09Red flags considered and excluded
- 10Question for the pain service, and urgency
Urgency (circle one): Routine · Expedited — Referrer signature and date:
04What you get back
Correspondence you can put straight in the record
Nothing about this service should create work for your practice.
After triage
Confirmation that the referral is accepted, the pathway it has been placed on, and the appointment offered to the patient.
After clinic
A letter stating the working diagnosis, the plan, the medication changes proposed and precisely what we are asking the practice to prescribe or monitor.
After a procedure
What was done, at which level, the response so far, the review date, and the signs that should prompt a call rather than a wait.
05Begin
Discuss a case first
If you are unsure whether to refer, a five-minute conversation usually settles it. Call the referrer line or send the details and we will come back to you.
Visit
Level 2, 48 Macquarie StreetSydney, NSW 2000Response
Enquiries are answered within one to two business days. Urgent clinical matters are triaged the same day by the practice team.