Pre-employment medicals: comparison for Australian employers

Compare Sonic HealthPlus and Employment Medicine against the same job demands, then choose on the proposed assessment, employer-facing report and written booking terms—not the length of the test list.

Compare the providers on three essentials

Sonic HealthPlus

• Published assessment scope: Sonic’s preparation document describes clinically indicated measurements including height, weight, urinalysis and vision, plus a doctor-performed physical assessment. Its functional assessment may test flexibility, upper-body and core strength, and general fitness.[5]
• Reporting arrangements: The cited preparation document does not state the employer-report format, delivery pathway, turnaround or clarification process; confirm these in writing.[5]
• Booking conditions: Sonic requires one business day’s cancellation notice through its bookings service.[5]

Employment Medicine

• Published assessment scope: Employment Medicine describes role confirmation, identity and consent checks, a questionnaire, clinical interview and examination, with possible vision, hearing, drug and alcohol, urinalysis or protocol-required testing. It says not every candidate receives every test.[7]
• Reporting arrangements: The report is completed against the referral and usually returned to the referring employer or authorised organisation through the booking pathway. Complex fitness questions can be escalated to specialist services.[7]
• Booking conditions: Bookings and reports run through its online system, InjuryEX. Appointment duration varies from a brief assessment to a longer, multi-test industry medical.[7]

Send both providers the same referral before comparing quotes. Sonic HealthPlus’s locations page lists clinics including Adelaide CBD,[11] and Employment Medicine’s locations page lists its primary clinic at Parafield Airport.[12] Ask each to confirm appointment availability and proposed scope; more detailed public documentation is not, by itself, a reason to choose a service. [5][7]

Send a role brief that makes each test explainable

Build the referral around the details Employment Medicine requests and the demands Lyrebird Health recommends describing:[7][10]

• Role and duties: position title, inherent requirements, physical and cognitive demands, and safety-critical duties.[7][10]
• Working conditions: hazards, site conditions and roster.[7][10]
• Standards and paperwork: applicable industry standards, required forms and any tests already requested.[7]
• Possible adjustments: proposed modified duties for the clinician to consider.[10]

Separate established protocol requirements from tests you or the provider are proposing. Employment Medicine says some rail, mining and coal, commercial-driver, seafarer, and oil-and-gas protocols prescribe forms, test batteries and fitness criteria; these are not presented as a standard package for every job.[7]

Ask both providers to explain each proposed component, role-related reason and intended report output:

“Which stated duty, hazard or applicable protocol does each component address, and what decision will its result help inform? Please distinguish protocol requirements from other proposed components.”

Ask the clinician to explain test selection and interpretation rather than supplying employer-designed thresholds.

Agree on consent and information sharing

Consent is required for pre-employment screening, according to myGov. Equal Opportunity SA says using medical information to deny someone a job they are fit to do is discrimination.[1][3]

Sprintlaw recommends necessary, proportionate requests focused on safe performance of inherent requirements, with or without adjustments—not diagnosis for its own sake.[9] Turn its privacy safeguards into questions:

• What information will be collected, and why is it needed?[9]
• Who receives it, who can access it, and how will it be stored and retained?[9]
• How does consent distinguish the assessment, employer-facing disclosure and contact with a treating practitioner?[9]

Sprintlaw recommends informed, voluntary, specific and current consent. For direct treating-practitioner contact, it recommends written, time-limited consent identifying the information sought.[9]

Dociva notes that privacy coverage differs for prospective employees, employee records, contractors and public-sector workers, with jurisdiction-specific requirements also relevant.[8] Confirm the applicable privacy, discrimination and employment requirements with qualified advisers.

Specify a useful employer-facing report

Request advice against the actual duties rather than an unexplained fitness label. Lyrebird Health’s functional-report guidance provides a useful checklist to discuss with the provider:[10]

• Assessment basis: role and duties considered, information sources and effective date.[10]
• Functional advice: specific restrictions, permitted hours or shifts and possible adjustments.[10]
• Timeframe and gaps: restriction duration, review date, and any unavailable information or examination.[10]
• Clinician details: name, qualifications, contact details and signature.[10]

Restrictions might concern lifting, overhead work, prolonged standing, driving, night shifts, concentration or breaks. “Light duties” alone does not explain the practical limits.[10] Use the clinical advice to inform the employment decision, not as an automatic hiring verdict.

If practical questions remain, ask:

• Which listed duties are affected by the restriction?[8][10]
• What adjustment could address it—for example, changes to hours, equipment or exposure?[8][10]
• When, or under what circumstances, should it be reviewed?[8][10]

For unclear or conflicting information, Sprintlaw recommends considering targeted clarification first, including specific consent for clarification from a treating practitioner, rather than automatically commissioning another assessment.[9]

Agree on the requested report content before booking. Ask who will answer post-report questions and whether that clinician will have the referral and assessment information available.

Check the full quote and booking terms

Neither provider’s cited page publishes a package price, so ask each for a written quote against the same role brief, with follow-up costs listed separately from the initial assessment. Sonic says drug-screen confirmation attracts an additional, unspecified charge; confirmatory testing does not itself mean a positive result.[5]

The cited Sonic HealthPlus and Employment Medicine pages do not establish matching geographic coverage or identical protocols. They also do not state fixed package prices, itemised additional-test charges, minimum orders, contract or refund terms, late-cancellation fees, report turnaround times or included clinician-review rounds.[5][7]

What to confirm with each provider

• Components and total: Employment Medicine says core elements usually include history taking, physical examination and further testing, with additional components for industry medicals.[7] Request any role-specific additions, each component’s charge and the total payable, including any minimum-order or contract commitment. Ask how a changed role brief would affect the quote.
• Extra tests: agree who can authorise additional testing, how candidates will be informed and whether approval is required before costs are incurred.
• Confirmation testing: ask what happens while results are pending, who communicates updates and how any extra charge is approved. Obtain Sonic’s confirmation-testing charge.
• Booking and delivery: confirm the clinic location, appointment availability, expected appointment length, report delivery estimate, recipient and contact for delays.
• Cancellation and refunds: Sonic asks for one business day’s notice of cancellation.[5] Ask both providers what fees or refunds apply to late cancellation, rescheduling or an incomplete assessment.
• Clinician follow-up: establish whether clarification is included, what triggers reassessment and whether either attracts another fee.

Choose on the response to your referral: role-linked scope, useful reporting, suitable location and timing, and clear total charges and follow-up arrangements.

References

1. Pre-employment screening | myGov (my.gov.au)
3. Pre-employment medicals | Equal Opportunity SA (sa.gov.au)
5. Sonic (sonichealthplus.com.au)
7. Pre-Employment Medical Australia | What’s Included | Employment Medicine (employmentmedicine.com.au)
8. What Medical Information Can Employers Ask For (dociva.com.au)
9. What Medical Information Can Employers Ask | Sprintlaw Australia (sprintlaw.com.au)
10. Medical Clearance Certificate for Work: Australian Guide | Lyrebird Health (lyrebirdhealth.com, 2026)
11. Sonic HealthPlus (sonichealthplus.com.au)
12. Locations | Employment Medicine (employmentmedicine.com.au)