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Hospital and community based referrals

Canberra Health Services provides specialists outpatient services at Canberra Hospital and North Canberra Hospital.

Referrals for outpatient services are accepted through eReferrals via HealthLink only. eReferrals are the most secure, safe and reliable way to send a referral to Canberra Health Services.

All eReferrals are received by our Central Health Intake (CHI) team. CHI screen all eReferrals before forwarding to the relevant specialty for triage. If a referral is received outside of the eReferral process, it will not be registered or triaged and CHI will contact the referrer to provide support and education. You can contact our Central Health Intake (CHI) team for more information.

North Canberra Hospital outpatient services will be transitioning to eReferrals by 30 June 2025. For North Canberra Hospital specialist led services, referrals must be made via HealthLink. For all other referrals, continue to follow current referral pathways as outlined on Health Pathways.

We have included information for referrers on each relevant service and clinic page. All referrals must meet our territory wide referral criteria below.

HealthPathways provides guidance for assessing and managing a patient with a particular symptom or condition. It also includes information required to make a referral to our services.

All services will transition to accept eReferrals only by 30 June 2025.

Accessing HealthLink

If you are not a Healthlink user, complete the online application form to register.

For technical support, including error messages and attaching reports, please phone the HealthLink Helpdesk on 1800 125 036 or email helpdesk@healthlink.net.

Visit the HealthLink website for more information and resources.

Referral forms

Canberra Health Services currently uses a generic eReferral template in HealthLink.

Specific templates are being generated to help referrals to specialist outpatient clinics and will be available in late 2025.

Territory wide referral criteria

Territory wide referral criteria has been developed to help you make appropriate referrals to specialist clinics. It is the minimum information that should be included in a referral. eReferrals that do not meet the below criteria will be returned to you for updating and resubmission.

Required patient information includes:

  • demographics, such as:
    • full name
    • date of birth
    • sex
    • residential address
    • contact number
    • preferred method of communication
    • name of parent or carer (if applicable)
    • Medicare number (if eligible)
    • if a person identifies as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander origin
    • any requirements to ensure cultural safety (including family violence safety)
    • language other than English (if applicable)
    • reliance on a carer or transport support
    • reliance on cultural, linguistic or disability support
    • medical treatment decision-maker, support person or carer (if any)
    • contact details for usual GP (if GP not the referring clinician)
  • requirements for an interpreter (if so, list preferred language)
  • special needs or reasonable adjustments to be made
  • suitability for virtual care
  • willingness for surgery, if required
  • presenting problem (onset, duration, and severity) and/or condition based on provisional diagnosis
  • required clinical information listed in any referral criteria for the presenting problem
  • medical history
    • current treatment
    • previous treatment and response to treatment
    • complete and current medication list
    • allergies and previous adverse events
    • relevant medical history including any functional or cognitive impairment
    • relevant family history
    • relevant physical, psychosocial and structural barriers the person experiences which may impact on their access to services
    • existing community supports (if any)
    • existing advance care directive (if any)
  • reason for referral (such as new condition, deterioration in existing condition)
  • impact of the problem on the patient (functional impact, impact on work, study or school, caring responsibilities, comorbidities, social impact, quality of life)
  • requested planned care service
  • referrer’s details, such as:
  • full name
  • address
  • contact number
  • email address
  • Medicare provider number

Elective Surgery waitlist data

We publish Elective Surgery waitlist data for operational management purposes. Data is updated every two weeks.