People registering for repatriation flights departing NZ will be made aware of any requirements around pre-departure testing by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) and airlines.
Due to the amount of public COVID-19 testing in Auckland, we currently are not guaranteeing a 24-hour turnaround time for pre-departure testing. Accepting this, if you do require a test result within 24 hours, you must transport it directly to Labtests, Specimen Services, 37-41 Carbine Rd, Mt Wellington. This option is available Monday to Saturday from 9.30am to 2.00pm and Sunday: 9.30 am to 12.00pm.
– We ask that anyone delivering samples to the Mount Wellington laboratory not to ask our staff for information regarding the time the result will be available. Staff do not have access to this information, and these conversations take up valuable work time in the current emergency.
– Results are reported as soon as they are available, so please do not phone the laboratory to expedite your result.
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Read information about the testing process below:
Travel to China
The Chinese Embassy has updated its requirement for pre-departure travel testing. Passengers must complete one COVID PCR test (swab) and one COVID IgM antibody test (blood) within 2 days of boarding their flight, providing negative results of both.
This requirement may change at any moment and is not under our control; please refer to the Chinese embassy website for further information.
COVID IgM antibody testing is available at Labtests for the purposes of pre-departure testing only.
Test Process for other departure locations
Travellers will contact their medical practice to arrange testing. Payment must be made directly to the medical practice for all associated costs of testing, including the laboratory analysis.
Time-frame for testing and results
Different countries have different timeframe requirements for when pre-departure tests are to be performed. These requirements have been changing quickly, so it is important the relevant destination websites are checked for the most up to date information.
Turnaround time for results can be improved if samples are sent directly to the laboratory (e.g. delivered by taxi or the passenger themselves) to Labtests, Specimen Services, 37-41 Carbine Rd, Mt Wellington. This direct delivery option is only available Monday to Saturday: 9:30 am to 2:00pm and Sunday: 9:30 am to 12:00pm.*
Do not call Labtests Urgent Couriers, this service is for clinically urgent samples only.
Payment
The price of the laboratory analysis is $141.00 inc. GST; this must be paid to the medical practice directly. The laboratory will invoice the medical practice for testing as per standard invoicing process.
Clinical details
Manual Request Form
Medical practices must include relevant details on the test request form such as “Pre-departure COVID-19 Test”, “Clearance” or “Travel” and include time and date of departure. This allows the laboratory to identify the purpose of testing.
eOrder
If using eOrders, select “Novel Coronavirus” and in funding category select “Patient to pay” (second option as below).
Patient consent
By requesting COVID-19 testing individuals are providing their consent for results to be sent through to the national result repository. This is a Ministry of Health requirement for all notifiable diseases. There is no requirement for a separate consent form to be completed for this purpose.
Further information
For queries relating to the laboratory testing process please contact info.commercial@aphg.co.nz.