Pre-employment medical assessment – the process explained.
If you’re applying for or starting a new job, you may have been asked to complete a pre-employment medical assessment. You can take this as a sign that your prospective or new employer takes the responsibility of your health and safety seriously.
Employers have a duty of care to you as their employee to manage any risks that may exist in the workplace, both for you and your colleagues. They also have legal requirements to make sure that employees in roles such as driving, rail, and mining meet the statutory standards to do the job safely.
The pre-employment medical assessment process can seem a little daunting, so here’s a summary of the process and what to expect.
Do I need to organise it myself?
If you’ve been asked to supply a pre-employment medical report prior to starting a new job, or before attending a worksite, you can book yourself in for an appointment for the standard Jobfit medical assessment. Visit this page to get started.
If your employer has an account with Jobfit, your company representative will contact Jobfit directly to request an appointment for you.
What will the assessment involve?
Depending on the role you’re applying for or starting, you may be required to take part in various pre-employment medical assessments.
Firstly, you’ll need to complete an online Medical History Questionnaire. This will take around 15 minutes. You will need a unique access code to complete the questionnaire. The code will be provided to you once your appointment is confirmed.
Then, you’ll undergo a medical examination with one of our qualified healthcare practitioners.
The standard medical examination includes:
- Height, weight, body mass index (BMI)
- Cardiovascular examination (heart check, blood pressure, pulse)
- Full musculoskeletal examination including comprehensive range of movement
- Central nervous system examination
- Examination for hernias and other abdominal abnormalities
- Urinalysis for diabetes or kidney / bladder disorders
- Respiratory examination
- Vision assessment including colour blindness
The examination takes about 30 minutes.
Please ensure that sure you bring your driver’s licence or other photo ID. Otherwise, you won’t be able to have the assessment. You also need to bring along any glasses, contact lenses or hearing aids you use.
Medical results and information
Many people worry that they won’t ‘pass’ a pre-employment medical assessment because they have a previous injury or medical issue. It is important to remember that your medical history may result in a recommendation for physical restrictions, if relevant, in order to keep both you and your colleagues safe and free from injury as far as reasonably possible. It is important to remember that employers can’t and don’t exclude candidates for medical issues or past medical history unless there are very specific reasons to do so.*
If you work in a physical role, it can be normal to have some sprains and strains. The medical practitioner conducting your assessment isn’t looking to ‘catch you out’ with existing problems. They just need to determine if the injury or the issue is being managed appropriately and to determine if there are any ongoing risks that need to be managed in the workplace.
The practitioner won’t treat your condition, but they may refer you to your GP for assessment and treatment.
Have you been asked for other specific assessments?
In addition to the standard medical examination, you can book in for other assessments that you might have been asked to undertake here.
These might include:
Work fitness assessment
If your new role is in a physically demanding job, or a job in a remote and hot environment, your medical assessment might include a work fitness assessment. This is sometimes referred to as a functional capacity assessment.
Make sure you wear enclosed shoes and loose, comfortable clothing for this assessment.
Audiometry (hearing test)
This test takes about 15 minutes. You should avoid any loud noise, including music, for 16 hours before the hearing test so that the results of your audiogram aren’t affected.
Spirometry (lung function test)
It’s important that you don’t smoke before or while you’re waiting for the lung function test. Also be aware that you might be asked to use a Ventolin puffer as part of the assessment.
The spirometry test takes about 15 minutes to complete.
Drug and alcohol testing
The drug and alcohol test involves testing your urine for certain prescription and illicit drugs. This includes cannabis, opiates (heroin), methamphetamines, amphetamines, benzodiazepines (antidepressants and sleeping tablets), cocaine and alcohol.
You should be aware that cannabis can stay in your system for days after occasional use, and what’s more weeks after regular use.
If you’re on any medication, make sure you declare that on your medical history questionnaire because it may be detected in this test.
Under Australian standards, the collection of urine for drug screening will be indirectly supervised by our health professional to confirm that the urine in the sample cup came from you. There’s no need to worry about this process. This is always done in a professional and sensitive manner with maximum regard for your privacy.
Try not to empty your bladder too close to your appointment. Otherwise, you will have to sit and wait in our clinic until you can provide us with a urine sample.
If you require a drug and alcohol test ONLY please click here and follow the steps to book and pay online.
industry specific assessments
Other industry specific assessments can also be booked here. For example:
- Rail medicals
- Oil & Gas UK (OGUK) medical
- Passenger Vehicle Driver medical
- Commercial Driver medical
- Domestic Seafarer medical
For more information about the pre-employment medical assessment process, visit our Frequently Asked Questions page or our ChatBot at Jobfit. We’re here to help and make the process as smooth as possible for you and your employer.
* Please note that certain pre-employment and periodic medicals must be determined by our medical practitioners in line with current statutory requirements. For example, medical assessments for Rail Safety Workers and Commercial Vehicle Drivers have medical standards which must be adhered to. The standards are very prescriptive with regards to certain medical conditions.
