National Referral Laboratory

Transport of Specimens to the Laboratory

National

Parcels should be delivered to the above address. Use couriers who are able to guarantee overnight delivery of shipments.

Consignments should preferably be shipped on Monday to Wednesday to ensure that the parcel does not remain in transit over the weekend.

Please contact the laboratory by telephone (08 8161 6701) or by email with information on the parcel including:

• flight details
• estimated arrival time in Adelaide
• samples included in the parcel
• requested tests

International

Parcels should be delivered to the address at the top of this page.

Please use a courier that is able to guarantee rapid delivery to the laboratory. Alternatively, consign the shipment on a flight that comes directly into Adelaide wherever possible. These include flight CX105 from Hong Kong (departs Tuesday evenings), flight MH139 from Kuala Lumpur (departs Monday evenings) and flight SQ229 from Singapore (departs Tuesday evenings). Delivery is routinely quicker if the shipment enters Australia in Adelaide, rather than Sydney or Melbourne.

Please notify the laboratory by email prior to shipment to confirm that shipping arrangements are acceptable.

Shipments containing cultured cells

Each shipment will require that a copy of our current AQIS (quarantine) permit and a Declaration of Contents letter be attached to the outside of the parcel to allow inspection by Customs officials.

Please contact the laboratory by telephone (+61 8 8161 6701) or by email in order to obtain a copy of our current AQIS permit.

You will also be provided with the relevant draft Declaration of Contents letter (as a Word file) for the specimen type being shipped. This will need to be adapted (as indicated in the file), printed on letterhead paper and be signed by the person sending the parcel. The original copy of the letter must be attached to the outside of the parcel, together the with AQIS permit. It is essential that this letter is included to allow rapid movement through Australian Customs.

We also request that a copy of the Declaration of Contents letter be faxed to our laboratory (+61 8 8161 7100) prior to shipment. This will allow us to track the shipment and, if required, assist in the processing of the shipment.

Shipments containing human tissues and/or fluids (eg, blood, urine, CVS, amniotic fluid, DNA, etc.)

Each shipment will require that a Declaration of Contents letter be attached to the outside of the parcel to allow inspection by Customs officials.

On contacting the laboratory, you will be provided with the relevant draft Declaration of Contents letter (as a Word file) for the specimen type being shipped. This will need to be adapted (as indicated in the file), printed on letterhead paper and be signed by the person sending the parcel. The original copy of the letter must to be attached to the outside of the parcel, to allow rapid movement through Australian Customs.

Alternatively, you can also prepare your own Declaration of Contents letter. It will will need to be prepared on letterhead paper, be signed by the person sending the parcel and contain the following information:

• courier name
• air waybill number
• specimen type, number of containers and the weight/volume of specimen in each container (eg, 2 tubes, each containing 5mL human blood)
• a nominal value for the samples (we recommend A$10 for the complete parcel)
• a photocopy of the air waybill itself
• the following statement,"This shipment includes products of human origin, contains no animal material and is not of tissue culture origin.  These samples are for therapeutic use only (diagnostic testing) and are, to the best of our knowledge, non-infectious. The samples are packed in accordance with IATA packaging instruction 650."

We also request that a copy of the Declaration of Contents letter be faxed to our laboratory (+61 8 8161 7100) prior to shipment. This will allow us to track the shipment and, if required, assist in the processing of the shipment.

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