Dermatology referrals

The Fiona Stanley Hospital Dermatology Service provides:

  • a general consulting service, including:
  • paediatric dermatology
  • vulvar dermatology
  • occupational dermatology
  • skin cancer assessment and management.
  • a comprehensive allergy patch testing service
  • nbUVB phototherapy
  • CO2 laser and nurse-led daily admission avoidance clinic
  • a store-and-forward tele-dermatology service – this is offered to referring clinicians upon referral review if considered clinically appropriate

Read more about the Dermatology Service.

Referral acceptance criteria

  • Skin malignancies including suspected, proven and/or pre-malignant skin damage. Referrers are asked to please include clinical photo of lesion and histopathology where available.
  • Dermatology disorders including but not limited to: inflammatory disorders (eczema, psoriasis, severe/scarring acne), bullous disorders, pigmentary disorders, drug eruptions, skin infections, and genetic skin conditions.
  • Dermatological manifestations of systemic disease.
  • Disorders of skin appendages, such as hair and nails.
  • Disorders of mucosal surfaces (e.g. oral, genital) when not more conventionally managed by another specialty (e.g. oral physician, OMF surgery, ENT surgery, sexual health, gynaecology, urology).
  • Suspected primary psychiatric disorders with dermatological manifestations (e.g. delusions of parasitosis, body dysmorphic disorder, dermatitis artefacta) if the patient is currently under the care of, or has been concurrently referred to, an appropriate community mental health service.
  • Paediatric dermatology disorders (unless patient with vascular lesion requiring vascular laser).
  • Phototherapy for psoriasis, eczema, pruritus, vitiligo, cutaneous T-cell lymphoma, and other medical indications.
  • Allergy patch testing for patients with suspected allergic contact dermatitis.
  • CO2 laser for actinic cheilitis.

Referral exclusions

Due to high demand for new dermatology appointments, the service does not accept referrals for the following:

  • Routine skin checks if no specified lesion of concern, unless related to immunosuppression for organ transplantation or other indication.
  • Cosmetic removal of benign skin lesions.
  • Treatment of seborrhoeic keratoses and skin tags.
  • Treatment of warts and molluscum contagiosum, unless there is:
    • diagnostic uncertainty
    • lesions interfering with function
    • lesions unresponsive to management outlined in the pre-referral guidelines
    • Acne, unless severe/scarring or unresponsive to management outlined in the pre-referral guidelines.
  • Burns and traumatic skin wounds.
  • Treatment of leg veins.
  • Leg ulcers, unless suspected dermatological cause or when referred after vascular (venous/arterial) assessment.
  • Treatment of cosmetic indications, including but not limited to: aging, xanthelasma, acne scarring, melasma, and mild androgenetic alopecia.
  • Vascular laser.
  • Photodynamic therapy.

Before referring to the Dermatology Clinic

The pre-referral guidelines below were developed by the Dermatology Department and outline assessment and management advice for a number of conditions.

General practitioners (GPs) and consultants are asked to follow these guidelines before referring a patient for the following conditions:

Routine outpatient referrals

Routine non-urgent referrals from a GP or consultant can be made via the Central Referral Service (external site).

Please provide clinical photos with the referral. This allows for more accurate triaging and may help expedite your patient's referral.

For instructions on how to take good quality images, please refer to Note 4 in the Practice Guidelines for Teledermatology in Australia (external site).

Urgent outpatient referrals

Urgent referrals (within 7 days) can be made by calling the Fiona Stanley Hospital Helpdesk on 6152 2222 and asking to speak with the Dermatology registrar.

The registrar is available between 8.30am and 5.00pm, Monday to Friday for the discussion of any patient management or dermatology queries.

Once the urgent referral to Fiona Stanley Hospital has been accepted, please fax to 6152 9762 or email Fiona Stanley Hospital Referrals.

Emailed referrals must be an attached PDF (a PDF is a secure document). Please note on the referral the name of the doctor with whom the referral was discussed.

Contact us

Phone the Fiona Stanley Hospital Helpdesk on 6512 2222 or email Fiona Stanley Hospital Referrals.

Last Updated: 10/06/2025