Listen to the conversation
Press ▶ Play conversation, or 🔊 on any line. Then try 🎭 Practise as "You": the other person speaks, and you say your lines out loud.
Key words and phrases
| Phrase | What it means |
|---|---|
| GP | General practitioner: your local family doctor, the first doctor you usually see. |
| bulk billing | The clinic charges Medicare directly, so you don't pay for the visit. Not every clinic bulk bills, so ask. |
| Medicare card | Australia's public health card. Bring it to every appointment if you have one. |
| a gap fee / out-of-pocket | The part of the fee you pay yourself, after any Medicare rebate. |
| a script | A prescription: the doctor's note you take to a chemist (pharmacy). |
| I've been feeling crook | Informal: I've been feeling sick. |
| a referral | A letter from your GP so you can see a specialist. |
Tips
- Say how long you've had the symptoms (for three days, since Monday). Doctors always ask.
- If you don't understand, it's completely normal to say: Sorry, could you say that again more slowly?
- A medical certificate (often called a med cert) is what most employers ask for when you're off sick.
- In an emergency, call 000. For non-urgent health advice, many states have a nurse phone line.
Aussie words in this conversation: crook, no worries.
More everyday situations
- Inspecting a rental
- Calling a tradie
- Opening a bank account
- Small talk at work
- Ordering coffee and food
Unofficial practice. We wrote these questions to match the official PTE Academic task types and timings. They are not real exam questions, and points shown are practice feedback, not a PTE score. For an official estimate, use Pearson's scored practice tests.