Port Moresby, Lae, the Highlands and remote sites
Medical Repatriation from Papua New Guinea to Australia
Papua New Guinea has limited specialist and intensive care, so seriously ill or injured patients are regularly flown to Australia. Cairns is less than two hours from Port Moresby, and Brisbane about three, which makes PNG one of the shortest international transfers we arrange.
Send patient details
A few details is enough. A coordinator calls you back to go through the rest.
What situations do Australians face in Papua New Guinea?
Many of the patients are not tourists. They are mining, energy and construction workers, aid and government staff, and PNG nationals referred for treatment. The planning often involves an employer's medical team as much as a family.
Trauma
Road crashes, workplace injuries and injuries from violence that need surgery or intensive care beyond what is available locally.
Workers at remote sites
Patients at mine, gas and project sites in the Highlands, Gulf or Western Province are usually flown to Port Moresby or Lae first, then on to Australia.
Severe malaria and infections
Malaria, sepsis and other infections that progress to organ failure and need intensive care.
Pregnancy and newborn emergencies
Serious complications in expatriate and visiting women, and newborns who need specialist care.
How do hospitals in Papua New Guinea handle discharge for a transfer?
In Port Moresby, patients are usually at Pacific International Hospital or Port Moresby General Hospital. In Lae, the main hospital is Angau Memorial. Records can be short, so our doctor fills the gaps by phone with the treating doctor or the site medic before the aircraft leaves.
For workers, discharge is usually arranged with the employer's medical provider, who authorises the transfer and often arranges the first flight from site. Security matters in Port Moresby, so the ambulance run to Jacksons Airport is planned with the hospital and, where relevant, the employer's security team.
Commercial stretcher or dedicated jet: which is right?
Seated with a medical escort
Scheduled flights to Brisbane and Cairns are short, and a stable patient who can sit up may fly with a nurse escort, subject to the airline's medical clearance.
Commercial airline stretcher
Stretcher places on scheduled PNG flights are limited and not available on every service. Most patients who need to lie flat travel by air ambulance.
Dedicated air ambulance jet
The usual option from PNG. A King Air or Learjet reaches Cairns in about one and a half to two hours, and a jet reaches Brisbane in about three, with no fuel stop.
Cairns suits patients who need intensive care quickly; Brisbane suits those who need specialist services Cairns doesn't offer.
How stretcher repatriation compares in costWhat documents are needed?
We need the passport, the treating doctor's report and, for workers, the employer's authority to proceed. A short summary from the site clinic of what happened and what treatment was given helps the Australian team a great deal.
PNG nationals and other non-Australians need an Australian visa before they can be flown in for treatment, and the receiving hospital will want confirmation of who is paying. Starting both on the first call is the biggest single thing that shortens the wait.
Which routes do we fly from Papua New Guinea?
All routes we flyThe two main routes from PNG into Australia:
FAQ
Repatriation from Papua New Guinea: common questions
Last reviewed 9 November 2026. Read alongside official travel advice: Travel advice: Papua New Guinea (Smartraveller, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade); Travel insurance (Smartraveller, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade); IATA Medical Manual (International Air Transport Association).
International medical repatriation guide