A screening tool, not a diagnosis. These are the three short questionnaires sleep physicians and Medicare use to assess the risk of obstructive sleep apnoea — the Epworth Sleepiness Scale, OSA-50 and STOP-Bang — scored as you answer. It takes about three minutes and is for adults (18 and over); for a child, please ask your GP about a paediatric sleep service.

If you have chest pain, severe breathlessness or another emergency, call 000.

Loud snoring, pauses in breathing, waking unrefreshed and sleepiness during the day are the common signs of obstructive sleep apnoea. Medicare covers a bulk billed home sleep study on a direct referral from your GP when your Epworth score is 8 or more and your OSA-50 score is 5 or more (or your STOP-Bang score is 3 or more). Outside those scores, a consultation with one of our sleep physicians can still arrange a study. A high or an incomplete screening score is not a diagnosis, and a low score does not rule sleep apnoea out — your doctor decides what testing is right for you.

    1. Epworth Sleepiness Scale

    How likely are you to doze off or fall asleep in the following situations, in contrast to just feeling tired? Think about your usual way of life in recent times. 0 = would never doze · 1 = slight chance · 2 = moderate chance · 3 = high chance of dozing.

    Sitting and reading

    Watching TV

    Sitting inactive in a public place (for example a theatre or a meeting)

    As a passenger in a car for an hour without a break

    Lying down to rest in the afternoon when circumstances permit

    Sitting and talking to someone

    Sitting quietly after lunch without alcohol

    In a car, while stopped for a few minutes in traffic

    2. Snoring and breathing (OSA-50 and STOP-Bang)

    Is your waist more than 102 cm (men) or 88 cm (women)?

    Has your snoring ever bothered other people?

    Do you snore loudly — louder than talking, or loud enough to be heard through a closed door?

    Has anyone noticed that you stop breathing, choke or gasp during sleep?

    Do you often feel tired, fatigued or sleepy during the day?

    Do you have, or are you being treated for, high blood pressure?

    Are you male?

    Is your neck 43 cm (men) or 41 cm (women) or more around, measured at the Adam’s apple? That is a shirt collar of 17 inches (men) or 16 inches (women).

    3. About you

    Your age, height and weight are part of the scoring: age counts in both OSA-50 and STOP-Bang, and height and weight give the body mass index (BMI) item of STOP-Bang. This questionnaire is for adults (18 and over).

    Your scores appear here as soon as you have answered every question in sections 1 to 3.

    4. Send my scores to Sleep and Lung Care

    Our reception team will phone you within two business days. If your scores meet the Medicare criteria we can send them to your GP to support a referral for a bulk billed home sleep study; otherwise we can arrange a consultation with one of our sleep physicians (a GP referral is needed).



    What happens next

    1. Reception phones you within two business days.
    2. If your scores meet the Medicare criteria, we can send them to your GP with a request for a direct referral for a bulk billed home sleep study — done in your own bed and reported by a sleep physician. Otherwise we can book a consultation (a GP referral is needed); first appointments are in person at Epping, Brunswick, Doncaster East, Braybrook and Kilmore.
    3. Already have a referral? Upload it here or call (03) 9422 0077.

    Your answers are sent securely to our reception team and handled under our patient privacy policy. Learn more about obstructive sleep apnoea and sleep studies.

    Questionnaire version 2 (10 September 2026). Instruments: Epworth Sleepiness Scale (Johns, 1991), OSA-50 (Chai-Coetzer et al., 2011) and STOP-Bang (Chung et al.; current stopbang.ca wording — age older than 50, BMI over 35, neck 43 cm / 41 cm or more). Scores are calculated the same way on screen, on the printout and in the copy sent to the practice.

    Sleep Apnoea Questionnaire