AUSDRISK is the Australian Type 2 Diabetes Risk Assessment Tool — the same ten-question instrument your GP and practice nurse use, and the one built into the National Diabetes Services Scheme. This page runs the real scoring, not an approximation: the point table and the risk bands are taken from the Australian Government Department of Health instrument and the validating study.

It is for adults who do not already have diabetes and want to know where they sit. You answer ten questions — age, sex, ancestry, family history, waist measurement, blood-pressure history, smoking, diet and activity — and it returns your five-year risk of developing type 2 diabetes as a count of real people, alongside the points you can change and the points you cannot.

Everything is worked out on your own device. Nothing you enter is sent anywhere or stored — that is by design, so you can be honest with the questions and still keep the answers to yourself.

General information to help you prepare for your GP — not a diagnosis, not personal medical advice.

Risk calculator · for your GP visit

AUSDRISK calculator (type 2 diabetes risk)

A government calculator hands you a score and a flat ‘see your doctor’. This turns it into a count of real people who include you — and splits your score into the part you can’t change and the part that’s still yours to move. That split is what you take to your GP.

This is the official Australian Government AUSDRISK questionnaire — the same one your GP uses — reproduced here for education. It’s a 60-second quiz. It runs entirely in your browser; nothing you type leaves your device.

Question 1 of 11

First up — how old are you?

AUSDRISK was designed for adults aged 25 and over. You can still enter any age — we’ll just flag it.

years
Which measurements fit your body?

AUSDRISK uses ‘male’ and ‘female’ for its waist measurements and scoring. Choose whichever matches the measurements that fit your body. This affects only the waist cut-off used.

What is your ethnicity or ancestry?

Some backgrounds carry a higher risk of type 2 diabetes — that’s why the questionnaire asks. Pick the one that fits best.

Where were you born?

A handful of regions carry a higher background risk in the questionnaire. Pick the closest.

Has a parent, brother or sister ever had diabetes?

Type 1 or type 2 — either counts here.

Have you ever been told you had high blood glucose (high sugar)?

Count it if it was during a health check, an illness, or a pregnancy.

Are you currently on blood-pressure medication?

A clinical fact the questionnaire needs — never something to change on your own.

Do you currently smoke cigarettes or tobacco daily?

One of the things you can actually move.

Do you eat vegetables or fruit every day?

Every day — not most days. Be honest; it’s only for you.

Do you do at least 2.5 hours of physical activity a week?

2.5 hours a week = a 30-minute walk five times a week. Anything that gets you moving counts.

What’s your waist measurement?

Measure halfway between your lowest rib and the top of your hipbone, roughly level with your belly button, against your skin. This is the single biggest thing you can move — so it’s worth getting in. No tape handy? Tick the box and pick the closest band.

cm

Pick the band that fits best. (The cut-offs depend on the sex and background you chose.)

How to read your result

AUSDRISK gives a score out of a possible maximum, and the score maps to a band: roughly 1 in 100 people at the lowest end, rising to about 1 in 7 at a score of 16–19 and around 1 in 3 at 20 or more, over the next five years. A score of 12 or more is the conventional line at which a GP would usually arrange a fasting blood glucose or HbA1c blood test.

The number is a frequency, not a verdict. A score of 1 in 7 means that out of seven people with your exact answers, roughly one would go on to develop type 2 diabetes over five years — and six would not. It cannot tell you which of those seven you are. Only a blood test can move you from a risk estimate to an actual reading.

The tool splits your points into what you can influence (waist, activity, diet, smoking) and what you cannot (age, family history, ancestry). A high score driven mostly by age and family history is a different conversation from one driven by modifiable factors — and that distinction is exactly what is useful to bring to your GP.

Australian guideline context

AUSDRISK is the screening tool named in the RACGP Guidelines for preventive activities in general practice (the Red Book), which recommends assessing type 2 diabetes risk in adults from age 40 (and earlier for some groups, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people). A score at or above the action threshold is the trigger for a confirmatory blood test, not a diagnosis on its own.

Lower waist cut-points apply for people of Asian and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander background, because diabetes risk rises at a smaller waist measurement in these groups — the tool applies the correct cut-point for the ancestry you select.

What to do with the result

Print or screenshot your result and take it to your GP. The most useful thing you can do is turn the score into a question: "My AUSDRISK score is X — does that mean I should have a blood test, and which one?" That puts the next decision where it belongs, with you and your GP.

If your score is driven by waist, activity or diet, those are the levers your GP can help you plan around. None of that is a reason to start or change any medicine on your own — that is always a conversation, with a blood result in front of you.

Common questions

Is this the official AUSDRISK?
Yes — the question set, the point values and the risk bands are reproduced from the Australian Government Department of Health AUSDRISK instrument and the study that validated it. It is provided here for education, and it runs entirely in your browser.
Does a high AUSDRISK score mean I have diabetes?
No. AUSDRISK estimates the chance of developing type 2 diabetes over the next five years. It does not diagnose anything. Only a blood test (fasting glucose or HbA1c) ordered by your GP can confirm whether you have diabetes or are in the pre-diabetes range.
Why does my waist matter so much?
Waist circumference is one of the strongest single predictors in the tool because abdominal fat is closely linked to insulin resistance. The cut-points differ by sex and by ancestry, and the calculator applies the right one for the answers you give.
How often should I check it?
The Red Book suggests reassessing diabetes risk every three years for most adults, or more often if your circumstances change. Your GP can tell you what cadence fits you.

Related on this site

Sources

General information to help you prepare for your GP — not a diagnosis, not personal medical advice. This tool does not start, stop or change any medicine. If something is urgent, call 000.

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