You’ve met someone.

Maybe it’s been a few years since your divorce. Perhaps you lost your partner and never imagined you’d find yourself dating again, or maybe you simply decided being over 60 didn’t mean being finished with romance, intimacy or sex.

There’s excitement, probably a few nerves and something you may not have thought about for decades.

When was the last time you had an STI test?

Australia’s latest sexual health figures give us good reason to ask.

The latest national surveillance from the Kirby Institute shows gonorrhoea and infectious syphilis have risen substantially in Australia over the past decade.

The figures don’t mean Australia is suddenly experiencing an STI epidemic among people over 60, and it would be wrong to suggest they do.

But they do raise an important question for a generation increasingly finding love, companionship and sex later in life.

What happens when you start dating again after spending 20, 30 or 40 years in a monogamous relationship?

Dating has changed

The last time many Australians now in their 60s and 70s were single, there was no Tinder or Bumble.

You met someone at the pub, through friends, at work, at a dance or perhaps because somebody decided the two of you would be perfect together.

The sexual-health landscape was different too.

For many women, condoms were closely associated with avoiding pregnancy. Once pregnancy is no longer a concern, one of the most obvious reasons for using them disappears.

Protection against sexually transmitted infections does not.

The Australian Government’s sexual health advice is unequivocal: STIs can affect anyone, regardless of age, gender, relationship status or sexual orientation.

Its testing advice goes further. Anyone who is sexually active should have regular STI tests, and testing should be considered when changing sexual partners or after having unprotected sex.

‘But I feel perfectly healthy’

And that’s where things get tricky. You cannot necessarily tell somebody has an STI by looking at them and they may not know themselves.

Many sexually transmitted infections produce no symptoms at all.

The Australian Government warns that people can have an STI and pass it on without noticing symptoms. Its current campaign specifically highlights syphilis as an infection that often has no symptoms.

So feeling fine isn’t the same thing as knowing.

Nor does having your regular blood tests necessarily mean you’ve been checked for sexually transmitted infections. STI testing needs to be discussed with your healthcare professional so the appropriate tests can be ordered.

When should you get tested?

A new sexual relationship is a very sensible time to talk about it.

According to the Australian Government’s STI testing guidance, people should consider a test after unprotected sex, when changing sexual partners or if a condom breaks or slips off. Testing is also recommended if you or your partner have symptoms or have had an STI during the previous 12 months.

The Government recommends sexually active people have regular sexual-health check-ups, generally every six to 12 months depending on their circumstances, and specifically advises testing when you have a new sexual partner.

Testing itself is usually straightforward. Depending on what your healthcare professional recommends, it may involve urine or blood tests and sometimes a swab. A GP or sexual-health clinic can organise it.

Many believe the hardest part is simply asking.

Sex after 60 shouldn’t be embarrassing

Dating later in life can be fantastic.

After divorce, separation or losing somebody you loved, meeting a person who brings affection and intimacy back into your life can be an unexpected new chapter.

Nobody needs a finger-wagging lecture attached to it, but sexual-health education shouldn’t have an expiry date either.

Australia is recording substantial numbers of sexually transmitted infections. Dating apps have transformed how people meet. Australians in their 60s, 70s and beyond are forming new relationships and becoming intimate with new partners.

So maybe there’s one more thing worth adding to those early conversations about families, former partners, travel, politics and whether you can tolerate each other’s taste in music.

Sexual health.

It might feel awkward for 30 seconds but that’s considerably easier than discovering later that it was a conversation worth having.