Guides
Short, factual answers on condom sizing and buying in Australia. Every claim is backed by our database or cited, with no filler and no guesswork. Each guide ends by pointing you at the tool or the products that solve it.
Fit & using condoms
Condom sizes and nominal width explained
Condom sizing comes down to one number, nominal width. We explain what it means, why length barely matters, and the chart from snug to extra large.
Read the guide →How to measure for condom size
Grab a tape measure or a strip of paper. We walk you through measuring girth in millimetres and turning it into your width band.
Read the guide →Condom keeps slipping or feels too tight? Here is the fix
Slipping off means too wide, pinching or rolling up means too narrow. We match the symptom to the fix, and it's usually just a size band.
Read the guide →How to use a condom, and how it should fit
Seven steps to using a condom properly, with the fit check almost every guide skips. Slipping means go narrower, pinching means go wider, and the width is printed on the box.
Read the guide →Delay condoms and premature ejaculation, what actually works
Every delay condom sold in Australia, how benzocaine works, what the evidence says, and the alternatives if a numbing lubricant isn't for you.
Read the guide →Buying
Where to buy condoms
Two ways to buy condoms, online or in a shop. The whole decision comes down to convenience or price, and here is how they compare.
Read the guide →How much do condoms cost?
A condom costs about 88 cents in Australia, but pack size swings it from 35 cents to over two dollars. The full breakdown, from our price database.
Read the guide →Where to get free condoms in Australia
Every state and territory has a way to get condoms for free. Clinics, youth programs and mail-order, with the source for each.
Read the guide →Best Condoms
Our favourite condoms in Australia by category, picked every year since 2010. But the real best is the one that fits you.
Read the guide →Safety & health
How effective are condoms?
Condoms are 98% effective with perfect use and about 88% with typical use. The gap between those numbers is mostly fit and technique, and both are fixable.
Read the guide →Condom broke? What to do, hour by hour
A clear plan for the 72 hours after a condom breaks. Emergency contraception options in Australia, PEP timing, and when each STI test becomes reliable.
Read the guide →Do condoms expire? How to check, and what happens if they do
Yes, condoms expire. Here is how to read the date on the wrapper, how long they last by type, and why an expired condom is more likely to break.
Read the guide →Latex allergy? The latex free condoms that still protect against STIs
A latex allergy doesn't mean going without. Polyisoprene, polyurethane and polyethylene still protect against STIs. Lambskin doesn't.
Read the guide →Female condoms (internal condoms) in Australia
The female or internal condom explained. It's 95% effective with perfect use, made of soft nitrile, and only one product is sold in Australia. Here's how it works and where to actually buy it.
Read the guide →Data & stories
The Condom Price Index: condoms vs inflation
We checked 1,462 dated condom prices going back to 2015. Everyday prices in Australia rose about 36%. The listed price of a condom rose about 4%, until a war put the decade of quiet savings under threat. Here's the full story, charted.
Read the guide →The history of condoms
From a disputed cave painting to the latex on the shelf today. Every era, every myth labelled as a myth, every claim numbered to its source, every image credited. The complete story.
Read the guide →