Introduction: The Northern Territory (NT) in Australia is one of the most remote regions in one of the most geographically isolated countries of the world, with many of its communities being located hundreds or even thousands of kilometres from the nearest central laboratory service. Pathology samples may take from several days to several weeks to reach laboratories, with similar times reported for results to be returned to health services. There are also many significant health issues which affect the Territory’s large Indigenous population in particular, including very high rates of chronic and acute diseases and the high incidence of preventable hospitalisations.