A strong association between frequent and regular testing has been reported elsewhere 31, and the lack of association between higher risk UAI and testing frequency could indicate that episodes of higher risk UAI are less frequent events, albeit reported by over one‐third of our sample. Furthermore, higher risk UAI was associated with testing after a perceived risk event (when compared with testing as part of a regular sexual health check), which suggests that men reporting higher risk UAI could be aware of the HIV‐related risk inherent in their behaviour and are testing accordingly. HIV prevention requires men to incorporate increasingly complex understandings of transmission risks and sero‐adaptive behaviours into their sexual lives 34, 35, 36. The extent to which men are able to do so and the level of sexual health literacy required to fulfil this task are largely unknown and worthy of further research. Furthermore, given that current guidelines suggest that individuals at risk of HIV test as frequently as every 3 months (as well as after a risk event) 18, and that men newly diagnosed with HIV are known to have been less frequent testers 1, 31, 37, 38, there is a clear need to promote frequent testing as a distinct and routinized behaviour through behaviour change interventions and to address barriers to frequent testing accordingly.