Australia HIV & AIDS Statistics

back to top Introduction

As of December 2011 an estimated 24,731 people were living with an HIV diagnosis in Australia.¹

From the start of the epidemic until the end of 2011, there have been 31,645 diagnoses of HIV and 10,796 diagnoses of AIDS. Australia has recorded 6,843 AIDS deaths.²

back to top Estimated* HIV and AIDS diagnoses by year

* HIV data are adjusted for multiple reporting.

** Numbers may not sum to total due to rounding errors, people whose sex was reported as transgender, and diagnoses in more than one state or territory.

***AIDS diagnoses in New South Wales in 2008 are not included. Includes 36 people whose sex was reported as transgender.

The annual number of HIV diagnoses in Australia peaked in 1987. There followed twelve years of decline, after which the rate of diagnoses grew again to reach 1,1,36 in 2011 (after adjusting for multiple reporting).³

The annual number of AIDS diagnoses in Australia peaked in 1994 at 953 cases, and then declined rapidly to 216 in 1999. The fall since 1996 was largely due to the introduction of effective combination antiretroviral therapy, which delays progression from HIV infection to AIDS.

back to top Exposure categories

HIV transmission in Australia occurs primarily through sexual contact between men. Around 66% of people newly diagnosed with HIV in 2011 were among men who have sex with men; 25% were exposed through heterosexual contact; 3% were due to injecting drug use; and a further 3% were men with a history of both injecting drug use and sex with other men.⁴

back to top HIV and AIDS cases by state/territory, cumulative until end December 2011

* Numbers may not sum to total due to rounding errors, people whose sex was reported as transgender, and diagnoses in more than one state or territory.

Relative to population size, New South Wales has had by far the highest rate of HIV diagnoses. Victoria has had the second highest rate, followed by Capital Territory, Northern Territory and Queensland.

back to top Ethnicity and country of origin

Overall rates of HIV and AIDS diagnoses per capita have differed little between indigenous and non-indigenous people. However, there are significant differences in transmission routes.

The most recent data shows that among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people diagnosed with HIV between 2005 and 2011, sex between men was the reported source of exposure to HIV in 51% of the population (compared to 72% in the non-Indigenous population). Heterosexual contact was the reported transmission route for 17% of cases in the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population (compared to 16% in the non-Indigenous population). The number of cases attributable to injecting drug use was higher among the Indigenous population (17%) than the non-Indigenous (2%). Women accounted for 21% of total HIV infections among the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population.⁵

People born in Australia accounted for 55% of HIV diagnoses in the period 2007-2011.⁶

back to top AIDS cases and deaths following AIDS, by sex and age, cumulative until end December 2011

* Includes people whose sex was reported as transgender

In Australia, further evidence of the benefits of improved therapy has come from the substantial improvement in length of life following the diagnosis of AIDS. Median survival time has increased from 19 months for cases diagnosed prior to 1998 to 69 months for cases diagnosed in 2002.

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Sources back to top

• National Centre in HIV Epidemiology and Clinical Research. Australian HIV Surveillance Report, Vol 26, No 1, January 2010 - 2010
• National Centre in HIV Epidemiology and Clinical Research. Australian HIV Surveillance Report, Vol 28, No 2, April 2012 - 2012
• National Centre in HIV Epidemiology and Clinical Research. HIV/AIDS, viral hepatitis and sexually transmissible infections in Australia Annual Surveillance Reports 1997-2010. National Centre in HIV Epidemiology and Clinical Research, Sydney, NSW;Australia
• National Centre in HIV Epidemiology and Clinical Research. Australian HIV Surveillance Report, Vol 28, No 2, April 2012 - 2012

References back to top

1. Kirby Institute (2012) 'Australian Annual Surveillance Report - HIV, viral Hepatitis and sexually transmissible infections in Australia'
2. Kirby Institute (2012, April) ‘Australian HIV Surveillance Report, Quarterly’
3. Kirby Institute (2012) 'Australian Annual Surveillance Report - HIV, viral Hepatitis and sexually transmissible infections in Australia'
4. Kirby Institute (2012) 'Australian Annual Surveillance Report - HIV, viral Hepatitis and sexually transmissible infections in Australia'
5. Kirby Institute (2012) 'Australian Annual Surveillance Report - HIV, viral Hepatitis and sexually transmissible infections in Australia'
6. Kirby Institute (2012) 'Australian Annual Surveillance Report - HIV, viral Hepatitis and sexually transmissible infections in Australia'