HIV STATISTICS
HIV in Australia
In 2021, it was estimated that there were 29,460 people with HIV in Australia. Of these 29,460 people, an estimated 91% were diagnosed by the end of 2021. The research also shows that 92% of people diagnosed were receiving HIV treatment, and of those on treatment, 98% had an undetectable viral load.
In 2021, 60% of HIV notifications were attributed to sexual contact between men. 27% of cases were attributed to heterosexual sex, 8% to a combination of sexual contact between men and injecting drug use, 2% to injecting drug use alone, and 3% to other/unspecified.
Between 2011 and 2016, the HIV notification rate among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people increased from 3.6 to 6.3 per 100,000 and then declined to 2.3 per 100,000 in 2021 compared to 1.7 per 100,000 among non-Indigenous people. While the HIV notification rate remains lower than in preceding years, the effects of COVID-19 mean we must be mindful of trends over time. Culturally appropriate and scaled up prevention programs in partnership with community stakeholders must be sustained for all who need them.
Of the HIV notifications in 2021 with male-to-male sex as their risk exposure, 45% were overseas-born men.
More than 38,000 people were accessing PrEP in Australia in 2021, the highest number per capita in the world.
HIV data is collected at diagnosis in each state and territory in Australia and analysed by the Kirby Institute, UNSW. Information in this section is drawn from these reports.
HIV in Australia Snapshot
Each year, Health Equity Matters (formerly AFAO) provides a snapshot of what HIV looks like in Australia. This resource, HIV in Australia, provides the most up to date epidemiological data in the form of a straightforward infographic.