An estimated 17,444 people were living with HIV in Australia at the end of 2008.

From the start of the epidemic until the end of 2008, there have been 28,330 diagnoses of HIV and 10,348 diagnoses of AIDS. Australia has recorded 6,765 AIDS deaths.

Estimated* HIV and AIDS diagnoses by year

Year	HIV			AIDS
	Male	Female	Total**	Male	Female	Total**
1987 and earlier	6,846	236	7,116	762	35	797
1988	1,221	73	1,297	520	15	536
1989	1,295	74	1,371	599	13	614
1990	1,283	85	1,276	655	17	674
1991	1,078	80	1,162	775	26	804
1992	1,051	88	1,140	752	37	791
1993	912	67	986	799	41	845
1994	839	85	926	904	45	953
1995	818	71	890	773	35	811
1996	811	74	887	637	33	670
1997	637	83	721	362	32	395
1998	550	94	645	305	23	329
1999	610	73	685	193	22	216
2000	572	82	658	241	24	265
2001	593	95	690	189	23	213
2002	731	90	825	224	20	246
2003	728	86	813	227	17	245
2004	724	126	851	178	22	202
2005	820	93	913	204	28	232
2006	806	145	954	198	20	221
2007	840	135	981	144	16	161
2008	837	136	973	91	8	99
Total	23,133	2,158	25,358	9,759	553	10,348***

* 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 973 in 2008 (after adjusting for multiple reporting).

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.

Exposure categories

Transmission in Australia continues to occur primarily through sexual contact between men. Around 66% of people newly diagnosed with HIV in 2008 were among men who have sex with men; 27% 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. In 5% of cases the route of HIV transmission was categorised as other or undetermined.

HIV and AIDS cases by state/territory, until end of September 2008

State/Territory	HIV*			AIDS*
	Male	Female	Total	Male	Female	Total
Australian Capital Territory	274	34	308	94	10	104
New South Wales	14,069	956	15,283	5,524	265	5,807
Northern Territory	143	25	168	46	4	50
Queensland	3,031	322	3,362	1,076	74	1,152
South Australia	1,008	116	1,125	414	32	447
Tasmania	115	13	128	55	4	59
Victoria	5,694	427	6,165	2,093	119	2,225
Western Australia	1,316	237	1,560	439	42	483
Total	25,650	2,130	28,099	9,741	550	10,327

* 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.

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.

Among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people diagnosed with HIV in 2004-2008, sex between men was the reported source of exposure to HIV in 54% of the population (compared to 67% in the non-Indigenous population). Heterosexual contact was the reported transmission route for 23% of cases in both the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population and the non-Indigenous population. The number of cases attributable to injecting drug use was higher among the Indigenous population (22%) than the non-Indigenous (3%).

Women accounted for a higher proportion of total HIV infections among the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population (26.9%) than among the non-Indigenous population (11.6%).

People born in Australia accounted for 58% of HIV diagnoses in the period 2004-2008.

AIDS cases and deaths following AIDS, by sex and age, until end of September 2008

Age	Cases			Deaths
	Male	Female	Total*	Male	Female	Total*
0-12	32	22	54	22	12	34
13-19	28	5	33	15	3	18
20-29	1,460	127	1,602	695	50	756
30-39	3,954	200	4,166	2,487	108	2,604
40-49	2,832	107	2,944	2,078	61	2,141
50-59	1,050	48	1,102	822	35	858
60+	385	41	426	313	38	351
Total	9,741	550	10,327	6,432	307	6,762

* 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:

• National Centre in HIV Epidemiology and Clinical Research. Australian HIV Surveillance Report, Vol 25, No 1, January 2009
• National Centre in HIV Epidemiology and Clinical Research. HIV/AIDS, viral hepatitis and sexually transmissible infections in Australia Annual Surveillance Reports 1997-2009. National Centre in HIV Epidemiology and Clinical Research, Sydney, NSW; Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, Canberra, ACT