Report: Australia’s Progress on Hepatitis C Elimination

The Burnet and Kirby Institutes have presented their annual report on Australia’s progress toward hepatitis C elimination. This year’s report brings together data from across 17 different sources, to give an overview of Australia’s progress towards hepatitis C elimination.

Key findings:

• Between 2016 and 2022, more than 100,000 Australians were treated for hepatitis C, meaning 60% of people living with the disease have been treated.
• There is encouraging data on new hepatitis C infections, with declines in rates seen since 2017.
• People starting hepatitis C treatment in prison continue to represent a large and increasing proportion of all treatments nationally.
• Only around 5,200 people were treated for hepatitis C in 2022, just 7% of people living with chronic infection at the start of 2022.
• There have been substantial declines in testing for hepatitis C.
• Many people living with hepatitis C, and people who inject drugs, continue to report experiencing significant stigma, especially in healthcare settings.

The report highlights the urgent need to improve rates of testing and treatment in Australia if we are to meet global elimination targets by 203.