People at high risk of HIV would be given cheap access to a breakthrough preventative medicine under a federal Labor plan to make Australia the first nation in the world to win the fight against the virus that causes AIDS.
The opposition's $53 million plan would dramatically expand state trials of the drug PrEP until it is approved for a federal subsidy, increase funding for HIV peak bodies and tackle rising transmission rates in Aboriginal communities.
Opposition health spokeswoman Catherine King will announce the package - which aims to bring the number of new HIV cases down from about 1000 a year to almost zero - on Monday, promising to deliver it if Labor wins the next election.
"In the 1980s the Hawke Labor government led the world with its response to the epidemic. Now, we need to renew the effort to make HIV history," Ms King said.
The plan draws from a blueprint developed by the Australian Federation of AIDS Organisations, which says the investment will eventually deliver $2 billion worth of savings to the federal budget through lower health costs.
Under the plan, state and territory PrEP trials will be expanded to an extra 17,500 people - allowing them to pay as little as $6.30 for a drug that can cost up to $1200.
Federal health authorities are currently considering listing PrEP - commonly known as Truvada - on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. However a listing has been repeatedly delayed because of cost concerns.
HIV advocates say the antiretroviral drug is so popular among gay men - the people most likely to contract the virus - it could slash the number of transmissions across the country. It is up to 99 per cent effective in preventing HIV infection.
Melbourne man Chris Williams has been using PrEP for nearly three years. He originally went through the daunting and anxiety-inducing process of importing it from overseas before managing to get on a government trial.
"It was a no-brainer. Why wouldn't I take this pill that ensures I am protected, all day every day, around the clock, no matter what happens?" he said.
But Mr Williams' trial is currently scheduled to end next year, leaving Mr Williams and many others like him in an uncertain position. In the ongoing absence of a PBS listing, extending and expanding those trials is a "good solution", he says.
Labor's package would also restore $10 million a year to HIV peak organisations such as the AFAO and commit $3 million a year to reach, test and treat "hidden" pockets of the disease, including among Aboriginal people and non-English speaking migrants.
Darryl O'Donnell from AFAO said Labor's package would help groups like their's "go the extra mile" towards ending HIV transmission. The Turnbull government has also been presented with the AFAO blueprint but is yet to commit to funding it.
The main method of HIV transmission in Australia continues to be sexual contact between men, which accounts for 68 per cent of notifications. A further 20 per cent of cases were attributed to heterosexual sex and 8 per cent to injecting drug use.
Over a quarter of the new HIV notifications in 2015 were late, meaning people were likely to have been living with HIV for at least four years without being tested.
At the end of 2015, an estimated 25,313 people were living with HIV in Australia - with an estimated 2619 unaware of their HIV-positive status. There have been 36,171 cases of HIV diagnosed in Australia between the first diagnoses in 1982 and December 21, 2015.
