- Chlamydia and gonorrhoea notifications continue to be reported at disproportionately high rates among the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population, with 28% of gonorrhoea notifications among the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population.
- Infectious syphilis notifications decreased in the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population in 2013, particularly in 15 – 19 year olds and in Northern Territory, Queensland and Western Australia. There has been an increase in syphilis in the non‑Indigenous population.
- Young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 15 – 19 years and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people living in outer regional, remote and very remote communities continue to experience substantially higher rates of chlamydia, gonorrhoea and infectious syphilis.
- In 2013, new HIV diagnoses were notified at a higher rate in the Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander population than the non‑Indigenous Australian‑born population. A higher proportion of diagnoses in the past five years in the Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander population are due to injecting drug use (12%) than the non‑Indigenous Australian‑born population (3%), and heterosexual contact (21% vs. 13%).
- Notifications of newly diagnosed HBV and HCV infections are reported at disproportionately high rates among the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population.
Each year, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Program collaborates with the Surveillance and Evaluation Program for Public Health on the “Bloodborne viral and sexually transmitted infections in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people: Surveillance and Evaluation Report”.
This surveillance report provides information on the occurrence of blood borne viruses and sexually transmitted infections among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Australia for the purposes of stimulating and supporting discussion on ways forward in minimising the transmission risks, as well as the personal and social consequences of these infections within Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. The report is produced in a format that is recognised as appropriate for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health services and communities, and is overseen by the National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (NACCHO) Sexual Health and Blood Borne Virus Advisory Committee.