HIV Legal provides healthcare practitioners with a guide to the central legal considerations involved in HIV care in Australia. HIV Legal is a resource produced in partnership between Health+Law and ASHM Health.
HIV Legal contains legal information in the areas of:
- Testing, which includes informed consent for HIV testing, antenatal testing, mandatory testing for HIV, conveying test results, HIV public health notifications requirements and contact tracing.
- HIV management, which includes information on the duty of care owed to third parties, the management of people with HIV who place others at risk, public health duties and offences for practitioners and members of the general public, as well as privacy and confidentiality responsibilities.
- Treatment and prevention, which includes information on disclosure and other matters.
This resource aims to provide health care workers with general information on key areas of law and legal and ethical responsibilities related to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). It does not contain legal advice and access and use is subject to our disclaimer. Those seeking advice should contact their state or territory health department, a solicitor or their medical defence organisation. All efforts have been made to ensure the content is current at time of publication.
HIV Legal 3rd Edition (2024) #
Suggested Citation: David J Carter and Cara Bruce, HIV Legal (Health+Law, 3rd ed, 2024) <www.hivlegal.org.au>
Editor: David J Carter, Scientia Associate Professor, Faculty of Law & Justice, UNSW Sydney
Authors: David J. Carter and Cara Bruce
Contributors: Louisa Luong and Georgia Neaverson
HIV Legal has been published continuously since 2009. The Editors acknowledge and thank those authors, contributors, reviewers who have produced and maintained this essential resource on HIV and the law since its inception. We acknowledge those contributions to this living document here.
HIV Legal 2nd Edition (2019) #
Editor:Michael Frommer, Health and Legal Policy Consultant
HIV Legal 1st Edition (2009) #
Editor: Sally Cameron
Editorial Advisory Group (1st edition)
David Puls, John Godwin, Sally Cameron, Mark Bebbington
Reviewers (1st edition)
Julie Hamblin, Anna McNulty, Anne Mijch, Louise Owen, Sven Strecker, Melissa Woodroffe, Lynne Wray
About ASHM Health and Health+Law #
ASHM Health (previously known as the Australasian Society for HIV, Viral Hepatitis and Sexual Health Medicine) are responsible for the 1st and 2nd Edition of HIV Legal.
The Health+Law Research Partnership, in partnership with ASHM Health, is responsible for the 3rd Edition of HIV Legal. Health+Law is dedicated to identifying and eliminating legal barriers to testing and treatment for individuals living with HIV or hepatitis B in Australia. A crucial part of our work is building and supporting the legal knowledge and capacity of healthcare practitioners who provide care for HIV positive patients. The 3rd Edition of HIV Legal aims to enhance accessibility and clarity of information on the law and HIV in what is a continuously changing area of law.
Disclaimer #
This resource aims to provide health care workers with information on legal and ethical responsibilities under various laws and regulations related to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). It does not contain legal advice. Those seeking advice on individual cases should contact their health department, solicitor or their medical defence organisation as appropriate. The Editors, authors or others associated with HIV Legal accept no responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of any material contained in HIV Legal and recommend that persons exercise their own skill and care with respect to its use and seek professional advice regarding their particular circumstances.
All efforts have been made to ensure the content is current at the time of publication but may be subject to change. By accessing this resource, you agree to our legal disclaimer. We may change our legal disclaimer at our discretion and without notice. By continuing to access or use this information you accept the legal disclaimer as updated.
