HIV/AIDS and legal issues in Australia

In Australia, a "blueprint" for HIV and AIDS-related law reform was produced in the early 1990s, but progress in achieving reform has been uneven. In 2000, discrimination against people with HIV/AIDS continues, and there are new threats to some of the very measures that are responsible for Australia's remarkable success in fighting the HIV/AIDS epidemic among injection drug users. This article, by Chris Ward, a member of the Legal Working Group of the Australian National Council on AIDS, Hepatitis C and Related Diseases, provides an overview of the law reforms achieved in Australia, and of current and future challenges. It concludes that the overarching challenge Australia faces in promoting an enabling legal environment is the waning impetus for reform, at a time when substantial areas of legislation and practice still warrant attention.