While the prevalence of HIV infection in Australia remains very low amongst the general population, and the concentration of the epidemic among men who have sex with men shows promising signs of decreasing, similar trends have not been seen across other vulnerable populations, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and heterosexuals from migrant backgrounds.

The prevalence of HIV infection remains low among people who inject drugs and extremely low among sex workers, in contrast to other areas of the world. Risk of transmission through vertical exposure has remained minimal.

The proportion of cases diagnosed late has remained steady in recent years, with the highest proportion among cases of heterosexual transmission.