A world leading model of best-practice or a reactionary nation? Implementation of mandatory disease testing highlights laws at odds with Australia's reputation as a pillar of human rights

BACKGROUND: Australia prides itself on having 'a world leading model of best-practice' (8^th National HIV Strategy), yet in recent years domestic laws have been amended and enacted which penalise, criminalise and stigmatise PLHIV and key populations (KP). Specifically, this abstract examines the mandatory disease testing laws enacted in six Australian jurisdictions, their detrimental impact on PLHIV and KP and how they undermine Australia's world-leading response to HIV.
DESCRIPTION: As recently as 2021, the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW) passed the Mandatory Disease Testing Bill. This allows police to enforce testing for blood-borne viruses (BBV), including HIV, on people who have intentionally exposed emergency services workers to bodily fluids. This will make it the sixth of eight Australian states/territories to pass such laws. UNAIDS and WHO have long been of the view that mandatory testing should only apply to the screening of blood products for donation, and it is widely recognised that mandatory testing of HIV is detrimental to testing, treatment and prevention efforts. In partnership with the HIV/AIDS Legal Centre (HALC), the National Association of People with HIV Australia (NAPWHA) undertook a concerted programme of advocacy seeking to head off these changes.
LESSONS LEARNED: Misplaced fear of BBV transmission among law enforcement and emergency services workers drives the implementation of such laws. In HALC's criminal law practice it observes police officers reporting such fears as a significant impact of 'spitting' offences. These laws respond to the fear rather than the negligible risk of transmission. Failing to engage with the scientific reality of BBV transmission results in laws which are not evidence-based, do not prevent BBV transmission, and dramatically undermine the human rights of PLHIV, KP and defendants in criminal proceedings.
CONCLUSIONS: Mandatory testing laws need to be challenged and repealed. Together, NAPWHA and HALC aim to combat these laws with a tri-level approach. First, at the grassroots HALC provides direct legal representation to individuals impacted by these laws. Second, NAPWHA engages state and territory governments to advocate the repeal of these laws. Finally, both organisations work together to educate law enforcement and emergency services on the risks of occupational BBV transmission.

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