Australian Capital Territory

The Australian Capital Territory does not have an HIV-specific law, but the general criminal law has been used to prosecute a person for HIV exposure. In 2008, a man working as a sex worker was charged under section 25 of the Prostitution Act for ‘knowingly infecting’ a person with HIV, despite there being no allegation of HIV transmission. In fact, the charges related only to having worked as a sex worker while living with HIV. The law was later renamed “Providing or receiving commercial sexual services if infected”, and was then repealed when the Act was superseded by the Sex Work Act 1992. Now people working in the sex industry are subject to general provisions under the Public Health Act which require a person engaging in activities that ‘are known to carry a potential risk of exposure’ to take reasonable measures to avoid transmitting or contracting HIV.

In theory, a person could be charged under general laws included in the Crimes Act 1900, related to causing grievous bodily harm, however, no charges related to HIV have ever been laid.

The Public Health Act notes that a person who engages in activities known to carry a potential risk of exposure to a transmissible notifiable condition (including HIV) must take reasonable measures to ensure another person is not unknowingly put at risk of HIV transmission.

The ACT also has public health guidelines for Management of People with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) Who Place Others at Risk. The public health provisions are managed by health department staff, ranging from supportive interventions at a clinical level to, if a person fails to follow directions, detention. The Guidelines also refer to the National Guidelines for Managing HIV Transmission Risk Behaviours which state that the least coercive actions should be used first, aiming to place the person under the least restriction possible, and to de-escalate or discharge the person from management.