Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a type of virus that affects your immune system. It gradually destroys a type of immune cell known as CD4. These cells help your body stay healthy by fighting off disease.
Untreated HIV can progress to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), often within 10 years.
If you have AIDS, your immune system is weakened, so your body is unable to fight infections and stop certain cancers from developing.
Some people who catch HIV first develop symptoms of seroconversion illness (early HIV infection), such as:
Females often report gynaecological issues as their first HIV symptoms, including:
'Seroconversion illness' usually starts around 2 weeks after you are infected with HIV. Symptoms may be mild and similar to a flu-like illness, or you may not experience any symptoms.
Since symptoms may be mild or absent, it can take time to be diagnosed with HIV.
After the initial illness, people with HIV infection usually have no other symptoms, although the virus remains in the body and can be transmitted (passed on) to others.
If you do not receive treatment for HIV, you may develop some general symptoms over time, such as:
Without treatment, HIV can progress to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). Females are generally more likely to progress to AIDS than males.
HIV damages your immune system and makes it hard to fight infections and stop some cancers from developing.
Today, if you are living with HIV and take your treatment as prescribed, you are unlikely to develop AIDS and are likely to live a long and healthy life. This is because these medicines keep the amount of virus in your blood ('viral load') under control and protect your immune system.
If you have AIDS, your immune system is weakened, so you are at a higher risk of developing:
Females with progressing AIDS may develop uterine or cervical cancer.
You can catch HIV if body fluids (liquids) containing the virus enter your bloodstream by:
Bodily fluids that carry HIV include:
HIV is not spread by:
You are at higher risk of HIV infection if you:
It is possible to be infected with several different STIs at the same time. Having an STI can increase your risk of catching HIV and passing it on to your sexual partners.
Some people are at a higher risk of HIV infection because they are generally exposed to more people with HIV or are more frequently involved in high-risk behaviour. These include:
If you think you could have HIV or are at risk of HIV, talk to your doctor or sexual health clinic about having a test. Some people at high risk should be tested regularly.
You should get tested for HIV if:
Early diagnosis is important and can improve the long-term course of the illness.
Talk to your doctor or sexual health clinic about testing for other STIs at the same time.
You can test for HIV via a blood test, rapid test or a self-test in your home.
Your diagnosis will be kept confidential unless there are major concerns for your safety or the safety of others.
Whatever type of test you do, it can take 6 weeks after exposure (sometimes longer) for blood to show positive for infection with HIV.
This means that you could get a negative result despite having HIV (known as a 'false negative'). You may need more than one test over time to know for sure whether you have HIV.
It is important to practise safe sex and use safe injecting practices while waiting for your test results. These practices help protect you from infection, even if you get a negative result.
HIV is a nationally notifiable disease (Opens in new tab). This means that your doctor must tell the government if you are diagnosed with HIV. The government needs to monitor and track all cases of HIV in order to identify outbreaks and improve healthcare responses.
Your doctor or sexual health clinic can refer you for a blood test for HIV. Your blood is sent to a laboratory and you will get results within a few days.
Your health professional may use a rapid test to screen for HIV. It uses either a pinprick of blood from your finger or a small sample of your saliva (spit). You can get results within 10 to 20 minutes.
A rapid test can sometimes give a false result, so your doctor will always confirm your result with a blood test.
Self-testing uses the same technology as a rapid HIV test. It is a pinprick blood test with fast results that you can do at home or anywhere you feel comfortable.
If you get a positive result, you should see your doctor to do a blood test to confirm your results.
The Atomo HIV Self-Test and Panbio HIV Self-Test are the only HIV self-tests approved by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA). It is important to only use HIV self-tests approved by the TGA (Opens in new tab), so you know that the test is accurate and safe to use.
HIV is treated with antiretroviral therapy (ART). There is no vaccine or cure for HIV. Prompt treatment (as soon as possible after diagnosis) increases your chance of good long-term outcomes.
ART is a combination of medicines taken together to stop HIV from reproducing in your body.
If you take ART exactly as your doctor recommends, you can have an undetectable viral load. This means that you will not develop AIDS and should be able to live a long and healthy life. If you maintain an undetectable viral load for over 6 months, you will not transmit HIV to others. This is known as 'U = U' — 'undetectable equals untransmittable'.
There are many antiretroviral treatment options for people living with HIV. Your doctor will discuss with you which is the best option for you. They will consider your disease progression, how your body responds to the treatment and your general health.
Most people who take ART every day have minimal side effects.
You should see your doctor regularly to check how well your treatment is working.
Thanks to the improvements in treatment, HIV infection is no longer a terminal illness (an illness that leads to death). It is now a chronic disease for many people in countries such as Australia.
Here are some tips on how you can reduce your chance of catching HIV:
Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is a pill you can take if you are at high risk of getting HIV. It is highly effective at preventing HIV infection. It does not protect you from other STIs.
There are different treatment plans available. Depending on your sexual practices, you can take PrEP daily, on-demand or periodically. Ask your doctor or sexual health clinic if you should take PrEP.
Post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) is medicine you can take to prevent getting an HIV infection after you may have been exposed to it.
It is best to start PEP as soon as possible, ideally within 72 hours (3 days) of HIV exposure. You should continue taking it for 4 weeks after your exposure.
Some doctors can provide PEP. Otherwise, you can get PEP by visiting your local emergency department.
You can find out more about PEP by talking to a doctor or calling an HIV PEP hotline in your state or territory. You can call healthdirect on 1800 022 222 or visit the Get PEP (Opens in new tab) website for details on local PEP services across all states and territories.
Needle and syringe programs (NSPs) help reduce your risk of transmitting HIV and other blood-borne diseases, such as hepatitis B and hepatitis C.
NSPs can offer you:
There are different types of NSPs. They can include pharmacies and even special vending machines. Find an NSP in your state or territory:
You can also find a local needle and syringe program using the healthdirect Service Finder. Select 'By name' and type 'needle' into the search bar.
If you are infected with HIV, the best way to prevent spreading HIV infection to others is to:
If you have HIV, you should tell anyone who is at risk of exposure from you, such as:
If you are pregnant, talk to your doctor about starting antiretroviral treatment. This can prevent you from passing the infection to your baby during pregnancy, childbirth or breastfeeding.
Read more about HIV and pregnancy (Opens in new tab).
If you have HIV or AIDS, it is very important to stick to your treatment plan. Take precautions so you do not infect anyone else.
People living with HIV should not be discriminated against. If you feel that your healthcare team is treating you differently because of your HIV status, it is important to speak out. Some people may not realise they are discriminating, and it can be helpful to give them feedback.
General healthy eating, exercise and living a healthy lifestyle are important if you are living with HIV. A healthy lifestyle can help to reduce symptoms, side effects from medicine and improve your resistance to infections.
Ensure you are up-to-date with your vaccinations.
If you are living with HIV, you should talk to your doctor about getting screened for anal cancer.
Mental health issues can be more present in people living with HIV. If you are living with HIV and feeling low, anxious, or suicidal, it is important to seek help.
If you need to talk to someone about your mental health, call Beyond Blue (Opens in new tab) on 1300 22 4636.
For advice on living with HIV, visit the Health Equity Matters (Opens in new tab) website.
Find out how we develop and review our content.
Last reviewed: December 2025
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