Media Release
28 May 2026
Positive Life NSW Welcomes Launch of NSW HIV Strategy 2026–2030
Positive Life NSW, the statewide peer-led and run organisation of all people living with HIV in NSW, celebrates the progress that has been made in the NSW HIV response through the strength of the partnership model between government, clinicians, researchers, community organisations and people living with HIV themselves, but stresses the importance of not losing sight that there is still work to be done.
Positive Life NSW CEO Jane Costello and Senior Peer Support Officer, Priscilla Njeri, attended the launch of the NSW HIV Strategy 2026–2030 yesterday, describing it as a significant step forward in NSW's ongoing commitment to the virtual elimination of HIV transmission while ensuring people living with HIV remain central to the response.
Speaking at the launch, Ms Costello said: "Today, we can and should celebrate the extraordinary progress that has been made. The virtual elimination of HIV transmission is within reach, but it will not happen through science alone…It will require sustained partnership, culturally safe healthcare, innovative responses, and a continued commitment to challenging stigma wherever it appears."
"And let it remind us that the virtual elimination of HIV transmission is not only about reaching a target. It is about ensuring people living with HIV can live well, age well, have equitable access to care without stigma, and be treated with respect".
"Most importantly, it will require people living with HIV to remain central to the response — not tokenistically, but meaningfully — in co-design, implementation and evaluation."
The Strategy builds on decades of progress in HIV prevention, testing and treatment across NSW and strengthens the focus on equity, access, stigma reduction, ageing and whole-of-person care for people living with HIV. It outlines a coordinated and evidence-based approach to reducing HIV transmission and supporting people living with HIV to live long, healthy and fulfilling lives.
Ms Costello welcomed the Strategy's recognition of Peer Support as a cross-pillar focus area, highlighting the critical role peer-led services play in supporting people who are newly diagnosed, improving retention in care, reducing isolation and addressing stigma and discrimination.
She said, "Trust matters deeply in HIV. Our Peer Navigation model facilitates safety, trust and rapport within the diverse communities we support. Trust is what allows someone to walk through the door of a service and feel safe, heard and respected. Trust is what allows someone to seek testing, ask questions, disclose safely, and remain connected and stay engaged in care without feeling stigmatised."
"Peer support creates connection, understanding and safety through shared lived experience. It is essential to achieving the goals of this Strategy."
Speaking at the launch, Ms Costello acknowledged the leadership and resilience of people living with HIV who have shaped the HIV response from the earliest days of the epidemic.
"People living with HIV have never been passive recipients of care. They have been leaders, educators, advocates, peer workers, researchers, policy contributors and community builders."
"The success of the NSW HIV response has always been built on partnership — between government, clinicians, researchers, community organisations and people living with HIV themselves."
While acknowledging the extraordinary biomedical progress made in HIV treatment and prevention, Ms Costello stressed that stigma and discrimination remain major barriers for many people living with HIV.
"For many people, stigma continues to exist in healthcare settings, workplaces, relationships, families and communities. HIV cannot be addressed through biomedical outcomes alone."
She said, "A successful HIV response must also ask whether people feel safe accessing services, whether they are connected to community, and whether they are able to live with dignity and a good quality of life."
Ms Costello also welcomed the Strategy's focus on ageing with HIV, noting that many people living with HIV in NSW are now ageing — one of the great successes of the HIV response. But it also brings new responsibilities.
"As people living with HIV age, we must ensure systems are prepared to respond with informed, respectful and inclusive care," Ms Costello said.
"Many long-term survivors carry experiences of grief, trauma, stigma and loss from the early years of the epidemic, while also navigating complex health needs, ageing and social isolation."
Ms Costello said the Strategy should serve as more than a policy document. It recognises that people living with HIV are not a set of clinical indicators. They are people with families, partners, histories, cultures, communities, aspirations and futures. Supporting wellbeing means looking beyond the appointment, beyond the pathology result, and beyond the HIV diagnosis.
It also means recognising the changing needs and diversity of our community.
"Let this Strategy be a shared commitment to improved health, equity, dignity and connection for all people living with HIV in NSW."
MEDIA: Jane Costello, CEO
Phone: 02 8357 8386 Toll Free: 1800 245 677 Email communications@positivelife.org.au
Positive Life NSW is the voice of all people living with HIV in NSW since 1988. As the largest peer-led and run representative body of all people living with HIV in Australia based in NSW, we make a significant contribution to and positive impact across the spectrum of health and social issues on behalf of all people living with HIV in collaboration with HIV specialist and mainstream services to improve the health and quality of life of all people living with HIV in NSW. We do this through evidence based health promotion, research, policy advice and peer support.
