The AIDS epidemic in Australia is over, thanks in part to antiretroviral medicines and decades of public awareness campaigns.  But the experts are saying that no one should be complacent because the rate of HIV in Australia is still too high.

"What we've seen over the last decade, decade-and-a-half is this continual decrease in the number of AIDS cases being notified. While it is miraculous considering where we have come from in relation to the epidemic, it's something that we have been progressively working towards over the last decade or two," said Associate Professor Mark Stoove, head of AIDS research at the Burnet Institute.

But, HIV diagnoses has risen by 13 percent in the last decade.

"Yes, AIDS as a public health threat is over that's certainly not the case for HIV in Australia," said Professor Andrew Grulich, Head HIV Epidemiology and Prevention Program at the UNSW Kirby Institute.

Professor Stoove added, "We need to focus on ensuring that we maintain our messages around primary prevention in terms of people using condoms, if they're placing themselves in risky situations."

Gay men make up the majority of AIDS cases in Australia, followed by men from sub-saharan African and South East Asian countries.  But HIV does not have to be a death sentence, as long as patients are tested and it's caught early.