In 2018, there were an estimated 143,580 people living with chronic hepatitis C in Australia. In addition to its potential health effects, people living with the hepatitis C are frequently subject to stigma and discrimination, largely because of the association between the virus and injecting drug use. Examples of such discrimination can include being refused dental work, surgery or other health care services, and the refusal of employment, health or life insurance, among other things. Both discrimination and the stigma associated with hepatitis C may increase social isolation, impede diagnosis and treatment, and have been proven to increase the risk of new infections.

However, the advent of direct-acting antiviral drugs (DAAs) for the treatment of hepatitis C may make these challenges a thing of the past. These drugs, which bring about a sustained virological response to hepatitis C in over 90 percent of people treated, have been heralded as a ‘revolutionary’ and ‘transformative’ cure. Following the World Health Organization’s global elimination targets, the Australian Government has now invested billions of dollars in DAAs, setting the ambitious goal of achieving virtual elimination of hepatitis C in Australia by 2030.

Importantly, medical treatment alone will not solve the multiple social, political and structural issues that confront those with a hepatitis C diagnosis. Many Australian laws and policies devised in a pre-cure world may have ongoing negative impacts on people with a history of hepatitis C. These laws and policies may operate as barriers to a revolutionary ‘new’, ‘future’ life, where people who once had hepatitis C are no longer subjects of stigma and discrimination. If laws, policies and practices that perpetuate discrimination and stigma are not urgently addressed, the elimination agenda risks being undermined.