Festive greetings

Festive greetings and best wishes for a peaceful holiday season to all from the team at Hepatitis NSW. We would like to take this opportunity to thank our partners and our community for their invaluable contributions to our work in 2025. (Image: Team Planning Day for 2026)

INHSU Symposium 2025

Hepatitis NSW staff attended and presented at the INHSU (International Network on Health and Hepatitis in Substance Users) Hepatitis C Intervention Symposium. INHSU’s Intervention Symposia focuses on the practical implementation of evidence-based hepatitis C interventions such as point-of-care testing, dried blood spot testing, peer support, patient navigation, and case finding. People shared expertise and discussed best practice for non-stigmatising healthcare and innovations that help engage people in testing and cure. You can watch our staff sharing key messages in the video overview here.

Record breaking outreach at Yagoona

Our Hepatitis B and Multicultural Liver Health Team brought a record-breaking event to Yagoona Community Centre on Wednesday 10 December 2025. We provided hepatitis B and C testing with FibroScan for 54 Vietnamese people who generously supported our event after learning about the importance of testing for hepatitis. Participants came to Yagoona with appointments texted to their phone and left knowing their viral hepatitis status, and with a scorecard of their liver health, and an information pack. The community’s initiative to learn was impressive, people asked lots of questions about FibroScan scoring cards, follow-up processes, and the date of our next event so that they could recommend it to their friends. The Hepatitis NSW team implemented a new process that improved its own efficiency, but the team’s effort in coordination and communication was the key to the success. We thank the organisers of CASS (Chinese Australian Services Society), our Hepatology Nurse at the Liverpool Hospital, and colleagues from the Kirby Institute for your generous time and collaboration.

Alfred Park DBS testing

Hepatitis NSW held another successful Dried Blood Spot (DBS) hepatitis C testing day! It was a windy, hot afternoon at Alfred Park, Parramatta this month. The Hepatitis NSW DBS  team coordinated the waiting list, completed their registrations and went gangbusters testing 24 community members in just 1.5 hours!

To read more about DBS testing (Dried Blood Spot testing), go to: www.hep.org.au/hep-c/hep-c-testing/dried-blood-spot-tests

NACCHO Conference 2025

Susanne, our HepLink NSW Coordinator and Rachael (HepLink National Programs Manager, Hepatitis Australia), proudly represented the HepLink program at the 2025 NACCHO (National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation) Members’ Conference held at Randwick Racecourse in Sydney, 9 and 10 December.

This year’s conference theme, “Strength Comes from Community Control,” brought together more than 1,000 delegates from across Australia to celebrate and strengthen community-led health initiatives. The event featured 65 trade tables, creating a vibrant space for connection, collaboration, and shared learning.

Susanne and Rachael hosted the HepLink display table over the two days and engaged with an estimated 350 representatives from the health, disability, and ageing sectors.

Delegates from all corners of the country stopped by the display to learn more about HepLink and viral hepatitis, share insights, and discuss opportunities for collaboration.

Attending the conference was a valuable opportunity to raise awareness of the HepLink program, strengthen relationships across sectors, and become part of important conversations about community control and improved health.

HepLink is Australia’s national hepatitis information and referral service, funded by the Australian Government. You do not need a Medicare card to use HepLink.

For further information or support, consumers and healthcare providers can contact HepLink on 1800 437 222 or at https://www.heplink.au/

New ATAGI statement confirming the importance and safety of hepatitis B vaccine welcomed by Australia’s experts

ASHM, in conjunction with Hepatitis Australia, is urging medical professionals to maintain routine hepatitis B vaccinations for newborns, following reports that the USA will be  reversing its long-standing federal health policy on the matter.   

The hepatitis B birth dose vaccination is safe, effective, and proven to save lives. It remains an essential part of protecting infants from the virus, which if contracted can  have lifelong or fatal consequences.

Australia’s hepatitis experts have welcomed a new statement from the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI) confirming the importance and safety of administering the hepatitis B vaccine at birth. The ATAGI statement is available here: ATAGI statement on the importance and safety of Hepatitis B vaccine at birth.

In conjunction with the new ATAGI advice, Australia’s leading hepatitis researchers and clinicians have also issued a joint expert statement reaffirming that national guidance remains unchanged. All medically stable newborns who meet the weight threshold should receive their first dose within 24 hours of birth.

The statement on behalf of leading Australian hepatitis researchers and clinicians is here: Statement from Australia’s hepatitis experts

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