NAPWA President Robert Mitchell has called for clarification from the Federal Government of media reports on plans to require HIV tests for people coming into Australia under the proposed Pacific Islander guest worker scheme.

The proposed Pacific Island guest worker visa program should be open to all people regardless of HIV status, the National Association of People Living with HIV/AIDS (NAPWA) has said.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon has called for an end to all discrimination against people with HIV, including restrictions on travel for HIV-positive travellers into some countries.

Comments by the Prime Minister calling for a ban on HIV-positive immigrants entering Australia have drawn an angry response from community activists and experts working in the HIV sector.

The 4th International AIDS Society (IAS) Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention has opened in Sydney with calls for increased funding for HIV research, and a powerful rejection of the Australian Prime Minister's plans to tighten restrictions on immigration by people living with HIV/AIDS.

Australia doesn’t need tighter restrictions on HIV-positive immigrants, writes NAPWA President Robert Mitchell.

Claims by the Prime Minister that tighter restrictions are needed to stop HIV-positive people migrating to Australia are ill-informed, misguided and unhelpful, the National Association of People Living with HIV/AIDS (NAPWA) has said.

The new year is upon us so I thought I’d look for a some good news stories to kick 2005 off on a positive note! Surprisingly I had little difficulty in finding examples of HIV-positive people who have fought a discriminatory policy or practice which worked against them because of their status — and who won out in the end.

MPs, migration lawyers, immigration officials and HIV community representatives came together at an ACON-hosted forum in Sydney in November to discuss travel and migration for people living with HIV/AIDS.