Newly collated data also shows Indigenous Australians experiencing disproportionally high rates of infection
Rates of reported gonorrhoea and infectious syphilis have increased by more than 50% across Australia over the past decade, with experts warning of concerning rises among women.
Newly collated sexual health data from UNSW’s Kirby Institute shows 42,393 gonorrhoea notifications and 5,986 infectious syphilis notifications were recorded in 2025. The figures represent 10-year increases of 57% and 56%, respectively.
Syphilis and gonorrhoea are bacterial infections that can cause serious health complications if left untreated. Both are curable when detected early.
Men accounted for the majority of cases last year, making up 73% of gonorrhoea notifications and 78% of infectious syphilis notifications, with the report suggesting a significant proportion of transmission continues to occur through male-to-male sexual contact among gay and bisexual men.
The new data also flagged a “concerning increase in syphilis among women”. Syphilis notification rates increased by 167% among women, compared with 39% among men. Experts said the figures reflected “an increase in heterosexual transmission”.
Dr Skye McGregor, an epidemiologist at the Kirby Institute, said the trend is “an urgent priority” because of the risks posed by syphilis during pregnancy.
“It’s really concerning because the rise among women has contributed to syphilis in pregnancy, which can cause miscarriage, stillbirth, congenital syphilis and infant deaths. These are really substantial impacts on infants, but also the community as a whole. Across that same 10-year reporting period, there were 113 congenital syphilis cases and, tragically, 40 of those infants died,” McGregor said.
Around half of those congenital syphilis cases involved Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander infants.
“A really terrible outcome, which is entirely preventable with early testing and treatment during pregnancy,” McGregor said.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians also remain a priority group, experiencing disproportionately high sexually transmitted infection (STI) rates. Compared with non-Indigenous Australians, the Indigenous population is diagnosed with gonorrhoea at more than four times the rate and syphilis at more than six times the rate.
McGregor said the disparity highlighted the need for sustained investment in culturally safe sexual health services and improved access to timely testing and treatment, particularly in regional and remote areas.
“We know how hard it can be to get an appointment in an urban setting with a GP, particularly if you want a preferred provider by gender or cultural background. And that’s even more exacerbated in regional and remote settings,” she said.
McGregor said social determinants of health also contributed to the disparity, including income, education, employment, job security and food insecurity.
She stressed the importance of culturally safe sexual health testing services and community-led programs supported by the National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation and governments.
“Modelling has predicted that without that enhanced response, actually the rates of syphilis would have been far higher …this amazing community-driven response has actually ensured that the rates do stay lower than they could have been across that time period,” McGregor said.
McGregor said the new data should serve as a public health reminder of the importance of testing and treatment, raising concerns that reduced testing could be an unwanted hangover from the Covid-19 pandemic.
“We saw a decrease during that time period, but we really need to make sure everyone’s resuming their pre-Covid screening so that sexual health is just a part of good health overall,” she said.
UNSW’s 2019 National Debrief Survey looking into sexual health attitude revealed that almost two-thirds of young people who had five or more casual partners in the past 12 months did not use condoms. But McGregor said reducing STI rates required a holistic approach.
“Condoms are still an important prevention approach, and yes, people should be using condoms with new sexual partners … but also, this is about comprehensive prevention,” she said. “Early testing ensures people know their status, they can be treated, prevent onward transmission.”
McGregor also stressed the importance of “post-diagnosis care”, retesting and regular engagement with a healthcare provider, as “we do know that one infection then risks a repeat infection”.
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Source: www.theguardian.com
