Nearly 1,000 new HIV diagnoses each year

The convenor of a major sexual health conference under way in Queensland says Australia's rate of HIV infection is slowly getting worse.

Cairns Base Hospital sexual health director Dr Darren Russell says the trend is one of a number of issues that will be discussed at the Australasian Sexual Health Conference on the Gold Coast today.

Dr Russell says about 20,000 Australians are HIV positive.

"I think Queensland, Victoria and perhaps some other places in Australia really haven't grasped the nettle," he said.

"As a result, we are seeing rising numbers of HIV in Australia each year - almost 1,000 new cases."