WA Syphilis outbreak response

The Australian Health Protection Principal Committee (AHPPC) Governance Group has developed a National strategic approach for an enhanced response to the disproportionately high rates of STI and BBV in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Supporting the Strategic Approach is an Action Plan, which is the Enhanced response to addressing STI (and BBV) in Indigenous populations.

These documents, and additional information on the national response, are available at Australian Government Department of Health Infectious Syphilis Outbreak (external site).  

In August 2025, the Chief Medical Officer of Australia declared syphilis a Communicable Disease of National Significance (CDINS) (external site) within Australia. This declaration aims to bring together national efforts to coordinate an enhanced national response.

The Western Australian Syphilis Outbreak Response Group (WA SORG) was formed in response to the syphilis outbreak among Aboriginal people in outbreak affected regions of WA. The WA SORG was formed and the first meeting held in August 2018.

The long term aim of the WA SORG is to control the outbreak of syphilis among communities in WA using partnership strategies that, wherever possible, are applicable to the sustainable control measures for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and promotion of sexual health in WA communities.

• WA Syphilis Outbreak Response Action Plan 2023-2025
• WA Syphilis Outbreak Response Action Plan Annual Report 2018-2022 (PDF 1.2MB)

Working groups

During the initiation of the WA SORG, five working groups were established to guide the strategic direction of the response:

• Prevention, education and community engagement
• Workforce development
• Testing, treatment and contact tracing
• Surveillance and reporting
• Antenatal and postnatal care

These groups' achievements include:

• Leading the national recommendation for 3 syphilis tests during pregnancy and  routine public health reviews of congenital syphilis cases and near-miss cases using a standardised, published protocol.
• Addition of syphilis testing in pregnancy as a mandatory component of the perinatal data set. Establishment of a WA Health-funded syphilis point of care testing program. These groups have since been retired, with WA SORG taking on their strategic work and SORTs undertaking implementation of strategies developed by WA SORG.

Regional sexual health coordinator positions are in place in the Goldfields, Kimberley and Pilbara regions. The role of the regional positions are to provide support to sexual health programs, guidance and expertise to health professionals working in the field. Specific tasks for the role include:

• organising and/or facilitating orientation to the sexual health program for new staff working in the region
• designing and implementing sexual health promotion strategies
• Coordinating and/or providing education on sexual health and sexually transmissible infections to health service providers

Contact details for regional coordinators

Boorloo Public Health Unit
Tel: (08) 9222 8599
Email: dc-team.bphu@health.wa.gov.au

Goldfields Public Health Unit
Tel: (08) 9080 8200
Email: WACHSGoldfieldsCommunicableDiseaseControl@health.wa.gov.au

Great Southern Public Health Unit
Tel: (08) 9842 7500
Email: WACHSGreatSouthernCommunicableDiseaseControl@health.wa.gov.au

Kimberley Public Health Unit
Tel: (08) 9194 1630
Email: WACHSKimberleyCommunicableDiseaseControl@health.wa.gov.au 

Midwest Public Health Unit
Tel: (08) 9956 1980
Email: WACHSMidwestCommunicableDiseaseControl@health.wa.gov.au

Pilbara Public Health Unit
Tel: (08) 9174 1660
Email: WACHSPilbaraCommunicableDiseaseControl@health.wa.gov.au

South West Public Health Unit
Tel: (08) 9781 2359
Email: WACHSSouthwestCommunicableDiseaseControl@health.wa.gov.au

Wheatbelt Public Health Unit
Tel: (08) 9690 1720
Email: WACHSWheatbeltCommunicableDiseaseControl@health.wa.gov.au

• 2024/2025 - WA Syphilis Outbreak Response Communique
• Q4 2024 - WA Syphilis Outbreak Response Communique
• Q3 2024 - WA Syphilis Outbreak Response Communique
• Q2 2024 - WA Syphilis Outbreak Response Communique
• Q1 2024 - WA Syphilis Outbreak Response Communique
• Q4 2023 - WA Syphilis Outbreak Response Communique 
• Q3 2023 - WA Syphilis Outbreak Response Communique (PDF 350KB)
• Q2 2023 - WA Syphilis Outbreak Response Communique (PDF 350KB)
• Q1 2023 - WA Syphilis Outbreak Response Communique (PDF) 360KB)

Resources for the workforce:

Resources for community 

For posters, radio adverts and social media content look under the 'Campaigns' accordion.

Watch the syphilis treatment video

If you have any requests or suggestions for a syphilis videoconference topic you would like to see, please email laura.pendal@health.wa.gov.au

*Further to discussion during the session it should be noted that on slide 27, the patient needs benzathine penicillin weekly for 3 weeks because they have syphilis of unknown duration (no symptoms, positive syphilis serology and no previous syphilis test result). Therefore, it’s important to be cautious and treat the patient as though they have had syphilis for >2years.

A range of training and information sessions have been planned to support community health workers in sexual health.

SHQ offer a variety of non-syphilis specific sexual health training for a variety of health workers. If this is of interest, you can find their training calendar at on the website (external site).

ASHM also provide a range of trainings which can be accessed on their learning hub (external site).

The Bites series by AHCWA is a short, informative videoconference series around sexual health and blood-borne viruses which can be watched on their YouTube channel (external site).

Documents

• Clinical Disease Incident of National Significance (external site)
• National Syphilis Response Plan (external site)
• Infectious disease emergency management plan, WA health system (PDF 272KB)
• Aboriginal Health Council of WA birds and the BBVs training (external site)
• National Syphilis Response Plan 2023-2030 (external site)
• National strategic approach for an enhanced response to the disproportionately high rates of STI and BBV in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people (external site)
• Action plan – enhanced response to addressing transmissible infections in Indigenous populations (external site)
• Australian Government Department of Health syphilis CDNA national guidelines for public health units (external site)
• ASHM syphilis outbreak training (external site)

There are a number of campaigns that have been used in Western Australia that relate to syphilis and STIs. These include:

• HealthySexual campaign
• Don't Fool Around with Syphilis campaign
• WAAC Syphilis Campaign
• Sexual Health Quarters campaign
• YEP Crew syphilis campaign
• Young Deadly Free