The Hep C Campaign By & For Injecting Drug Users: It’s Your Right 2
Friday, February 6, 2026
Monday February 2nd marked the rollout of the second edition of It’s Your Right, a national campaign led by AIVL, the Burnet Institute, and Eliminate C Australia, supported by the Australian Government Department of Health. It’s Your Right was designed by and for people who use drugs, and was developed to promote hep C testing and treatment to people who inject drugs. The campaign is part of a broader national strategy to work towards eliminating hepatitis C as a public health threat in Australia.
In this edition of Users News, Yvonne, Hep C Custodial Campaign Coordinator at AIVL and Brie, Outreach Lead at NUAA have shared some words about the campaign, its history, and how to get involved.
It was not very long ago that we simply accepted that using drugs, injecting in particular, came with a very high price tag as far as our health was concerned. Hep C was part of the package deal, along with harms like abscesses, vein damage, overdose, limb loss for some, and an early death for too many.
Taking home a blood borne virus seemed an inevitable result of using while in custody. As far as the wider community was concerned, this was completely acceptable. It was thought fitting to both punish and reform people who use drugs by denying us the dignity of good health.
Fast forward to drug policy influenced by people who use drugs, supported by partners in health, research, and importantly, politics. Harm reduction gave us equipment, techniques, medication and respectful services that put solutions in our hands.
Today we are supported to stand tall in healthy bodies, respected for our meaningful lives, moving forward in self-acceptance.
Since drug user organisations like AIVL and NUAA were started 40 years ago, we have a louder voice with more say in the things that matter to us:
More access to specialised equipment
A workforce of peers paid to help keep us safe
Affordable and accessible drug treatments
Services based on proven methods rather than opinion or religion
An important focus on ridding our community of Hep C
Hep C is now avoidable, detectable and treatable. Perfect. We have the tools we need to end hep C in our community.
For the past ten years people who use drugs in Australian have had simple testing, sterile equipment, peer-to-peer advice, and affordable and convenient medications that can cure hep C in weeks. Yet for all the work put in, there are people that we still need to reach with our ‘prevent, test, treat’ message.
The Campaign
Enter It’s Your Right, an awareness campaign to reach our community of people who use drugs and encourage them to think about prevention, testing and treatment for hep C and take steps to give it the flick, for good.
It’s Your Right brings people who use drugs and our partners in research, government and marketing together with cool giveaways for our community.
Round 1 of the campaign was launched in 2022 and reached nearly 9 million people around Australia. Thousands of people were linked to peer workers and hep C service.
For those of us who like numbers, as a result of that campaign there were 2,595 hep C conversations held, 1,343 hep C tests, and 151 people referred to treatment.
NUAA and our national body AIVL are proud to announce that Round 2 of the It’s Your Right campaign is now being rolled out. There are bold posters to commemorate and advertise the campaign, and some quality goodies on offer, like “don’t share a bloody thing” tourniquets, cooling towels, and awesome t-shirts.
Just like Round 1, Round 2 of It’s Your Right was funded by the federal government and sponsored by EC Australia at the Burnet Institute. But what truly sets this round of the campaign apart is the leadership and involvement of peers.
Our community’s voice can be heard in the slogans used on posters and branded goodies that reinforce health care as a core human right. Our understanding of our community’s needs is reflected in the financial compensation given to people for being tested and treated. The roll-out through drug user organisations speaks about peer-to-peer trust. We can honestly say It’s Your Right was designed by people who use drugs, for people who use drugs.
In Round 1, using artwork by First Nations artists and language chosen by First Nations peers was key to reaching out to our community members who are Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander. We have done this again for Round 2, but seriously amped up! We’ve also added in useful info for our people who are in custody, or on probation and parole.
NUAA plays a key role in delivering It’s Your Right on the ground, alongside drug user organisations across the country. In the coming months, NUAA will partner with NGOs, Local Health Districts, and other community organisations to facilitate hepatitis C point-of-care testing and clear pathways into treatment. By bringing testing and referral into trusted, community-based settings, the campaign aims to make diagnosis and treatment faster, simpler, and more accessible.
The campaign is also supported through social media and community platforms such as Users News, ensuring information reaches people in ways that are accessible and relevant.
It is easier than ever to kick hep C to the kerb. Keeping ourselves and our circles of friends and family (and their circles) safer is as easy as applying our harm reduction know-how, attending peer-run testing and treatment referral services and taking advantage of affordable medications available to us on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme.
This is your time to decide to enjoy the rest of your life hep C free and in doing so, protecting your family, friends and community.
For more information, visit It's Your Right to Live Free of hep C, or call NUAA’s PeerLine on 1800 644 413.