New HIV diagnoses in Aotearoa New Zealand have continued to decline, with the latest figures showing strong progress in the country’s efforts to end local transmission — but health leaders say the gains are fragile and uneven.
Data released by the University of Otago HIV Epidemiology Group shows 80 people were first diagnosed with HIV in New Zealand in 2025. That is down from 95 in 2024 and 103 in 2023, continuing a downward trend that has been particularly evident since diagnoses peaked in 2016.
Of the 80 people diagnosed in New Zealand last year, 48 — or 60 percent — were gay, bisexual or other men who have sex with men. Eighteen people, or 23 percent, acquired HIV through heterosexual contact, while other cases were linked to perinatal transmission, transgender sexual contact, injecting drug use, or were recorded as unknown.
The figures show prevention, treatment, and testing are having an impact. However, they also highlight the work still needed if New Zealand is to meet the National HIV Action Plan target of reducing locally acquired HIV infections by 90 percent (from 2010) by 2030. To meet this goal, there would need to be nine of less locally acquired HIV infections in 2030.
University of Otago HIV Epidemiology Group leader Dr Sue McAllister said the latest data was moving in the right direction, but the decline was not yet enough.
“However, locally-acquired infections have only decreased by 45 per cent overall from the 2010 baseline set by the National HIV Action Plan for Aotearoa New Zealand, which is short of the 90 per cent reduction target by 2030.
“More work needs to be done and transmission prevention efforts remain key to reaching that target,” she says.
Burnett Foundation Aotearoa Chief Executive Liz Gibbs said the figures showed the value of decades of community leadership, science, advocacy, and investment.
“This is real progress, and it shows that prevention, testing, and treatment are working,” Gibbs says.
“Fewer diagnosis each year are a reflection of decades of science, advocacy, community leadership, and investment in testing, treatment and the wide availability of prevention tools like PrEP, working in concert towards a goal of HIV elimination.”
But Gibbs warned the overall decline masked serious inequities. Almost half of diagnoses are being made late, and Māori continue to be disproportionately represented in the figures.
“In 2025 alone, one in three men who have sex with men (MSM) diagnosed with HIV were Māori,” she says.
“And with almost half of all cases being diagnosed late, it shows that we need to step up our game to reach people earlier.”
The University of Otago data shows that, among the 48 MSM diagnosed in 2025, 16 were Māori, 13 were Asian, 10 were European, five were Pacific peoples, and four were Latin American or Middle Eastern. Half of the MSM diagnosed were living in the greater Auckland region.
While locally acquired HIV among MSM has fallen by around 50 percent since 2010, that reduction has occurred mostly among European MSM. The number of cases among MSM of other ethnicities has either increased or stayed the same, underlining calls for culturally appropriate prevention and testing services.
Dr McAllister said services needed to reach all affected communities.
“To help decrease acquisition numbers, we need to make sure culturally appropriate prevention and testing services are available to men who have sex with men of all ethnicities,” she says.
The 2025 data also shows why early and routine testing remains critical. Among MSM who acquired HIV locally, 43 percent had a CD4 count below 350 at diagnosis, indicating they were diagnosed late. Among those with heterosexually acquired HIV in New Zealand, half were diagnosed late.
Gibbs said falling transmission numbers make expanded testing even more important.
“As HIV transmissions decrease, it becomes harder to find people with HIV without expanding testing,” she says.
“Early diagnosis protects individual health and prevents onward transmission. Testing earlier, more often, and more people is essential.”
Burnett Foundation Aotearoa is calling for greater investment in community-led and culturally appropriate HIV testing, alongside system-level changes such as opt-out testing in Emergency Departments and other high-contact healthcare settings.
“Routine, opt-out testing makes HIV testing normal, not exceptional,” Gibbs says.
“Emergency Departments are a critical touchpoint for people who may never otherwise be offered a test. Changes like these can add up to make a huge difference.”
The latest figures also show the ongoing importance of antenatal screening. Four women were diagnosed with HIV through antenatal testing in 2025, allowing them to make treatment and care decisions to reduce the risk of transmission to their babies. Since 1998, there have been 235 births in New Zealand to women known to have HIV before delivery, and none of those children have acquired HIV, although the status of some children born recently cannot yet be definitively confirmed.
There were also 137 people notified with HIV in New Zealand in 2025 who had first been diagnosed overseas. Most were from countries in Asia and Africa, and 86 percent had an undetectable viral load, indicating they were on antiretroviral therapy and could not pass HIV on sexually.
The increase in overseas-diagnosed notifications reflects, in part, changes since 2018, when the Government removed immigration restrictions for people living with HIV and began treating HIV like other health conditions. However, New Zealand does not track when people living with HIV leave the country, meaning the net change may not be as large as notification numbers suggest.
New Zealand is making progress, but reaching the 2030 goal will require more than maintaining the status quo.
“We’re heading in the right direction, but progress is fragile,” Gibbs says.
“Now is not the time to step back. We need bold action on equity, stigma reduction, better outreach to all communities, and smarter testing so no one is left behind.”
