Long-acting HIV prevention · TGA-approved, on its way to Australia
Coming soon
Oral PrEP consults are free for Medicare card holders and available now — we’ll let you know the moment the injection arrives.
Injectable PrEP protects against HIV with a jab every couple of months — or just twice a year — instead of a daily pill. It’s TGA-approved and on its way, but not yet routinely available. Register your interest and we’ll tell you the moment it’s here — and you can start effective daily oral PrEP now in the meantime.
Register your interest — we’ll let you know the moment the injection is available
Start daily oral PrEP now — free with Medicare (bulk-billed) and highly effective
Keep up regular HIV & STI testing while on any form of PrEP
Availability status in Australia. Long-acting injectable PrEP has been approved by Australia’s medicines regulator (the TGA), but it is not yet routinely available to the community — access, rollout and subsidy are still being worked out. In the meantime, daily oral PrEP remains available, subsidised and highly effective. Register your interest and we’ll let you know as soon as the injection becomes available.
PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis) is medicine taken by people who don’t have HIV to protect them from getting it. Until now, PrEP in Australia has meant a daily pill. The PrEP injection — also called long-acting or injectable PrEP — is a newer form that delivers that same protection through an injection given every couple of months, or in one case just twice a year, instead of a tablet every day.
It’s designed for the same purpose as the pill — preventing HIV — but removes the need to remember a daily dose. For many people, that’s a significant advance: protection that keeps working in the background, without a daily routine to keep up. Injectable PrEP is given by a clinician, so it also means a regular, planned visit rather than a prescription you manage at home.
How injectable PrEP works
Injectable PrEP works in the same broad way as the pill: it keeps a protective level of medicine in your body, so that if you’re exposed to HIV, the virus can’t establish an infection. The difference is that the injectable forms are “long-acting” — they’re formulated to release slowly and stay at protective levels for weeks or months from a single dose, rather than being cleared within a day like a tablet.
Because of this, injectable PrEP is given on a schedule: an initial phase to build up protection (sometimes with a short lead-in of tablets to check it suits you), followed by ongoing injections at set intervals. Keeping to the schedule is important, because protection depends on getting each dose roughly on time.
The Two Injectable Options, and Their Benefits
Two long-acting injectable PrEP options have been approved in Australia, and they differ mainly in how often they’re given:
Option
How often
Notes
Two-monthly injection
Every 2 months
After two starter doses about a month apart, then an injection every two months. An option for people who can’t use daily oral PrEP.
Twice-yearly injection
Every 6 months
A twice-yearly injection — the longest-acting option — with a short course of starter tablets when beginning. The most recently TGA-approved.
The twice-yearly option is the newer and most convenient, needing just two injections a year, while the other is given every two months. Both are given by a clinician, and both offer an alternative to the daily pill.
Benefits over the daily pill
Injectable PrEP won’t be right for everyone, but it offers real advantages for many people:
No daily pill to remember — protection that doesn’t rely on taking something every day.
Discretion — no packet of tablets to carry or store, which can matter for privacy.
Helpful if pills are difficult — for people with pill fatigue, or who find swallowing daily tablets or stomach side effects a problem.
Reliable protection between doses — once given, it keeps working without daily effort.
An option when oral PrEP isn’t suitable — including for some people for whom the daily pill isn’t recommended.
The main trade-off is that injectable PrEP means attending for injections on schedule — more clinic visits than the pill for some people — so the best choice depends on what suits your life.
How Effective Is It, and Who It’s For
Very effective. In large clinical trials, long-acting injectable PrEP has been shown to be highly effective at preventing HIV — in some studies, more effective than the daily pill, largely because it removes the challenge of remembering a tablet every day. The twice-yearly option in particular showed very high protection across a diverse range of people in its trials. In short, injectable PrEP is a genuinely effective HIV prevention tool, and its convenience may help more people stay protected consistently.
Who injectable PrEP is for
Injectable PrEP is for people who don’t have HIV and want to protect themselves from it — the same groups who benefit from oral PrEP, including people who find a daily pill hard to maintain. Approvals in Australia set eligibility around age and weight (for example, the twice-yearly option is approved for people aged 16 and over weighing at least 35 kg), and you need to be HIV-negative to start.
Before starting any PrEP, you need an HIV test to confirm you’re negative, and ongoing testing while using it. Injectable PrEP isn’t suitable for everyone — a clinician will check your health, current medicines and circumstances to work out whether it’s a good fit for you, and which option makes sense.
Availability and Cost in Australia
This is the key point right now: injectable PrEP has been approved by the TGA but is not yet routinely available to the community in Australia. Regulatory approval means the products are recognised as safe and effective for use here — but that’s a separate step from being widely supplied and subsidised. Health organisations are actively calling for the injections to be subsidised through the national system so they’re affordable, and rollout is still being determined.
What that means in practice: you generally can’t simply book an injectable PrEP appointment today the way you can for the daily pill. The situation is moving, though, and injectable PrEP is expected to become accessible over time. The best thing to do is register your interest so you’re told as soon as it’s available, and stay on effective protection in the meantime.
Cost and subsidy
Because injectable PrEP isn’t yet routinely available in Australia, there isn’t an established everyday price for it here, and how it will be subsidised is still being decided. Advocates are pushing for it to be subsidised so that cost isn’t a barrier — as daily oral PrEP already is. Until that’s settled, the affordable, accessible option is daily oral PrEP, which remains subsidised for eligible people. We’ll provide clear cost information for the injection once its availability and any subsidy are confirmed.
What to Do Now & Register Your Interest
While injectable PrEP makes its way to full availability, you don’t need to go unprotected:
If you’re already on oral PrEP, keep taking it — it’s highly effective, and you can switch to the injection later if it suits you.
If you’re considering PrEP, you can start daily oral PrEP now for reliable protection, rather than waiting for the injection.
Keep up regular HIV and STI testing, which is part of using any form of PrEP safely.
Register your interest in the injection so you’re among the first to know when it’s available.
Injectable PrEP is coming, and we want to make the switch easy for you when it does. Register your interest and we’ll let you know as soon as the PrEP injection becomes available — along with clear information on cost, eligibility and how to start. In the meantime, we can get you set up on effective PrEP today. Everything is confidential and judgement-free.
Frequently asked questions
PrEP is medicine taken by people without HIV to protect them from getting it. The PrEP injection — long-acting or injectable PrEP — delivers that protection through an injection given every couple of months, or in one case twice a year, instead of a daily pill. It’s for the same purpose as oral PrEP but removes the need for a daily dose, and is given by a clinician.
It works like the pill — keeping a protective level of medicine in your body so HIV can’t establish an infection if you’re exposed — but it’s long-acting, releasing slowly to stay protective for weeks or months from one dose. It’s given on a schedule: a starter phase to build protection (sometimes with a short lead-in of tablets), then ongoing injections at set intervals. Keeping to the schedule matters.
Two long-acting options have been approved in Australia. One is given every two months, after two starter doses about a month apart. The other, the most recently approved, is a twice-yearly injection — the longest-acting option — with a short course of starter tablets when beginning. Both are given by a clinician and offer an alternative to the daily pill.
It depends on the option. One is given every two months (after two starter doses about a month apart), while the other is given just twice a year — every six months. The twice-yearly option is the most convenient for that reason. Both require keeping to the dosing schedule, since protection depends on getting each dose roughly on time.
Very effective. In large clinical trials, long-acting injectable PrEP has been shown to be highly effective at preventing HIV — in some studies more effective than the daily pill, largely because it removes the challenge of remembering a tablet every day. The twice-yearly option showed very high protection across a diverse range of people. It’s a genuinely effective HIV prevention tool.
Not routinely, yet. Injectable PrEP has been approved by the TGA, meaning it’s recognised as safe and effective for use here — but that’s separate from being widely supplied and subsidised, which is still being worked out. So you generally can’t book an injectable PrEP appointment today the way you can for the daily pill. Registering your interest means you’ll be told as soon as it’s available.
An exact date isn’t set — it depends on supply and decisions about subsidy and rollout, which are still in progress. Health organisations are actively pushing for it to be subsidised so it’s affordable. The situation is moving, and injectable PrEP is expected to become accessible over time. The best move is to register your interest so you hear as soon as it’s available.
There isn’t an established everyday price in Australia yet, because it isn’t routinely available, and how it will be subsidised is still being decided. Advocates are pushing for subsidy so cost isn’t a barrier. Until that’s settled, the affordable, accessible option is daily oral PrEP, which remains subsidised for eligible people. We’ll provide clear cost information for the injection once its availability and subsidy are confirmed.
It’s for people who are HIV-negative and want to protect themselves from HIV, including those who find a daily pill hard to maintain. Approvals set eligibility around age and weight — for example, the twice-yearly option is approved for people aged 16 and over weighing at least 35 kg. You need an HIV test to confirm you’re negative before starting, and a clinician will check whether it’s a good fit for you.
It’s not “better” for everyone — it’s a different option. Its advantages are not having to remember a daily pill, discretion, and being helpful for people with pill fatigue or who find daily tablets difficult. The trade-off is attending for injections on schedule, which can mean more clinic visits. Both the pill and the injection are highly effective; the best choice depends on what suits your life.
You don’t need to go unprotected while injectable PrEP becomes available. If you’re on oral PrEP, keep taking it — it’s highly effective, and you can switch later. If you’re considering PrEP, you can start the daily pill now rather than waiting. Keep up regular HIV and STI testing, and register your interest in the injection so you’re among the first to know when it arrives.
No — like oral PrEP, injectable PrEP protects against HIV only, not other sexually transmitted infections such as chlamydia, gonorrhoea or syphilis. That’s why regular STI testing remains important while using any form of PrEP, and why condoms still have a role in reducing other STIs. PrEP is one powerful part of looking after your sexual health, not a complete substitute for the rest.
Register your interest with the clinic and we’ll let you know as soon as the PrEP injection becomes available, with clear information on cost, eligibility and how to start. In the meantime we can set you up on effective oral PrEP today. Book online or call the team — everything is confidential and judgement-free, and there’s no obligation in registering your interest.
