About communicable diseases

A communicable disease is a disease that can spread:

between people
from animals to humans (zoonotic diseases).

Communicable diseases are caused by microorganisms like bacteria and viruses.

Diseases spread in different ways, such as through:

food or water
contact with contaminated surfaces
contact between people, including sexual and close intimate contact
blood or other body fluids
insect bites
the air.

See a list of communicable diseases.

Why addressing communicable diseases matters

Communicable diseases are of concern because they can:

easily spread between people and cause hospitalisation, disability, long-term illness and death
transmit from pregnant person to the baby during pregnancy and birth, and cause serious health issues or death for the baby
become resistant to antimicrobial medicines such as antibiotics
put a strain on our health system through added demand on healthcare professionals, clinics and hospitals
have major impacts on our economy, through missed school and work and reduced productivity
result in outbreaks, epidemics and even pandemics.

Some diseases are not found in Australia, but can be brought back from overseas when people travel.

See what you can do to prevent the spread of communicable diseases.

The importance of vaccines

Vaccination prevents many communicable diseases or reduces their severity.

The World Health Organization (WHO) considers vaccination to be the most effective medical intervention to prevent deaths and reduce disease. Vaccination programs prevent about 2.5 million deaths globally every year.

In Australia, vaccination has effectively eradicated or significantly reduced the incidence of many serious diseases, like polio and measles.

The National Immunisation Program provides free vaccines against many diseases, to increase national immunisation rates and reduce vaccine preventable disease.

Nationally notifiable diseases

Nationally notifiable diseases are diseases that we monitor and report on because they can spread and cause significant harm to human health.

We publish case definitions to help health professionals decide whether to notify their relevant health authorities of a case.

Health authorities in each state and territory remove personal and identifying patient information, and report cases to us daily through the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System.

We analyse and report on this data.

This helps us monitor case numbers around the country and understand disease patterns.

We also develop national guidelines to support health professionals and public health units to respond to notifiable diseases.

Listed human diseases

The Biosecurity Act 2015 classifies some diseases as ‘listed human diseases’. Our Director-General can determine that a disease should become a listed human disease.

These are diseases that can spread and cause significant harm to human health.

Listed human diseases are nationally notifiable, and the Australian Government can implement measures to help stop their spread, such as requirements for:

reporting of ill travellers for incoming flights and vessels
health screening at Australia's international borders.

View the listed human diseases.

Diseases caused by Security Sensitive Biological Agents

Some diseases are caused by Security Sensitive Biological Agents. Their deliberate release would cause significant damage to human health, the environment or the economy.

The Security Sensitive Biological Agents Regulatory Scheme helps us manage the security of these disease agents and limit acts of bioterrorism or biocrime.

What we’re doing

We work to reduce the risk of communicable diseases in Australia. This includes through:

providing health information and advice
monitoring and reporting on communicable diseases
publishing guidance to support health professionals and authorities
issuing health alerts to warn about disease outbreaks
implementing targeted public health programs
supporting communications campaigns targeting priority populations.

Publications and resources

We publish a broad range of publications and resources – including strategies, frameworks, reports, guidelines and information sheets.

See all our publications and resources.