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Communicable diseases

Communicable diseases are diseases that can spread from person to person. Find out what we’re doing to prevent outbreaks and monitor these diseases in Australia.

About communicable diseases

Learn what a communicable disease is, how they are classified and spread, and how some can be prevented.

Communicable diseases in Australia

Find out about diseases of concern in Australia, and frameworks and laws around managing diseases.

What we do

Discover our role in preventing, monitoring and managing communicable diseases in Australia.

Who we work with

Several key committees and networks help us with our work on communicable diseases.

View all communicable diseases information

News

News

New platform for journal of communicable disease

Antibiotics won’t do for colds and flu

A new National Immunisation Strategy for a healthier Australia

View more news

Nationally notifiable diseases

Health authorities report over 70 communicable diseases to us so we can track what is happening nationwide and respond to any outbreaks.

Our National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System tracks these diseases. 

Learn more about nationally notifiable diseases

Communicable Diseases Intelligence journal

This scientific journal publishes information about communicable diseases in Australia:

  • how often and where diseases occur
  • how many cases we have
  • methods to prevent diseases
  • methods to control outbreaks.

Series of National Guidelines (SoNGs)

These guidelines give nationally consistent advice to public health units about how to respond to notifiable diseases. 

The Communicable Diseases Network Australia produces these SoNGs.

Read the SoNGs

Case definitions

We support networks to develop case definitions for health professionals to use when diagnosing notifiable diseases. See our collections of:

Find out more about disease surveillance

Related work

Related work

Influenza surveillance program

Our influenza (flu) surveillance program monitors influenza activity and severity in the community. Fortnightly reports during flu season help us keep track of this disease in Australia.

National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System (NNDSS)

The National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System (NNDSS) coordinates data on over 70 diseases that present a risk to public health in Australia. This helps us identify trends in diseases, assess the impact of disease control programs and develop policies to reduce the impact of these diseases.

OzFoodNet network

The OzFoodNet network monitors and responds to foodborne diseases in Australia. Learn about how it monitors, investigates and responds to foodborne diseases to protect Australians from food poisoning.
View more related work

Resources

Resources

COVID-19 outbreaks in Australian residential aged care homes – 18 July 2025

Fact sheet
This weekly report provides a snapshot of data on the impact of COVID-19 in residential aged care facilities nationally in 2025. It includes data on the number of services impacted and number of staff and resident cases, as well as workforce, vaccine rollout, testing and PPE provided to services.

COVID-19 outbreaks in Australian residential aged care homes – 11 July 2025

Fact sheet
This weekly report provides a snapshot of data on the impact of COVID-19 in residential aged care facilities nationally in 2025. It includes data on the number of services impacted and number of staff and resident cases, as well as workforce, vaccine rollout, testing and PPE provided to services.
View more resources