The Baird government will finally close the door on a chapter of NSW history that involved harsh laws being enacted at the height of the AIDS epidemic, driven by a fear of the unknown and public panic.
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The offence of having sex without first disclosing you have a sexually transmitted disease will be removed from the Public Health Act next year.
David Cooper, director of the Kirby Institute at the University of NSW, diagnosed Australia's first case of HIV and was the director of the St Vincent's AIDS unit at the height of the epidemic.
Professor Cooper said it was "good timing" to remove section 79 of the Public Health Act. Since 2010 international studies had shown that if HIV is treated and becomes undetectable, it can't be transmitted to a partner, he said.
"It is heavily grounded in good science," Professor Cooper said.
"We are strongly encouraging people in NSW to get tested if they are at risk and if they are found to be positive, to start treatment."
A review by the Health Ministry found the offence was a "blunt and ineffective tool" and may even be having a negative impact on HIV control by discouraging HIV testing. If a person isn't aware of their HIV status they are not required to disclose.
In 1985, the death of movie star Rock Hudson from AIDS shocked the world, and there was panic about children contracting AIDS from the blood supply.
As the Wran Labor government introduced the first AIDS legislation, forcing doctors to notify the government of a positive AIDS test and making it an offence for someone with AIDS to have sex without informing their partner, the gay community was slurred in parliamentary debate.
A Labor MP cited calls by a US expert to quarantine "irresponsible AIDS carriers" on leper islands. The Liberal opposition wanted the penalty for non-disclosure increased to 12 months jail.
The federal health minister at the time, Neal Blewett, labelled the NSW law intemperate and knee-jerk.
The AIDS Council of NSW (ACON) was formed the same year.
The council's chief executive Nicolas Parkhill said: "These laws were developed in 1985 during a period of heightened fear in the early period of the epidemic. A large number of deaths were occurring and no effective treatments had yet been developed.
"Our knowledge of HIV transmission, care and support has changed fundamentally since that time. There are now a significant number of ways to effectively stop the transmission of HIV."
He said 90 per cent of people diagnosed with HIV in NSW were being treated.
ACON wants the offence removed because it perpetuates HIV stigma and discrimination, a major barrier to preventing the spread of HIV because open conversations in the community are discouraged. Safe sex practices should also be a mutual responsibility, he said.
Professor Cooper said the decision to drop section 79 showed public perceptions about HIV had changed "dramatically".
He recalled the series of changes to the Public Health Act in 1991 surrounding non-disclosure by HIV carriers had been dubbed "Sharleen's law".
Sharleen Spiteri was a HIV-positive sex worker who, after being interviewed by 60 Minutes in 1989, created a national furore. She was taken from her apartment by NSW police and locked in an AIDS ward, and remained under supervision for 16 years until she died.
There have been 31 prosecutions nationally since 1991, including four in NSW, under criminal and public health laws.
At least one person was convicted under the NSW Public Health Act, Professor Cooper said.
Health Minister Jillian Skinner said: "A bill reflecting the recommended changes will be drafted and considered by Parliament in 2017."
Provisions in the Crimes Act that make it an offence to recklessly transmit a grievous bodily disease will be retained.
