Syphilis
Health alert
Status: Active
Last updated: 11 February 2026
Issued by: Chief Health Officer
Issued to: Health professionals
Syphilis is a sexually transmissible infection (STI) usually caused by having vaginal, oral or anal sex with a person who is infected.
Both men and women can be infected. It can also be passed on during pregnancy from mother to child.
Current situation
An NT syphilis outbreak was declared in 2013. Since June 2024, cases of notified syphilis have steadily increased, with a resurgence in:
- urban areas of Darwin
- communities in the Top End, Big Rivers (Katherine) and East Arnhem regions.
In response to this changing epidemiology, the previous Chief Health Officer established the syphilis Incident Management Team on 28 February 2025, focussing on:
- increasing testing
- treatment
- enhanced monitoring of epidemiological trends over time.
Some of the major concerns of the syphilis outbreak is the long-term impact of syphilis infection and the risk of congenital syphilis to unborn babies. Congenital syphilis occurs when an unborn baby acquires the syphilis infection before birth.
Young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the 15 to 24 year age group experience the greatest burden of infection in the NT. However, syphilis is circulating among all age groups and in non-indigenous populations as well.
All sexually active people are reminded to have a sexual health check-up frequently.
See the Northern Territory Sexual Health and Blood Borne Viruses Unit Surveillance Update for current notification data.
Expanded testing recommendations have been approved, with all people aged over 15 years recommended to have at least 1 syphilis test (and STI screen) performed annually, and a minimum of 5 tests performed in each pregnancy.
Alerts to health professionals
- Health alert: syphilis - ongoing high transmission PDF (863.5 KB) (11 February 2026)
- CHO letter: update syphilis screening ALL people over PDF (1.3 MB) (25 March 2025)
- CHO letter: update syphilis screening perinatal PDF (1.2 MB) (27 March 2025)
- Health alert: increase in syphilis cases on Groote Eylandt PDF (495.3 KB) (17 February 2025)
- Health alert: increase in syphilis in the Top End and Katherine regions PDF (423.0 KB) (28 October 2024)
- Health alert: syphilis - high rates and congenital syphilis case notifications PDF (906.4 KB) (18 March 2024)
- Health alert: syphilis PDF (276.4 KB) (31 October 2023)
Notifiable disease
Syphilis is a notifiable disease.
NT syphilis register
The operators of the syphilis register:
- assess all positive serology notified to the CDC
- identify cases in accordance with the public health case definitions
- provide support, education and information to clinicians
- follow-up with clinicians on cases and contacts for disease control purposes.
Contact
Operators of the syphilis register can be contacted on weekdays from 8am to 4:30pm:
- Darwin: 08 8922 7818
- Alice Springs: 08 8951 7552.
For afterhours clinical support, email SyphilisRegister.Health@nt.gov.au.
Communiques
Sexual health information for professionals
Follow your clinical guidelines relevant to your setting such as the below resources.
| Type | Resource | Author |
|---|---|---|
| Document | Congenital Syphilis Guidelines for the Northern Territory – for assessment and management of syphilis in pregnancy and the neonatal period. | NT Health |
| Document | Syphilis audio fact sheets in language – the resource is an audible fact sheet for patients about syphilis. It is available in several different Aboriginal languages across the NT. It is intended to be used by health professionals to access and play during a consult. | NT Health |
| Document | National syphilis monitoring reports – this collection contains monitoring and surveillance reports for cases of syphilis in Australia. | Department of Health and Aged Care |
| Website | The Remote Primary Health Care manuals | Remote Primary Health Care Manuals |
| Website | The Australasian Society for HIV, Viral Hepatitis and Sexual Health Medicine (ASHM) for:
| ASHM |
| Poster | Syphilis poster – emergency departments PDF (182.4 KB) | NT Health |
| Poster | Syphilis poster – remote clinics PDF (370.4 KB) | NT Health |
| Poster | Syphilis poster – urban clinics PDF (165.1 KB) | NT Health |
Information for the public
| Type | Resource | Author |
|---|---|---|
| Webpage | Syphilis | Northern Territory Government |
| Webpage | Syphilis | heathdirect |
| Poster | Syphilis poster – maternity PDF (159.2 KB) | NT Health |
| Poster | Syphilis poster – partners of people who are pregnant PDF (249.6 KB) | NT Health |
| Webpage | Syphilis translated information | Stay STI free |
| Webpage | Young Deadly Free – resources and activities designed with Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations to increase testing and treatment of STIs in young people in remote and very remote Aboriginal communities. | Young Deadly Free |
| Webpage | True or Gammon campaign – Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander resources on sexually transmissible infections. | Department of Health and Aged Care |
| Webpage | Interactive syphilis story for women and men | Terrence Guyula, AHP |
| Resource | Healthy pregnancy, healthy baby PDF (3.1 MB) – a pregnancy book for Aboriginal women of the NT. | NT Health |
Get a sexual health check-up
| Organisation | Locations | Website |
|---|---|---|
| Clinic 34 | Darwin region, Katherine, Nhulunbuy, Tennant Creek and Alice Springs | Northern Territory Government |
| Remote health services | Remote communities | Northern Territory Government |
| Family Planning NT | Darwin region | Family Planning NT |
| GP | Various locations | healthdirect |
| Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services | Remote and urban locations | AMSANT |
To find out where to get free condoms in the NT, go to the Northern Territory Government website.
Contact
Contact the Northern Territory’s Centre for Disease Control.
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