Hepatitis C can be eliminated in Australia in the next 10 years but only if people get tested and seek treatment.
That's the message of a new Victorian campaign launched on Thursday by the Burnet Institute and Harm Reduction Victoria.
More than 120,000 Australians are estimated to be living with chronic hepatitis C but testing and treatment rates are declining.
"Australians are dying unnecessarily because they have a hepatitis C infection which is not diagnosed and treated," Burnet Institute Deputy Director Professor Margaret Hellard told AAP.
Hepatitis C, which affects the liver, is spread when the blood of an infected person enters the bloodstream of an uninfected person.
People who inject drugs, those who have spent time in prison, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders remain in the priority group for testing and treatment.
"It doesn't matter how you got infected," Prof Hellard said. "What matters is we've got a cure and we'd like you to come forward for treatment."
That treatment comes in the form of antiviral medications readily available across the country.
"It's one tablet a day for eight to 12 weeks with minimal side effects," Prof Hellard said.
"They're extraordinary drugs.
"It's your right to treatment. It's your right to be well. Don't be afraid."
The It's Your Right campaign will be promoting the testing and treating message in Victoria from Thursday, which is also World Hepatitis Day.
The campaign has already been launched in five other states and will follow in NSW and Tasmania next month.
