An estimated 31,000 people - mostly gay and bisexual men - will benefit from the move, including Gavin Prendergast. The 46-year-old Sydney man has been on the drug as part of a trial for the past 18 months and says it has taken the fear out of sex. "I was around for the whole Grim Reaper thing," Mr Prendergast said, referring to the notorious 1980s AIDS advertising scare campaign. "The fear was hammered into me early on: if you don't use condoms you're going to get AIDS and you're going to die. Sex back then was always tinged with a little bit of paranoia or fear. What if I slip up, what if I don't use a condom? "Now we have a pill that can basically guarantee you're not going to get HIV. It's a pretty monumental change. The fear is disappearing." Truvada has been a breakthrough in the fight against HIV. Credit:Jeff Chiu

New Zealand on Wednesday became one of the first countries in the world to publicly fund PrEP, meaning it will be subisdised from March 1. With PBAC's decision due on Friday afternoon, Australia is set to follow suit. The antiretroviral drug is so popular among gay men - the people most likely to contract HIV - experts say it will slash the number of transmissions across the country. The drug is up to 99 per cent effective. The drug was approved for use as a pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) in 2016 but the advisory committee subsequently announced it had rejected a proposal to list it on the benefits scheme due to price concerns. Loading Replay Replay video Play video Play video That left the drug available but prohibitively expensive - about $1000 a month - for those not part of government-funded trials.

The sponsoring pharmaceutical companies subsequently submitted fresh applications that were expected to be approved last year, but a decision was deferred - disappointing the gay community and HIV campaigners. After months of further negotiations it now appears the positive listing is imminent. Mr Hunt said in December said he would not pre-empt the committee's decision but "we are making very good progress" on negotiations. "My hope is the PBAC will recommend PrEP and my commitment is if it does recommend PrEP we will list it and list it quickly," he said. Bridget Haire, the president of the Australian Federation of AIDS Organisations, said a listing would be a "huge step forward".