In many other areas and in many subpopulations, however, particularly marginalized groups such as Aborigines and Vietnamese-Australian injectors, messages about AIDS risk are either not penetrating or are being ignored and needle and other equipment sharing still appears to be common. The needle exchange strategy as a separate activity from peer education among intravenous drug users (IDUs) needs to be reconsidered in light of the widespread epidemic of hepatitis C among Australian IDUs. In addition, the level of supply of all injecting equipment needs to be increased to assist IDUs in learning and using aseptic injecting techniques, given the lack of effective disinfection techniques to prevent the spread of hepatitis C and problems surrounding both the promotion of disinfection and the promotion of noninjecting drug administration routes. 12 references and 1 table