The rates of people newly diagnosed with HIV starting antiretroviral therapy within six months of diagnosis have more than tripled in the past decade, according to new Australian research.

The proportion of patients who initiated early ART increased from 17% in 2004-06 to 53% in 2013-15, according to an analysis of longitudinal data from 44 sexual health clinics covering 917 people diagnosed with the virus.

The median time to treatment dropped 10-fold from 816 days to 82 days during the study period.

The authors, led by Professor Rebecca Guy from the Kirby Institute at UNSW Sydney, said the finding provided a baseline for assessing the impact of the 2015 update in Australian guidelines, which now recommend that all newly diagnosed patients receive early treatment regardless of CD4+ cell count.