A workshop was held for organisations to better understand the disease at the Aboriginal Lands Council in Leeton on December 13, with attendees coming from places such as Albury, Junee, Leeton and Griffith.

Hepatitis NSW Aboriginal project officer Kerry Walker and Aboriginal hepatitis C service co-ordinator Andrew Paynter facilitated the workshop giving information on the disease and how important it was to keep the community up-to-date on the illness.

Hepatitis C is a blood-borne virus and can be contracted by sharing drug-injecting equipment such as needles, syringes and spoons.

Mr Paynter said the key to getting the message out about the disease was education.

"Today's workshop is for government and non-government organisations," he said.

"It is about bringing about awareness of hepatitis C and its prevalence in Australian society.

"Unfortunately, numbers are often two to three times higher in Aboriginal communities."

Hepatitis C can also be spread by using tattooing or body piercing equipment that hasn't been properly sterilised, sharing toothbrushes, razor blades or other personal items that have small amounts of blood on them and one person's blood coming into contact with open cuts on another person.

There are tests and treatments for the disease, according to Ms Walker.

"That's why we are here, to educate about treatment, testing, discrimination and the shame and stigma surrounding hepatitis C," she said.

"We are working on media campaigns to get the message out there."