Performing Hepatitis C, Problematising “Cure”: The Construction of Hepatitis C (Cure) in Social Security and Migration Law

Direct-acting antiviral (DAA) treatment for the blood-borne virus hepatitis C has shifted conceptions of the disease from a chronic infection – and, in some legal contexts, a “disability” – towards a non-permanent impairment capable of “cure”. The shift in treatment has also led to a shift in law. This paper explores the shift in Australian social security and migration judgments by drawing from performance studies research on disability and recovery. It examines legal performances before and after the introduction of DAA treatment to track the way in which “disability” is performed in earlier cases and to problematise “cure” in later cases.