To describe demographic and clinical characteristics of patients residing in Victoria who were diagnosed with multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) during the period 1 January 1998 to 31 December 2007.

Retrospective review of Victorian Department of Health data on laboratory-confirmed cases of MDR-TB for the period 1998–2007.

Age, sex, country of birth, time between arrival in Australia and notification of TB, residency status, site of disease, and treatment period and outcome.

From 1998 to 2007, 31 patients who resided in Victoria were diagnosed with MDR-TB. The median age of patients was 27 years, most patients were born overseas, and more than half were full-time students. The median time between arrival in Australia and notification of TB was 2 years, and 24 patients were notified to the Department within 5 years of arrival. Twenty patients had pulmonary disease; in 12 of these patients, sputum was smear-positive for acid-fast bacilli. The median treatment period for patients who completed treatment was 22 months.

The number of patients diagnosed with MDR-TB per year increased during the period 1998–2007. If sustained, this increase will have important implications for public health policy and planning.