Worldwide, over 80% of primary liver cancers are attributable to chronic infection with hepatitis B or C virus. Over the past two decades, primary liver cancer incidence rates have been consistently rising in Australia. In New South Wales, the standardised incidence ratios for primary liver cancer in males born in Vietnam, Hong Kong and Macau, Korea, Indonesia and China and in females born in Vietnam and China are 6-12 times those in Australian-born populations. The incidence of liver cancer is likely to continue to increase unless a coordinated approach to disease control can be developed. Effective programs for chronic hepatitis B management need to link prevention, treatment and care, and enhance opportunities for research and surveillance activities. The evidence that suppression of hepatitis B virus replication could limit disease progression needs to inform the development of a public health response. Lessons learned in the development of the National Hepatitis C Strategy and the experience of international hepatitis B control programs need to inform this process.