Over the past ten years the incidents of community acquired drug-resistant bacteria in Australia has more than doubled.
National Prescribing Service (NPS) data shows that the proportion of cases where bacterial infections have been found to be resistant to antibiotics has jumped from 10 per cent in 2000 to 25 per cent in 2010.
NPS clinical adviser Dr Philippa Binns on Thursday warned there may not be effective treatments for illnesses ranging from tonsillitis to pneumonia by 2030.
"Every year thousands of prescriptions are written for antibiotics for conditions where they have no impact," Dr Binns told reporters.
"If we stop taking antibiotics as directed we allow the more resistant ones to grow up and multiply."
Australians are among the world's worst offenders when it comes to the misuse of antibiotics, she added.
Unique strains of highly aggressive, transmissible bacteria have developed in Australian communities
Golden Staph, for example, is becoming "smarter", Dr Burns warned.
The NPS is launching an antibiotic resistance campaign in a bid to halt the misuse.
NPS clinical adviser Daniella Stowasser said if 35,000 people pledge to use antibiotics responsibly it could help preserve antibiotic effectiveness.
The goal is to cut antibiotic prescriptions by one quarter.
An online survey of 1000 people conducted by the NPS found more than one in five people expected their doctor's to prescribe antibiotics when they have a cough or cold.
A quarter of respondents thought antibiotics killed viruses, one of the misconceptions Dr Burns said was leading to the growth in antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
A four-year campaign in Sweden cut prescriptions by 22 per cent in the 1990s.
