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If the trial is successful, the vaccine will be tested on a larger, higher-risk population, probably in Thailand.
The vaccine differs from previous, unsuccessful drugs because it targets a different part of the immune system.
"It's very novel and certainly cutting edge," Dr Emery said. "There are only a couple of groups around the world who have got into clinical evaluation with these second generation vaccines."
Developing countries in particular are being ravaged by HIV/AIDS. The United Nations announced yesterday the number of people infected worldwide had reached 42 million. It also warned of a rapid spread of the disease throughout Asia.
"Around the world, there are 15,000 new infections occurring every day ... for which there is no reliable intervention that makes any difference whatsoever," Dr Emery said.
Instead of wiping the virus out altogether, the vaccine aims to stop it spreading within the body, effectively neutering it.
David Boyle, the CSIRO scientist at the Australian Animal Health Laboratory in Geelong, who helped develop the vaccine, described it as a "prime and boost" approach, consisting of two injections.
The first, a shot of modified HIV DNA, primes the immune system's "killer T-cells" to quickly recognise and attack the virus.
The second, a shot of harmless fowlpox virus, further boosts the immune system. It has previously been tested on monkeys and mice.
Another HIV vaccine, which uses a similar fowlpox component but not the HIV part, has been safely tested by a Melbourne biotechnology firm on a group of HIV positive patients.
The vaccine aims to reduce the amount of virus in a patient's body, thereby slowing or halting its effects.
However, experts stressed traditional AIDS prevention measures, such as using condoms, were as important as ever. "This is not a magic bullet at this point in time," Dr Boyle said.
Don Baxter, the executive director of the Australian Federation of AIDS Organisations, said: "We do have to be very careful not to raise expectations about how quickly a vaccine might be available."
The news came on top of a fresh warning that injecting drug users were still at risk of HIV infection. Research by the Turning Point Alcohol and Drug Centre, in Melbourne, showed 17 per cent of injecting drug users had borrowed a needle in the past month and 22 per cent had given their own syringe to another user.
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