Health officials in the Australian state of Victoria may face a class action from men police believe were deliberately infected with HIV by a Melbourne man accused of spreading the virus. As Michael Neal, 48, was ordered to stand trial on 106 charges last week - including intentionally transmitting HIV, attempting to cause serious injury, rape and possessing child pornography - victims turned their sights on health officials for not acting sooner. Neal is alleged to have hosted "conversion parties" - where HIV positive men had unprotected sex with HIV negative men. At the time, he was subject to orders that compelled him to have safe sex and stay away from sex-on-site venues. During Neal's two-week committal hearing, Melbourne Magistrates Court heard explicit evidence of group-sex bondage orgies, where the spreading of HIV would be discussed and was considered by some men to be a sexual fantasy. A witness who was HIV positive told the court yesterday that Neal was disappointed he could not "breed" him (pass on HIV). Men intent on contracting HIV were referred to as "bug-chasers", the court heard. About 30 witnesses, including 16 men who were allegedly anally penetrated by Neal when he was not wearing a condom, gave evidence in the case. One of the men, who was in a "master-slave" relationship with Neal, said he was so dominated by the accused that he registered himself with the local council as a dog, later giving the dog tag to Neal. Law firm Maurice Blackburn Cashman has been in touch with alleged victims of the father of three. The firm's principal Bernard Murphy claimed the Department of Human Services was negligent in its failure to properly isolate an individual who was allegedly purposely spreading a deadly disease. "We have been consulted by several victims," Murphy told The Australian. "Our clients consider that the inaction of the Department of Human Services was negligent. "The Health Act charges the Department of Human Services with important public health responsibilities and I am not persuaded that they have got the balance right between protecting the individual and protecting public health. "We are closely reviewing section 121 of the Health Act and various authorities to ascertain whether any litigation on behalf of our clients is possible." Victorian Opposition health spokeswoman Helen Shardey said she could not believe DHS management failed to refer allegations concerning Neal to police for more than four years after first having received an allegation that Neal was a risk to the public. Neal was ordered to appear at the Victorian County Court on 24th April for a directions hearing. Ref: The Australian (m)