Chronic Pain Australia’s latest National Pain Report reveals millions are living with chronic pain that remains largely invisible across Australia’s health system.
Released today to mark the beginning of National Pain Week, Chronic Pain Australia’s 2026 National Pain Report: Pain Lives Here[1] is calling attention to what it describes as Australia’s National Pain Gap – the disconnect between the widespread impact of chronic pain and the lack of recognition, measurement and action within Australia’s health system.
Produced by Chronic Pain Australia, the national voice of the 5.4 million Australians (adults and children)[2] living with chronic pain, the report draws on responses from more than 6,000 Australians, painting a confronting picture of a condition that extends far beyond healthcare – influencing workforce participation, financial security, education, relationships, mental wellbeing and everyday life.
Among the report’s findings:
- Two fifths (42%) of respondents have stopped working because of chronic pain.
- Almost three quarters (72%) say cost is preventing them from accessing healthcare.
- Two in five (40%) waited more than three years to receive a diagnosis.
- Over half (58%) felt ignored or dismissed when seeking healthcare.
- Nearly three in four (71%) developed mental health issues after their pain began.
- One in three (33%) reported experiencing thoughts of taking their own life.
- More than one in three respondents (38%) developed chronic pain before the age of 25.
One in five Australians[3] live with chronic pain, making it one of the nation’s leading causes of disability – yet it continues to receive a fraction of the recognition, funding and policy attention afforded to other major chronic health conditions. Without reform, the annual cost of chronic pain is projected to rise from $139.3 billion in 2018 to $215.6 billion by 2050[4].
The report argues Australia’s National Pain Gap exists because chronic pain remains poorly understood within Australia’s health data. Unlike many other chronic conditions, chronic pain is not consistently identified or reported in national datasets, making it difficult for governments to accurately understand its prevalence, plan services, direct investment or measure whether care is improving over time.
Chronic Pain Australia Chair Nicolette Ellis said the findings demonstrate that pain is everywhere – yet remains largely invisible.
“Pain lives in our homes, our workplaces, our schools and our communities. Yet despite affecting millions of Australians, it remains largely invisible within the systems responsible for measuring, planning and responding to it,” Ms Ellis said
“That is Australia’s National Pain Gap.
“When pain isn’t measured, it isn’t seen. When it isn’t seen, it isn’t prioritised. The consequence is that people spend years searching for answers, leave the workforce, experience financial hardship and face declining mental health while the system struggles to recognise the full scale of the problem.”
The report highlights that chronic pain is no longer simply a health issue. It is also:
- a workforce issue, with 57% reporting chronic pain had affected their ability to work and 42% leaving the workforce because of pain,
- a cost-of-living issue, with 41% going without at least one essential household item to afford healthcare or medicines, including food, clothing and fuel,
- a mental health issue, with 71% reporting they had experienced mental health issues since developing chronic pain and one in three reporting thoughts of taking their own life,
- an equity issue, with LGBTQIA+ Australians significantly more likely to experience mental health issues (88% compared with 70%), report thoughts of taking their own life (56% compared with 30%) and attempt suicide (16% compared with 5%) than other respondents.
Perhaps most concerning, the report found more than one in three respondents (38%) developed chronic pain before the age of 25 and consistently experienced poorer outcomes across almost every area of life.
Compared with those whose pain began later in life, they were almost twice as likely to wait more than three years for a diagnosis (57% compared with 29%), more likely to experience mental health issues (85%), financial strain (73%), workforce disruption and thoughts of taking their own life (44%). The findings suggest delays in recognising and treating chronic pain early can shape an individual’s entire life trajectory.
Ms Ellis said these findings reinforce that chronic pain cannot continue to be viewed solely through a clinic lens.
“This report shows pain doesn’t stay inside hospitals or specialist clinics. It follows people into classrooms, workplaces, family life and retirement.
“The National Pain Report provides some of the strongest evidence available of what Australians living with chronic pain experience every day. It should be a catalyst for recognising chronic pain as a national health priority.”
The findings arrive as Australia faces a growing gap in its ability to track chronic pain nationally. Following the closure of the electronic Persistent Pain Outcomes Collaboration (ePPOC), the National Pain Report is now the only source of national data on the lived experience of chronic pain in Australia.
Running from 26–31 July, National Pain Week uses the theme ‘Pain Lives Here’ to bring these findings into everyday spaces – homes, workplaces, schools and communities – rather than confining chronic pain to a healthcare conversation.
Chronic Pain Australia is using the week to call on governments to recognise chronic pain within Australia’s national health data, as the first step towards closing the National Pain Gap. Better data means better planning, better investment, and a health system that no longer overlooks millions of Australians living with pain every day.
The full 2026 National Pain Report can be accessed here.
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For more information or to coordinate an interview, please contact:
Courtney Trewin | 0420 211 251 | courtney@inthemaking.com.au
Samantha Borland-Smith | 0447 688 450 | sam@inthemaking.com.au
[1] National Pain Report 2026: The State of Pain in Australia, Chronic Pain Australia 2026
[3] Chronic pain in Australia: a prevalence study, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11166468/
[4] The cost of pain in Australia, Deloitte 2019