This National Pain Week (26-31 July 2026), Pain Foundation Limited is calling on Australians to recognise chronic pain as one of the nation’s most significant yet overlooked health challenges.
National Pain Week is an opportunity to raise awareness, challenge misconceptions and advocate for better support for the millions of Australians whose lives are affected by persistent pain.
Nearly one in five Australians lives with chronic pain, affecting every aspect of life, from employment and mental health to relationships, financial security and participation in the community. Despite its widespread impact, people living with pain continue to face misunderstanding, delayed diagnosis and barriers to accessing effective multidisciplinary care.
More than 3.6 million Australians now live with chronic pain, and national data shows seven in ten say they feel ignored when it comes to their pain. Access remains a critical barrier: only around 1 in 100 Australians living with chronic pain can currently access multidisciplinary pain management, despite it being the most effective approach to care. Chronic pain continues to affect employment, mental health, relationships, financial security and community participation, yet is still met with misunderstanding, delayed diagnosis and limited access to appropriate treatment.
The economic toll is just as stark. Chronic pain already costs the Australian economy an estimated $139.3 billion a year in health system spending, lost productivity and reduced quality of life, a figure projected to climb to $215.6 billion by 2050 as the population ages, unless access to effective, affordable care improves.
National Pain Week is a national call to action: to raise awareness, improve accessibility and affordability of care, and press for chronic pain to be formally recognised as a National Health Priority Area. Australians living with chronic pain are also being encouraged to share their experiences through the 2026 National Pain Survey, helping shape future policy, services and research priorities.
“Chronic pain is far more than a symptom — it is a complex medical condition that can profoundly affect every aspect of a person’s life,” said Professor Paul Glare AM, pain medicine specialist and board director of Pain Foundation Limited.
“People living with persistent pain deserve timely access to evidence-based care, compassion from healthcare providers and a health system that recognises the significant physical, emotional and economic burden of chronic pain.”
Professor Glare, who recently discussed on Northern Sydney Local Health District’s Tomorrow’s Medicine Today why pain can persist long after an injury has healed, said this year’s National Pain Week was a critical opportunity to shift how Australia understands and responds to persistent pain. You can view the podcast at this link: podcast https://www.youtube.com/shorts/afWYjMe9vXs
Pain Foundation Limited is encouraging individuals, healthcare professionals, employers and policymakers to work together to close the gap between the scale of chronic pain in Australia and the support currently available to those living with it.
The Pain Foundation supports research, clinical treatment, education and advocacy to help Australians better understand persistent pain and reduce the stigma often experienced by those living with invisible conditions.
“Too many Australians are suffering in silence,” said Julie Toma, Board Director of Pain Foundation Limited.
“National Pain Week reminds us that pain is real, even when it cannot be seen. By backing the national push to make chronic pain a health priority and improving access to evidence-based care, we can help people regain quality of life and participate more fully in their families, workplaces and communities.”
Pain Foundation Limited invites all Australians to support National Pain Week 2026 by learning more about chronic pain, supporting research and helping build a more compassionate, better-informed community for the millions of people living with persistent pain.
Sources: Chronic Pain Australia (chronicpainaustralia.org.au), National Pain Week 2026 and Triple AAA Standards of Care campaign materials; The Cost of Pain in Australia, Deloitte Access Economics / Pain Australia; Australian Institute of Health and Welfare; podcasthttps://www.youtube.com/shorts/afWYjMe9vXs