Chronic pain is common in Australia. One in 5 Australians aged 45 and over are living with persistent, ongoing pain. This pain can be disabling and stressful, making it hard for a person to work and do the things they enjoy. More people are seeing their general practitioner for chronic pain. In 2018, chronic pain cost an estimated $139 billion in Australia, mostly through reduced quality of life and productivity losses.

Chronic pain is a common and complex condition characterised by persistent pain experienced on most days of the week. It affects 1 in 5 Australians aged 45 and over. New analysis in this report shows that compared with people without pain, people with chronic pain are more likely to:

• be female and older
• have long-term conditions
• stay longer in hospital
• report limitations to daily activities.