Chronic pain — pain persisting for more than three months — affects approximately 3.6 million Australians, or approximately 14% of the population. Chronic pain is the single largest contributor to years lived with disability in Australia. It profoundly affects quality of life, mental health, employment, and relationships. Despite the scale, chronic pain has historically been underfunded in research and service provision. Grant funding supports pain research, multidisciplinary pain services, community education, opioid harm reduction, and the advocacy that improves pain policy in Australia.
Scale
Who experiences chronic pain
Conditions
The opioid problem
Australia faces a prescription opioid misuse problem:
- Approximately 1.5 million Australians prescribed opioids for chronic pain
- Opioids have limited long-term effectiveness for non-cancer chronic pain
- Significant rates of opioid dependence and harm
- Deaths from prescription opioids comparable to road deaths
Department of Health
NHMRC
Pain research grants.
PHNs (Primary Health Networks)
Commission some chronic pain management services.
Medicare
GP management plans, allied health for chronic conditions (limited).
WorkCover/Workers Compensation
Occupational injury-related chronic pain treatment.
Pain Australia
National peak body for chronic pain:
- National Pain Strategy
- Consumer advocacy
- Professional education
Australian Pain Society
Professional body — research and clinical standards.
Eli Lilly Australia
Pharmaceutical company with pain research funding.
Various health foundations
Research funding for pain conditions.
Multidisciplinary pain services
Gold standard for chronic pain management — but wait times are long:
- Psychologist, physiotherapist, GP, pharmacist collaboration
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) for pain
- Graded exercise and movement
- Pain education and self-management
Pain education and self-management
Opioid harm reduction
Mental health and pain
Research
Workforce development
Children and adolescents
Occupational rehabilitation
Palliative pain management
Many Australians with chronic pain don't understand the neuroscience of pain — and misconceptions perpetuate disability:
- Pain does not always mean tissue damage
- The nervous system can amplify pain signals
- Activity and movement are not dangerous for most chronic pain
- Psychosocial factors profoundly affect pain experience
Pain neuroscience education — helping people understand how pain works — is one of the most effective, low-cost interventions for chronic pain. Grant funding for pain education programmes, delivered through health services, online, and community settings, is high-impact.
Multidisciplinary model
Single-discipline pain management is insufficient — the evidence supports multidisciplinary approaches. Applications building multidisciplinary capacity are more credible than single-discipline applications.
Opioid stewardship
The prescription opioid problem is a genuine public health crisis. Applications addressing opioid prescribing practices, education, or harm reduction have strong public health rationale.
Research translation
Pain research in Australia is strong, but translation to clinical practice is slow. Applications that bridge research and clinical practice — implementing evidence-based approaches — are high-value.
Equity in access
People in rural areas, those with lower incomes, and those with comorbid mental health conditions have the least access to quality pain management. Applications targeting these groups address genuine equity gaps.
Tahua's grants management platform supports chronic pain funders and pain management organisations — with patient outcome tracking, service reach data, opioid reduction measurement, and the reporting tools that help chronic pain funders demonstrate their investment in better quality of life for Australians living with persistent pain.