A new national report has exposed the scale of Australia's chronic pain crisis as GPs call for less stigma, safer prescribing and expanded access to opioid dependence treatment.
More than five million Australians are living with chronic pain, but delayed diagnosis, unaffordable care and stigma around opioid dependence are leaving many without appropriate treatment.
The RACGP has called for stronger GP-led pain and addiction care, as the 2026 National Pain Report warned chronic pain affected around one in five Australians but remained largely invisible in the health data used to plan services and allocate funding.
Based on responses from more than 6000 people living with chronic pain, the report, produced by Chronic Pain Australia, found 40% waited more than three years for a diagnosis; more than half had never been referred to a multidisciplinary pain service or private pain specialist; and almost two-thirds did not know where to seek help.
At the same time, the RACGP has warned that dependence on prescription pain medicines remained heavily stigmatised, despite often developing after medicines were prescribed appropriately.
“We need to recognise that pain is complex, and so is dependence on medicines that were often prescribed with the best intentions,” RACGP president Dr Michael Wright said.
“Nobody should feel any stigma about seeking help. Patients with pain deserve compassionate, evidence-based care and support, whether they’re managing chronic pain, concerns about their medication use, or both.”
He said general practice was central to improving outcomes, with GPs well placed to coordinate multidisciplinary care, review medicines and support patients to reduce or stop opioids when the harms outweighed the benefits.
“Good holistic care means minimising pain and maximising quality of life,” Dr Wright said.
“It can also mean supporting patients to reduce or stop pain medicines when they’re no longer providing benefit, because dependence and addiction too often catch people by surprise.”
However, the National Pain Report suggests many patients are struggling to access that care.
Nearly three-quarters of respondents said cost prevented them from accessing healthcare, while 41% reported going without essentials such as food, clothing or fuel to pay for treatment or medicines.
The impact extended well beyond health. More than half said chronic pain had affected their ability to work, with 42% leaving the workforce altogether because of pain. Seventy-one per cent developed mental health problems after their pain began, one in three had experienced suicidal thoughts and almost a quarter reported self-harm ideation.
Chronic Pain Australia chair Nicolette Ellis said the findings showed chronic pain had become a whole-of-system issue rather than simply a clinical problem.
“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.
“Health professionals are on the frontline of closing that gap, and this data gives them a clearer picture of what their patients are experiencing every day – and where additional support, training or referral pathways could make the greatest difference.”
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The report also highlighted inequities in care. More than one-third of respondents developed chronic pain before the age of 25 years, with this group almost twice as likely to experience diagnostic delays and reporting markedly poorer education, employment and mental health outcomes.
LGBTQIA+ and neurodivergent respondents also reported higher rates of financial hardship, mental illness and feeling dismissed by healthcare professionals.
Overall, 58% of respondents said they had felt ignored or dismissed while seeking healthcare, rising to 82% among respondents with ADHD or autism.
The RACGP said addressing those outcomes would require more than better pain management.
The college has called for governments to expand access to Medication-Assisted Treatment for Opioid Dependence through general practice and better support GPs providing complex addiction care.
It has also backed deprescribing as a core part of chronic pain management, recently partnering with Monash University researchers, pharmacists, nurses and medical scientists to develop Australia’s first national deprescribing roadmap, SUPPORT-Meds.
“Deprescribing is not about taking treatment away from patients,” Dr Wright said.
“It’s about ensuring every medicine remains safe, effective and aligned with a patient’s goals and circumstances.”
Read the full report here.
