Chronic conditions

Chronic conditions are the leading cause of illness, disability and death in Australia. Common chronic conditions include cancer, heart disease and diabetes. Find out what we’re doing to prevent and manage chronic conditions in Australia.

Learn about chronic conditions

Find out what chronic conditions are and where to find more information about them.

Take action on your risk factors

You can take action to prevent, manage or treat chronic conditions. Find out how.

See our chronic conditions initiatives

Our initiatives can help you prevent or manage chronic conditions in your life.

What we’re doing

We support activities dealing with many types of chronic conditions. Find out what we're doing.

National Strategic Framework for Chronic Conditions

The National Strategic Framework for Chronic Conditions 2026–2035 sets Australia’s long term plan to prevent and manage chronic illness. It guides governments, health services and communities to work together, focusing on prevention, integrated care, equity and shared risk factors.

Find out more

News

News

Chief Medical Officer Professor Michael Kidd — Address to the National Hypertension Summit 2025

Read Chief Medical Officer, Professor Michael Kidd's address to the National Hypertension Summit 2025 in Adelaide — 9 December 2025.

In Australia, 10 common chronic conditions contribute to

66%

of the burden of disease

52%

of hospitalisations

89%

of deaths

Source: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (2023) Chronic conditions and multimorbidity, AIHW, Australian Government, accessed 25 January 2024.

The 10 conditions are arthritis, asthma, back problems, cancer, chronic kidney disease, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), diabetes, mental and behavioural conditions, osteoporosis or osteopenia, and selected heart, stroke and vascular diseases (based on underlying or associated causes of death).

Resources

Resources

National Strategic Framework for Chronic Conditions

The National Strategic Framework for Chronic Conditions 2026–2035 sets Australia’s long term plan to prevent and manage chronic illness. It guides governments, health services and communities to work together, focusing on prevention, integrated care, equity and shared risk factors.