On this page
Continence health issues affect millions of Australians, yet they’re often misunderstood or overlooked. If you or someone you care about is living with incontinence, you’re far from alone. In fact, 1 in 4 adults in Australia experience it.
The statistics on this page highlight just how widespread incontinence is, and why it’s time to start a conversation about continence health.
Source: The economic cost of incontinence in Australia. Deloitte Access Economics for Continence Health Australia, 2024.
How common is incontinence in Australia?
- 1 in 3 people in Australia over 15 years old experience incontinence. That’s more than 7.2 million people.
- Almost 4 in 10 women and 2 in 10 men in Australia experience incontinence. Women are 2 times more likely to have incontinence than men.
- 1 in 30 people have experienced bowel incontinence.
- Although there is a higher rate of incontinence among older people, 7 in 10 people with incontinence are younger than 65 years.
- Although there is a higher rate of incontinence among people who live in residential aged care facilities, 9 in 10 people who experience incontinence live in the community.
- The average age of people experiencing incontinence in Australia is 51 years.
Types of incontinence
- In 2023, 3 in 10 people in Australia experienced urinary incontinence (wee leakage).
- 2 in 100 people experienced bowel incontinence (poo leakage).
- 4 in 100 people experienced both urinary (wee) and bowel (poo) incontinence.
Older people in Australia and incontinence
- People living in residential care experience incontinence at higher rates than the general population.
- Almost 5 in 10 people living in residential care experienced incontinence in 2023.
- Almost 2 in 10 people receiving home care packages experienced incontinence in 2023.
Seeking support for incontinence
- Almost 6 in 10 people experiencing urinary incontinence, and 7 in 10 people experiencing bowel incontinence, talked to their GP (doctor) about support options.
- Almost 7 in 10 people saw a GP (doctor) at an average of 5 times in the previous year for support for incontinence.
- 4 in 10 people experiencing incontinence visited an allied health professional (including physiotherapist, occupational therapist) for support.
Mental health and wellbeing support
- 13% of survey respondents reported seeing a mental health professional for their incontinence with an average of 5 visits in the past year.
Impact on work and employment
- People with incontinence lost an additional 8.8 days of work per year compared with people who do not experience incontinence.
- 3% of people with incontinence are not in employment due to their incontinence.
Carers
- The average caregiver provides more than 5 hours of care per week to someone with incontinence.
- 13% of survey respondents reported seeing a mental health professional for their incontinence with an average of 5 visits in the past year.