About the National Continence Program

Continence Health Australia delivers the National Continence Program which is funded by the Australian Government’s Department of Health, Disability and Ageing.

What the program delivers

• National Continence Helpline (1800 33 00 66): a free and confidential service staffed by nurse continence specialists. It is available to everyone – health professionals, carers and individuals. Access personalised advice, support and a wide range of resources and information.
• Service directory and product directory: Australia-wide providers of continence-related support services and products.
• Guidance on financial assistance programs: information on how to access funding through schemes such as Continence Aids Payment Scheme and NDIS.
• Multilingual information: evidence-based resources in 30 languages for better access to health information.
• Public health programs for 6 priority groups – women, older people, children, people with disability, First Nations peoples and multicultural communities.
• National Public Toilet Map: a free website and app that helps people find more than 25,000 public toilet facilities across Australia.
• National awareness campaigns to reduce embarrassment and increase help-seeking behaviour. For example, the Great Dunny Hunt and Women’s Health Week.
• Education, training and development for health professionals and health care workers to build a skilled workforce.
• Evidence-based initiatives (research, policy and advocacy) that support best-practice continence care.

Collaboration for better outcomes

The program makes continence health services stronger by enabling collaboration between:

• Commonwealth, state, territory and local governments
• health professionals
• community organisations
• other key stakeholders.

The coordinated approach helps the delivery of targeted initiatives through:

• national education
• community engagement
• workforce development.

The social and economic benefits of the program

Incontinence affects more than 1 in 3 people in Australia. It costs the health system more than $2.6 billion each year – a figure likely to rise sharply by 2032.

The National Continence Program delivers significant social and economic benefits by:

• promoting early intervention
• building workforce capability
• reducing the embarrassment and stigma associated with incontinence.

The program helps people living with incontinence take part more confidently in everyday life. At the same time, it supports better continence health outcomes across Australia.

It builds on a 40-year partnership between Continence Health Australia and the Commonwealth.

Reporting on our activities

We submit quarterly progress reports and an annual Activity Work Plan to the Australian Government’s Department of Health, Disability and Ageing.

This is separate from Continence Health Australia’s Annual Report and financial statements.