Australian and New Zealand Continence Journal

The Australian and New Zealand Continence Journal (ANZCJ) is the official journal of Continence Health Australia and Continence New Zealand. The journal was established in 1995 and has been publishing peer-reviewed research for more than 30 years.

ANZCJ is the only multidisciplinary journal in Australia dedicated to researching the diagnosis, treatment and management of incontinence.

The journal is published quarterly and circulated to our members in Australia and New Zealand.

ANZCJ open access statement

The Australian and New Zealand Continence Journal (ANZCJ) is Diamond Open Access and is funded by Continence Health Australia, ABN: 84007325313. All articles published by the ANZCJ are free for authors to publish and free for readers to read.

Read the latest journal research and back catalogue.

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Publishing schedule

The ANZCJ is published with CSIRO Publishing in a continuous publishing model. For authors this is great news: as soon as your paper is accepted, it begins the production process. It is published online as soon as possible, without having to wait for the next quarterly edition to be published.

The journal is published in a yearly volume with 4 editions in March, June, September and December of each year.

In June 2026, the ANZCJ was accepted to the DOAJ and continues to apply for other journal databases to increase the reach of our publication.

How to submit a paper

The ANZCJ invites original research papers, and other scholarly manuscripts relating to the diagnosis, treatment and management of incontinence across the lifespan.

Submit via the ScholarOne submission portal:

All papers submitted to the journal are subject to a double-blind peer review by two reviewers with the expertise and academic qualifications that they may be deemed as peers by the Associate Editor.

While the journal is primarily dedicated to Australian and New Zealand research, it also accepts international research studies on issues of bowel and bladder health and incontinence.

Style guide

We use the Vancouver referencing style and the manuscript must fit into one of the categories listed in the Author Guidelines.

All enquiries should be made via email.

Information for first-time authors

First-time authors are encouraged to submit papers. Before you submit, please read the Instructions for Authors Guide.

Enquiries should be made via email.

Types of article you can submit

The ANZCJ accepts many different types of article:

Discussion

Presentation of information from more than one viewpoint (for example, for and against) and usually ending with a recommendation or opinion based on the evidence presented.

Literature review

Narrative Review: describes and evaluates the current knowledge of a subject, identifies gaps or inconsistencies and includes critical evaluation with recommendations for future research.

Systematic review

Describes planned analysis and evaluation of all available research studies on a particular clinical issue, conducted in accordance with scientific principles. It may include recommendations for future research.
Qualitative and quantitative research report

Presentation of study results in an ordered fashion, based on common practice. Research reports are expected to follow the ICMJE Recommendations for manuscripts submitted to biomedical journals, as published by the International Council of Science Journal Editors.

Case study

Combination of recount (retelling of events as they occurred) and information report (classification and description of something). Can be presented in different ways to give a cohesive account. To publish a case study containing any personal information about a patient you must provide a statement that the patient has given consent for the information to be used (understandably with case studies it is not possible to get consent from the patient beforehand – as you would with a clinical trial).

Segments

Segments are designed to encourage people who do not have the time or resources to publish a full paper to submit an article which tells the community about their work. The 3 segments are double-blind peer reviewed, 800 to 1200 words long (not including references) and have 6 to 12 references. The 3 types of segment are:

1. Did you know…

Covers interesting things related to continence that our readership of nurses, doctors, physios, OTs and other health professionals might not know. It could be something you have just discovered, or something you have known about for a long time that you are always surprised people don’t know about.

2. What I learned about…

Can cover anything you have recently discovered. This could be from a book, a conference, a training course, or even a discussion you have had.

3. Have you heard…

Any news related to continence, including upcoming events, new research released, new services available, new products related to continence.

A variety of topics are possible and include, but are not limited to: outcome studies, aged care, paediatrics, pregnancy and childbirth, novel drug therapies, reviews of devices, surgical or non-surgical interventions and evaluation, assessment articles, literature reviews of incontinence-related topics, home and community care issues and successes, men’s health, nursing management, physiotherapy management, support by other allied health disciplines (including occupational therapy, psychology and social work), the psychological impact of living with incontinence, ethical issues, cultural issues and collaborative approaches to care.

Editorial process (peer review)

The Australian and New Zealand Continence Journal uses a double-anonymised peer review process using the ScholarOne platform by Clarivate. All manuscripts are reviewed by 2 academic peers that have knowledge of the research area.

We use a wide pool of reviewers and often approach new reviewers we haven’t worked with before for each paper to encourage diverse views. Once reviewed by the peer reviewers, papers are reviewed by the Editor in Chief before a decision is made on accepting, recommending revisions or rejecting the paper.

The peer review process can take time if reviewers suggest changes. The editorial team recommends that you submit your paper as soon as it is ready. Your paper will go to production and the abstract will be available on the website as soon as it is accepted. The full paper will go through copyediting and then be published on the website as soon as it has been approved by the corresponding author and editorial team.

Journal management and policies

ICMJE recommendations

The ANZCJ follows the recommendations of the International Council of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE). It is recommended that all authors review the ICMJE Recommendations (previously The Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals) and the ICMJE statement Defining the roles of authors and contributors before submitting a paper.

Research and ethics

Information on publishing research and research publishing ethics, with links to the COPE ethics guidelines and international research reporting guidelines, can be found on the EQUATOR Network website.

All papers relating to human and animal studies must contain an ethics statement as per the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC). All papers relating to clinical trials must include the trial registration number and adhere to the research ethics statement.

Aims and scope of the ANZCJ

The Journal is a forum for the sharing of information to the wider community about:

• current research and practice in the diagnosis, treatment and management of incontinence
• promotion of continence.

It enables the exchange of information for all practitioner stakeholders.

The Journal aims to address the challenge of clinicians who are geographically isolated. Its mission is to foster new authors and meet the information needs of practitioners, from novice to expert, in all fields relating to incontinence.

All practitioners are encouraged to write about their work and experiences to promote the innovative practice of clinicians in continence care across Australasia.

Benefits of publishing with the ANZCJ

• Official journal of Continence Health Australia and Continence NZ
• High visibility and impact for your research
• Diamond Open Access: free to publish, free to read
• Rigorous and trustworthy double-anonymised peer review from experts in your field
• Quick response and decision times from editorial team
• Circulated to the Continence Health Australia membership of health professionals including doctors, nurses, physiotherapists, and other allied health
• Published with CSIRO Publishing: submit to a not-for-profit publisher with more than 75 years of scholarly publishing experience

ANZCJ ISSN 2208-5750

ANZCJ Editorial Committee

If you are interested in joining the ANZCJ editorial committee, go to Expressions of interest.

Editor In Chief/Chair

Assoc Prof Christian Moro

BSc, BEd, MBus, PhD, SFHEA
Centre for Urology Research
Faculty of Health Sciences and Medicine, Bond University,
Gold Coast, Qld, Australia

Associate Editors

Professor Eric Chung

FRACS (Urology)
Consultant urological surgeon
Professor of Surgery, The University of Queensland (Brisbane)
A/Professor of Surgery, The Macquarie University Hospital (Sydney)

Professor E. Jean C. Hay-Smith

Professor, Department of Medicine, University of Otago, Wellington, New Zealand
Jean Hay-Smith (PhD MSc DipPhysiotherapy) is a Professor of Rehabilitation in the Department of Medicine at the University of Otago in Wellington, New Zealand.
ORCID: 0000-0002-9009-2812
Keywords: pelvic floor muscle training, conservative management, urinary incontinence

Dr Anna Lawrence

MChB, FRACS (Uro)
Urologist, Genitourinary Reconstruction, Auckland Spinal and Rehabilitation Unit, Auckland Hospital, New Zealand

Dr Giovanni Losco

MB ChB(Dist) FRACS(Urol) FUSANZ AMusTCL LTCL DipABRSM CMInstD AFRACMA
Dr Losco is an adult and paediatric urologist and is Clinical Director (Urology) at Health NZ Waitaha Canterbury, Christchurch, NZ and Clinical Senior Lecturer (Surgery) at University of Otago, Dunedin, NZ as well as holding many other prominent positions in his field.
ORCID: 0000-0003-2939-1650

Dr Charlotte Phelps

Assistant Professor, Medical Program, Faculty of Health Sciences and Medicine, Bond University, Queensland, Australia
Charlotte Phelps (PhD, BHSc Hons I, BBiomedSci) is an Assistant Professor of Foundation Sciences in the Medical Program at Bond University. She teaches across physiology, anatomy, and pathology disciplines, and is an active early career researcher in the Centre for Urology and the Health Professions Education Research Groups in the Faculty of Health Sciences and Medicine, Bond University.
ORCID: 0000-0002-4217-0214
Keywords: urinary bladder, overactive bladder, underactive bladder, physiology, pharmacology

Dr Małgorzata Starzec-Proserpio

MSc (Physiotherapy), PhD
Research Center of the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Sherbrooke, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, School of Rehabilitation, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, QC, Canada.
Department of Midwifery, Centre of Postgraduate Medical Education, Warsaw, Poland

Assoc Prof Vivien Wong

MBChB, FRANZCOG, CU, PhD
Urogynaecologist, Robina Hospital, Gold Coast, Robina, Qld, Australia

Dr. Henry Yao

Urological Surgeon, MBBS, BMedSci, PGDipSurgAnat, FRACS (Urol)
Dr. Henry Yao is a consultant urologist at Western Health and Eastern Health, Melbourne, Australia. He is a clinical senior lecturer at Department of Surgery, The University of Melbourne.

Advisory Board

Dr Irmina Nahon

Associate Professor in Physiotherapy, University of Canberra
Irmina Nahon (PhD, SFHEA) is an Associate Professor in Physiotherapy and a Member of the Clinical Research, Rehabilitation and Translation Group at the University of Canberra
ORCID: 0000-0002-3949-9385

Dr Vincent Tse

MB, BS (Hons), MS (Syd), FRACS
Urologist, Concord Hospital, Sydney, NSW, Australia

Assoc Prof Wendy Bower

Director of Research Strategy and Funding at Continence Health Australia. Research Lead, Royal Melbourne Hospital, Vic., Australia
Wendy Bower (PhD, FACP, BAppSci(Physio), Dip Epid & Biostats) is research lead for Physiotherapy at Royal Melbourne Hospital and Associate Professor Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences at The University of Melbourne
ORCID: 0000-0003-2029-4731
Keywords: aged care, nocturia, neuromodulation, outcome measures, bladder rehabilitation

Jim Cooper

CEO, Continence Health, Australia

Louise Judd

Acting CEO, Continence New Zealand Representative

Managing Editor

Sarah Tayler

Sarah is employed by Continence Health Australia to manage day-to-day running of the journal and promote the work of the authors we publish. Sarah is a member of the World Association of Medical Editors (WAME) and the Institute of Professional Editors (IPEd).
publishing.cj@csiro.au
(03) 7037 1149
Continence Health Australia (formerly Continence Foundation of Australia)
Suite 1, 407 Canterbury Road, Surrey Hills, Vic 3127

The ANZCJ Editorial Committee members provide a competing interest statement and code of conduct annually.

For more information about the ANZCJ, author instructions or editorial policy, email the Managing Editor.

About the publisher

CSIRO Publishing is a trusted, not-for-profit publisher within Australia’s national science agency CSIRO, and brings high publishing standards, international reach, and quality author care to ANZCJ.

The ANZCJ is fully online. Each article receives a DOI (Digital Object Identifier), meaning your research can be found and cited easily. We are also listed on the below indexing databases with pending applications for additional indexes:

• DOAJ
• Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL)/EBSCO
• InfoRMIT (Australian Medical Index)
• More to come in 2027

Licenses and copyright

Licensing terms

Australian + New Zealand Continence Journal ANZCJ 1985 by Continence Health Australia (formerly Continence Foundation of Australia) is licensed under CC By 4.0. This license requires that reusers give credit to the creator. It allows reusers to distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon the material in any medium or format, even for commercial purposes.

Copyright terms

Upon submission authors will be required to sign an Author Copyright Statement confirming that the work they are submitting is original and has not been published anywhere (including electronically) before.

Advertise with the ANZCJ

For information on advertising with the Australian and New Zealand Continence Journal, please go to Advertising in the Journal.