Kidney Health Australia, formerly known as the Australian Kidney Foundation, was officially registered and opened its first office in Canberra on 9 August 1968.  

We are a not for profit organization whose focus is to improve kidney health outcomes which lead to substantial improvements to the quality of life for people with kidney and urinary tract diseases, their families and carers, as well as developing initiatives that reduce the incidence of kidney disease in the Australian community.

Kidney Health Australia has given a long term commitment to families and children affected by kidney disease, but the biggest challenge remains for us to reach those two million Australians who do not know they have early kidney damage. Find out here about our Mission, Vision and Values. 

Our Consumers

Our organisation has a rich history which has seen our focus broaden from the funding of cutting-edge medical research to incorporate the delivery of needs and evidence-based health programs and services, including:

• Awareness and education programs, and kidney community initiatives developed in conjunction with kidney specialists, health professionals and educators to curb the incidence of kidney disease in the Australian community.
• The provision of a network of education, care and support for patients, their families and carers.
• The promotion of organ donation.
• Through our expertise and commitment, we aim to reverse the trend of the rising incidence of kidney disease and to ease the burden of its immense human and financial cost. Read Meeting the Challenge

Did you know these facts on Chronic Kidney Disease in Australia?

• A person can lose up to 90% of their kidney function before experiencing any symptoms
• Approximately 2 million Australians may be affected by early-stage kidney disease and don't know it
• Over 40 Australians die of kidney failure each day
• 11.3% of all deaths in Australia are due to, or associated with, kidney failure
• Deaths from kidney failure have doubled in the past 20 years
• Every day, 6 Australians commence expensive dialysis or transplantation to stay alive
• Most people with CKD will die from cardiovascular causes before requiring dialysis or transplantation
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders experience excessive death and disability due to CKD
• The dialysis-dependent population has risen by an average of 8% per year over the past decade, and is being fuelled by the ageing population, and Type 2 diabetes epidemic
• It costs approximately $60,000 per annum to keep a person alive on dialysis

How many Australians die of Kidney Failure

The most recent data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics show:

• Kidney failure is rising as a significant cause of death
• In 2007, diseases of the kidney and urinary tract have jumped to 10th on the leading cause of death list with 3230 deaths
• In the last 10 years, this number has risen by 123%
• Most of this rise appears to be due to an increase of deaths from chronic kidney failure. This number has risen by 148% in the last decade, with the most striking rise (133%) in the last 3 years

We recomend you review our webpage Fast Facts on CKD in Australia to realise the dimensions of the problem we are trying prevent. If you are a health professional or one who needs higher level statistics, refer Australian CKD Statistics.