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. Go to Mission, Vision and Values to find out more.

Kidney Health Australia has broadened its main focus 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. Go to Kidney Health Programs for more information.
• 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. 

Refer to The Impact of Kidney Disease prepared by our National Consumer Council using feedback from members of our kidney community. We also recommend you review our Fast Facts on CKD in Australia to realise the dimensions of the problem we are trying prevent.

Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) is a significant and growing public health problem, responsible for substantial burden of illness and premature mortality.  If you are a health professional or one who needs higher level statistics, refer to a comprehensive overview of CKD in Australia.

How many Australians die of Kidney Failure?

A summary of facts from most recent data available from Australian Bureau of Statistics shows:

• Kidney failure is rising as a significant cause of death
• 50 people die every day with kidney related disease
• In 2009, diseases of the kidney and urinary tract were the 9th leading cause of death in Australia with 3,312 deaths (it was the 10th cause of death in 2008)
• Overall there has been a 23% increase in deaths from kidney disease over the past 10 years, killing more people each year than breast cancer (2,799), prostate cancer (3,111) or even road deaths (1,417) **Causes of Death, Australia 2009, published 2011