Arthritis is Australia's major cause of disability and chronic pain. It affects an estimated 3.1 million people (as at June 2000) or approximately 16.5% of Australians. Women are significantly over-represented with 60.4% of all people with arthritis compared with half the population.

Almost 60% of all people with arthritis are of working age (15-64 years). Nearly 5% of Australians are taking medication for arthritis, and 1.5% will receive hospital treatment this year. 2% of the population are disabled or handicapped with arthritis. Despite this, there are indications that a not insignificant proportion of people with arthritis go undiagnosed and untreated.

Juvenile Arthritis can resemble adult RA but other distinctive patterns also occur. With one in 1,000 Australian children having Juvenile Arthritis it is one of the most prevalent and chronic illnesses among children. It has a higher prevalence than juvenile diabetes or cerebral palsy but often, because the symptoms are dismissed as "growing pains", Juvenile Arthritis goes untreated during the early stages of the disease. While some patients go into remission, others battle the symptoms lifelong.

Arthritis is more prevalent than five of the six National Health Priority areas (asthma, injuries, mental disorders, diabetes and cancers, in terms of patient reporting). More people report arthritis than hayfever, headaches and high blood pressure when compared to other sources of disease and injury in Australia. As the population ages, we are seeing a growing burden of arthritis-to the individuals, their families, their voluntary carers, the health system, the social welfare system, the labour market and the economy.

The World Health Organisation has identified that Musculoskeletal disease is an "epidemic" and is committed to an awareness plan.