Chronic kidney disease: Australian facts

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) refers to all conditions of the kidney affecting the filtration and removal of waste from the blood for 3 months or more. It is identified by reduced filtration by the kidney and/or by the leakage of protein or albumin from the blood into the urine.

CKD is mostly diagnosed at more advanced stages when symptoms become more apparent. Kidney failure occurs when the kidneys can no longer function adequately, at which point people require kidney replacement therapy (KRT) – a kidney transplant or dialysis – to survive.

Key facts

• An estimated 14.2% of Australians adults had biomedical signs of chronic kidney disease (CKD) in the 2022-24 period, only 7.4% of which self-reported having the condition. This estimate includes early and asymptomatic stages.
• The estimated number of Australian adults with moderate to severe loss of kidney function increased by over 60%, from 620,900 to 1 million between 2011–12 and 2022–24, driven by the growth in the population of older people. 
• Kidney failure (KF), the most advanced stage of CKD, requires kidney replacement therapy (KRT) for survival. In 2024, 14,000 people were living with a functioning kidney transplant and 16,000 people were undertaking dialysis. After adjusting for changes in the age structure of the population, the rate has increased by 40% over the last two decades, driven by people remaining on KRT for longer. 
• Dialysis has a high burden on the individual and the Australian health system. In 2023–24, 1.7 million (14%) hospitalisations in Australia were for dialysis. Conservative estimates from linked data suggest an average of 91 hospital separations for dialysis per person admitted for the year. 
• Not everyone with KF will undergo KRT, some opt to receive comprehensive conservative care, with a focus on quality of life instead of efforts to prolong life. For each person who started KRT in 2021, there was one person with KF who did not undergo KRT. The probability of not undergoing KRT increases sharply after age 75.

How common is chronic kidney disease?

In 2022–24:

• an estimated 14.2% of people (2.7 million Australians) aged 18 and over had biomedical signs of CKD, according to Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) analysis of the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) National Health Measures Survey (NHMS) (ABS 2025a) 
• the prevalence of CKD increased rapidly with age, affecting around 47% of people aged 75 and over 
• only 7.4% of NHMS respondents (18 years and over) who showed biomedical signs of CKD self-reported having the disease, indicating that CKD is a largely under-diagnosed condition (ABS 2025b). 

For more information on the incidence and prevalence of CKD, see How many people are living with chronic kidney disease in Australia?

Change over time

Three national surveys have been conducted in Australia that provide data on biomarkers of CKD – the 1999–2000 Australian Diabetes, Obesity and Lifestyle Study (AusDiab), the 2011–12 NHMS and most recently the 2022–24 NHMS.

Between 2011–12 and 2022–24: 

• the age-standardised CKD prevalence rate among Australian adults increased slightly, with the rate in 2022–24 being 1.2 times as high as in 2011–12. 
• the number of Australians with moderate to severe loss of kidney function increased by over 60%, from 620,900 to 1 million.

This increase was mostly driven by growth in the population of older people (as people live longer), the proportion of people aged 65 and older with moderate to severe loss of kidney function remained around 20%. While low, the proportion among people aged 18-64 doubled from 0.6% to 1.3% (AIHW analysis of ABS 2025a).  

For more information, see Trends over time.

Kidney failure

Not everyone with kidney failure chooses to receive KRT, opting instead for end-of-life care. Therefore, prevalence and incidence estimates for kidney failure need to count people both with and without replacement therapy. The most recent data available to examine this are linked data from the Australia and New Zealand Dialysis and Transplant (ANZDATA) Registry and the National Death Index, covering the period 2000 to 2021.

In 2021:

• there were around 6,500 new cases of kidney failure in Australia – around 18 per day – of these, half (50%) were receiving KRT
• 94% of people with newly diagnosed kidney failure who were aged under 55 received KRT, compared with 18% of people newly diagnosed aged 75 and over.

Before age 75, most new cases of kidney failure are treated with KRT, however, this trend reverses after age 75, with an 11-fold increase in kidney failure without KRT compared with those aged 65–74 (145 and 13 per 100,000 population) (Figure 1). While the reasons for not undertaking KRT are not available from this data source, known factors include late referral, comorbidity, and overall quality of life considerations (Sparke 2013). For a person near the end of their life, comprehensive conservative care with supportive care may be a more suitable form of care. 

Treatment and management of chronic kidney disease

Hospitalisations

CKD was recorded as the principal or additional diagnosis for around 2 million hospitalisations – 17% of all hospitalisations in Australia in 2023–24. 

Dialysis was the most common reason for hospitalisation, accounting for 14% of all hospitalisations, and 80% of CKD hospitalisations (1.7 million). Conservative estimates from linked data suggest an average of 91 hospital separations for dialysis per person admitted for the year.

There were 426,000 hospitalisations with a diagnosis of CKD (excluding dialysis as a principal diagnosis). Of these, 84% had CKD as an additional (rather than principal) diagnosis.

Between 2000–01 and 2023–24:

• the number of hospitalisations with CKD as the principal diagnosis (excluding dialysis) more than doubled, from 25,200 to 68,000 
• the age-standardised hospitalisation rate for CKD as a principal diagnosis (excluding dialysis) rose by 72%.

For more information, see Hospitalisations for chronic kidney disease.

Kidney replacement therapy

In 2024, around 30,000 people received KRT with 53% being treated with dialysis while 47% were living with a functioning kidney transplant. 

The number of people receiving KRT has more than doubled since 2000, from around 11,700 to 30,000 (AIHW analysis of ANZDATA 2024).

For more information on kidney replacement therapy, see Treatment of kidney failure.

Impact of chronic kidney disease

Burden of chronic kidney disease

Burden of disease refers to the quantified impact of living with and dying prematurely from a disease or injury.

The contribution of CKD to the total disease burden (fatal and non-fatal) in Australia has remained stable since 2003. 

In 2024, CKD was:

• responsible for 1.1% of the total burden, compared with 0.8% in 2003
• Australia’s 14th leading cause of fatal burden 
• the sixth leading cause of fatal burden for women aged 85–89 and eighth leading cause of burden for men aged 85–89 (AIHW 2024).

The burden of CKD in 2024 was 1.3 times as high for males as females, after adjusting for age (AIHW 2024).

For more information on the burden of CKD, see Burden of chronic kidney disease.

Deaths from chronic kidney disease

In 2024, CKD contributed to around 21,000 deaths (11% of all deaths in Australia), a rate of 78 per 100,000 population. CKD was recorded as the underlying cause of death in 24% and associated cause of death in 76% of CKD deaths. 

The number of CKD-related deaths has doubled since 2000 (when there were 10,200 deaths). After accounting for changes in the age structure of the population over this time, the rate of CKD deaths remained relatively stable between 2000 and 2024 (Figure 2).

For more information on deaths from CKD, see Mortality.

Priority population groups

The impact of CKD varies between population groups.  

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (First Nations) people

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a significant health issue affecting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (First Nations) people.

• An estimated 101,500 First Nations adults (19%) had biomedical signs of CKD in 2022–24 (AIHW analysis of ABS 2025c).
• Dialysis, a treatment for CKD, accounted for 40% (275,000) of all hospitalisations (691,000) among First Nations people in 2023–24.

For more information, see First Nations People

Remoteness and socioeconomic area

Generally, the impact of CKD in terms of prevalence, treatment and impact is greater among people living in lower socioeconomic areas and people living in Remote and very remote areas. For example: 

• Among people living in the lowest socioeconomic areas, there were around 5,700 deaths where CKD was the underlying or associated cause in 2024 (106 per 100,000 population). The CKD death rate among this group was 1.8 times as high as for people living in the highest socioeconomic areas, after adjusting for age.
• Among people living in Remote and very remote areas, there were 20,100 CKD hospitalisations in 2023–24 (4,000 per 100,000 population). People living in these areas were 3.2 times as likely to be hospitalised for CKD as people living in Major cities, after adjusting for age.

Where do I go for more information?

For more information, see Chronic kidney disease: Australian facts.