About us

Our story

The Chronic UTI Australia website came about after a small group of Australian women met online through their own experiences with chronic urinary tract infections. By networking and sharing research information, resources and personal experiences over several years, it was decided this information and knowledge would be compiled and made available to others searching for answers to their own ongoing urinary symptoms.  In 2017 the Chronic UTI Australia website came to life.  As interest grew, in 2018 we made it official and became an incorporated association, followed by endorsement by the Australian Charities and Not-for-Profit Commission (ACNC) in 2019 as a registered health promotions charity (HPC).  In 2022-23 we conducted a large survey of our patient community to better understand the impact chronic UTI has on people’s lives.  You can read the ‘Hearing Patient Voices’ survey report here.

Our mission

Our mission is to put urinary tract infection (UTI) on Australia’s public health agenda by advocating for awareness, recognition, education, research, and improved testing and treatment for ALL forms of UTI.  Ultimately, we want to stop the underdiagnosis and inadequate treatment of UTI, so that chronic UTI does not develop and cause needless suffering that so often destroys lives.

Our goals

Our goals are to:

• Ensure existing urinary tract infection (UTI) tests are recognised for their gross insensitivities and are replaced with improved and appropriate diagnostic tests.
• Advocate for, and collaborate with professional groups on, the development of new guidelines for UTI treatment that adequately address the 25-35 percent of patients who fail standard antibiotic therapy.
• Advocate for, and collaborate with, professional groups on the development of a formal definition of chronic UTI, new diagnostic testing and treatment guidelines specifically for chronic UTI, and patient access to specialised, evidence-based chronic UTI treatment in Australia.
• Distribute relevant and up-to-date information, research and resources about UTI, with the aim of helping support people (and their carers) living in Australia who have been diagnosed with, or suspect they have, chronic UTI.
• Help support and promote scientific UTI research globally, with the aim of finding more accurate diagnostic tools and fast, effective and safe treatment for all forms of UTI.
• Continue raising awareness and acknowledgement of chronic urinary tract infection (UTI) throughout Australia.

Our team

Our current volunteer management team who make everything happen.

Andrea Sherwin (present – 2018)

Deirdre Pinto (present – 2018)

Susan Hawes (present – 2023)

Monica Kemp (present – 2023)

Grace Patterson (present – 2023)

Jan Payne (present – 2023)

Gaylene Weir (present – 2023)

Read more about the work we have been doing to meet our goals in our reporting on the ACNC website.