Chronic pain affects one in five Australians, yet access to effective care remains limited. For TDM, this issue is deeply personal; Tom, one of our Founders, experienced chronic pain firsthand, shaping our long-term commitment to improving care and awareness. Through the TDM Foundation, we helped create OPEN (Online Pain Education Network), a not-for-profit social enterprise delivering world-class pain education and research support.
A National Health Challenge
Chronic pain is one of the largest health challenges in Australia. At some point in their lives, one in five Australians are impacted by chronic pain. The economic burden is eye-watering – estimated at A$139 billion in 2018 through reduced quality of life, productivity losses, and direct health system costs. Without intervention, these costs are projected to rise to $215.6 billion by 2050 [1].
Behind Every Statistic, A Human Story
But behind every number lies a person whose world has been turned upside down. The impact can take many forms, but the reduction in their quality of life is undeniable: from not being able to work, travel, or socialise, to becoming isolated and shut off from the world. Then there is the pain itself: trying to live when your mind and body are both screaming for relief. The impact doesn’t stop there either – parents, spouses, siblings and close friends also live with the ongoing emotional strain of watching someone they love suffer, trying desperately to help them get by.
A Personal Story At TDM
For TDM, this story is not a distant concept. It’s deeply personal. Tom – one of our Founders – suffered from chronic pain in his early twenties. A love of cricket had caused repeated stress fractures in his back. What began as something manageable turned into something far more serious.
A few years into living with chronic pain, Tom couldn’t sit, walk, or stand. He had to leave his investment banking job. Even the most mundane of tasks, like walking to the local café for a coffee, became insurmountable. Countless visits to healthcare professionals (over 30 in five years) yielded the same result: nothing. Doctors, physios, and chiropractors didn’t know what was wrong and didn’t know how to help. It was during this time, lying on his living room floor, that Tom launched TDM. He could still read broker reports and make investment decisions.
Finding Hope Through Pain Management
By the time Tom was referred to the Pain Management Clinic (part of Royal North Shore Hospital in Sydney), his life was unrecognisable. For most chronic pain sufferers, getting into these clinics is incredibly difficult, and once there, it often feels like the last roll of the dice for a “normal” life. Over the months and years that followed, however, they gave Tom his life back. He learned to manage his pain. What once felt impossible slowly became possible again, as Tom says:
“My experience at the clinic didn’t just change my life – it saved my life.”
Turning Personal Experience Into Purpose
Given the profound impact the Pain Management Clinic had on Tom, when the TDM Foundation was created, it was a no-brainer for us to support its work.
Over the past four years, we’ve had the privilege of backing the Pain Management Research Centre (Royal North Shore) and some of Australia’s leading pain researchers from the University of Sydney and Curtin University. We’ve done this directly through the Foundation and through our collaboration with Hearts and Minds Investments (HM1).
Building Knowledge And Skills To Break The Cycle
Led by Professor Michael Nicholas, a team of researchers has created world-class education materials for healthcare professionals (across all disciplines) and care workers. These resources aim to build their knowledge, confidence, and skills in treating people who suffer from chronic pain.
The idea is simple but powerful: when frontline workers have the skills to understand and manage pain, people can access help and support much earlier, rather than enduring the years it can currently take to receive proper care. This also helps break the cycle many experience – where pain intensifies over time because it isn’t effectively addressed.
Creating OPEN – A New Model For Change
Our support didn’t stop at funding. Together with our partners, we set out to build something sustainable. That’s why we helped establish a not-for-profit social enterprise focused on developing pain education materials – the first of its kind in Australia – created in collaboration with our brilliant partners at the University of Sydney, Curtin University, and the Australian Pain Society.
This social enterprise, called OPEN (Online Pain Education Network), will serve as a platform to:
- Develop new education resources for healthcare professionals and people living with pain.
- Support vital pain research, which is often difficult to attract funding for.
- Foster greater collaboration across the pain sector.
The cost base for OPEN is underwritten by philanthropic contributions from the TDM Foundation, via our collaboration with HM1, and the Pain Foundation. This means proceeds from the sale of educational materials can be reinvested directly into advancing OPEN’s mission.
Looking Ahead
The program was launched on 25 July 2025, during National Pain Week, and the materials became available to the public on 1 October. We want OPEN to be a huge success – because we know how devastating chronic pain can be for individuals and families.
Our hope is that, in the years ahead, many more people with stories like Tom’s will benefit; not just from clinical care, but from a healthcare system better equipped to understand, respond, and support them.
Footnotes
[1] Deloitte Economics, 2018
