Australia's health system is world‐class. The nation's life expectancy is one of the highest in the world, its death rates are continually trending downward, and the population's overall health compares well with that of similar Organisation for Economic Co‐operation and Development (OECD) countries.1 However, wound management, particularly the prevention and treatment of venous leg ulcers (VLUs), is an area where Australia lags behind. Because of the lack of up‐to‐date evidence on the prevalence of chronic wounds in Australia, the exact number of Australians affected by VLUs is largely unknown. Based on prevalence data from UK and US studies, cases of VLUs in hospitals and residential care settings in Australia have been estimated to be more than 47 000 annually.2 The costs associated with treating VLUs in Australian hospitals and residential care settings have been estimated at more than AUD1 billion annually.2 This estimate does not include the costs of treating VLUs in the community but our recent research in community settings in Queensland indicates these costs are high.3-5