“This is not only an honour and recognition, but also a call to action to do more,” says Dr. Samantha Pillay, who has been awarded the OAM on Australia Day this year for her service to urology.
The Adelaide-based surgeon wears multiple hats, including that of an entrepreneur as well as an award-winning author and now even an AI film and AI music producer and director.
Dr. Pillay became the first Australian urologist to exclusively sub-specialise in Female Urology, Neuro-Urology, Functional and Reconstructive Surgery.
Before this, she had been the first woman to complete surgical training in Adult Urology in South Australia.
Dr. Pillay has worked extensively with the medical fraternity to raise awareness about urinary incontinence and to end the stigma around the debilitating condition which, she believes, is still an under-serviced field of medicine.
Educational resources on the subject developed by Dr. Pillay, including videos and lecture series, are accessed by thousands across the world, including the medical fraternity.
As a member of a raft of medical associations and advisory panels across the country, and as founder of Continence Matters, Dr. Pillay’s mission is to bring care and treatment to people of all ages with disabling bladder conditions, to build acceptance and understanding of these conditions by the wider community, to promote women’s health issues and to support women as leaders as well as supporting programmes that help to empower women around the world.

Elaborating on her mission, Dr. Pillay says, “The emphasis in urology always tends to be around the prostrate, but incontinence is a real issue too, affecting one in four adults on an everyday basis. Yet the topic is shrouded in secrecy because of stigma and embarrassment. I am striving to bring it out in the open.”
Her interest in medicine started early – fuelled largely by her own health conditions which required her to undergo multiple surgeries in her childhood. “I knew from a very young age that I want to be a surgeon and a specialist. I was fascinated by the technology being used in urology, but also attracted to it because it allowed me to perform surgeries and medical procedures sitting down, which was a boon for my own health conditions,” she shares.
She has also produced songs and videos highlighting the topic in an attempt to make them more mainstream.
“Every single patient I see is an honour to be able to help on a day-to-day basis,” Dr. Pillay shares.
Outside of medicine, Dr. Pillay continues to be passionate about women’s affairs, particularly inspiring the next generation of female leaders. Her picture book series Inspirational Careers for Kids aims young girls to ‘Dream Big, Aim High’.
“I like to do things that make a difference,” she says.
Talking of her family, Dr. Pillay says, “My father was born in Malaysia to SriLankan parents. He came to Adelaide in 1948 and studied medicine at The University of Adelaide. He worked on the Holden production line and highway construction to support himself through medical school. He met my English mother while working as a doctor in Singapore. He then worked in Edinburgh, UK, where my eldest sister was born. He returned to Australia to work in Queensland, where my second sister was born, before returning to Adelaide, where I was born.”
A self-confessed workaholic, Dr. Pillay was the 2024 Women In Innovation Social Impact Award recipient and finalist for Telstra Best of Business Awards 2023 and the SA Australian of the Year 2022. She was also conferred the Urological Society of Australia and New Zealand Low-Arnold Award in 2024.
🌟 Honored to win the Social Impact Award at the Women in Innovation Awards! 🌟 Grateful to WINN, sponsors, & my team at Continence Matters for supporting our mission to break the stigma around urinary incontinence. Together, we create positive change! 🌏💡 #WINNAwards pic.twitter.com/nydYxdIubf
— Dr Samantha Pillay (@drsamantha_p) November 27, 2024
Describing what keeps her going and allows her to accomplish so much on a day-to-day basis, Dr. Samantha Pillay OAM says, “I try to stay organised with lots of things-to-do lists’ strewn everywhere. I wake up very early and do not watch TV at all”.
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