Background: Arthritis is a significant contributor to illness, pain and disability and imposes a considerable burden upon the community. Pain is a cardinal symptom of arthritis and has significant implications on biopsychosocial wellbeing. The multidimensional nature of the experience of pain in arthritis has not been well defined in community-based samples. Aims: The two aims of this study are to generate profiles of pain from a community sample of older women and to compare profiles for women with and without arthritis. Methods: The sub study is a cross-sectional postal survey of 700 Australian community-based women. The survey includes a range of measures on health, arthritis and pain that will be used to examine the multidimensional nature of the experience of pain in arthritis and generate profiles of pain. Discussion: With no core set of measures for the evaluation of arthritis pain, this survey was created from an amalgamation of measures to capture multiple dimensions of pain. Findings from this study will assist in defining the symptom of pain in arthritis and may lead to further research in evidence-based treatment options for people with arthritis.