Public health
Key publications
Health expenditure Australia 2006-07 (September 2008)
Public health expenditure in Australia 2006-07 (September 2008)
Welfare expenditure Australia 2005-06 (November 2007)
Expenditures on health for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples 2004-05 (February 2008)
Health system expenditure on disease and injury in Australia 2000-01, second edition (April 2005)
The burden of disease and injury in Australia 2003 (May 2007)
Overview
Public health is characterised by planning and intervening
for better health in populations rather than focusing on the health of the
individual. These efforts are usually aimed at addressing factors that determine
health and the causes of illness rather than their consequences, with the aim of
promoting health or preventing illness.
We are familiar with government taking responsibility for
the quality of the water we drink, for the level of immunisation of our
population and for campaigns to stop the spread of HIV/AIDS or to encourage
physical exercise. Government-funded public health activity is an important part
of the Australian health care system. But what do we know about who pays for this activity and how effective it is? How much do governments spend
each year on public health? How is this expenditure burden shared between the
Australian Government and state and territory governments? Do we know the links
between expenditure on health interventions and health outcomes?
Public health expenditure in Australia 2006-07, released 3 September 2008, is the latest issue in the public health expenditure publication series, covering the period 1999-00 to 2006-07.
This report provides public health expenditure information from the Australian Government and each state and territory government health department. The data were collected against eight core public health activities: Communicable disease control, Selected health promotion activities, Organised immunisation, Environmental health, Food standards and hygiene, Screening programs, Prevention of hazardous and harmful drug use and Public health research.
To access earlier reports, please visit
Public Health Expenditure Series.
Expenditure
Total expenditure on public health activities by Australian health departments in 2006-07 was $1,715 million or $82 per person.
The Australian Government provided $1,001 million, or 58.4%, of the funding for public health activities in 2006-07. Of this, $508 million was directly spent on its own programs and $493 million was provided to state and territory governments through grants to fund public health activities.
State and territory health departments incurred the bulk of the expenditure on public health activities, estimated at $1,207 million, or 70.4% of total expenditure. The $1,207 million comprised $714 million funded from their own resources, and $493 million provided to them from the Australian Government.Why measure expenditure on
public health?
Maintaining and improving the overall health of the
population is a shared responsibility of all levels of government in
These public health programs and activities are not
costless. They involve the use of some scarce resources that might otherwise be
directed to other worthwhile activities. Just how much governments spend on
public health and how that expenditure is financed are important pieces of
information that decision-makers need to have in order to allocate funds and to
decide if particular programs should be supported, changed or, in some cases,
ceased. Of course, knowing how much you are spending is only one input, but it
is an important one. Decision-makers also need evidence of the effectiveness of
programs and how efficient they are in achieving outcomes.
National Public Health
Expenditure Project (NPHEP)
The NHPEP was established in 1998 as a joint project of the AIHW and the National Public Health Partnership. It is funded by the Australian Government through the Department of Health and Ageing. The aim of the project is to develop a consistent set of annual estimates of expenditure on public health activities.