Performance indicators

The purpose of an indicator is to be a partial or proxy measure that provides a summary overview of a specific concept, often as part of a larger system (Pencheon, 2007; QRI, 2021). Performance indicators in health are used to describe specific aspects of our health system to monitor ‘if and how a system is performing to an agreed standard' (Pencheon, 2007, p5). They are also used to understand how a system works and for accountability to consumers, governments and funders (Pencheon, 2007).

Indicators are usually reported in sets, so that collectively they can be used to show how a system, or a component of the system, is changing or progressing (AIHW, 2021).

This page reports data on performance indicators for mental health services using two particular sets: Key Performance Indicators for Australian Public Mental Health Services and the National Health Care Agreement.

Key Performance Indicators for Australian Public Mental Health Services

The Key Performance Indicators for Australian Public Mental Health Services were developed to improve accountability and transparency and act as a guide to inform decision making.

A summary of the latest indicators data is provided in Figure KPI.1. More detailed data are available in the interactive Figure KPI.2 and accompanying Excel tables. Further information on these indicators can be found in the Indicator library.

More information about key performance indicators Expand

National Healthcare Agreement Indicators

The National Healthcare Agreement (NHA) indicators provide an integrated approach to improving health outcomes for Australians and the sustainability of the health system.

The NHA defines the objectives, outcomes, outputs and performance measures, and clarifies the roles and responsibilities that guide the Australian Government and states and territories in delivery of services across the health sector.

Under this Agreement, reporting occurs against the following mental health-related indicators:

Proportion of adults with very high levels of psychological distress
Treatment rates for mental illness
Rate of community follow up within first seven days of discharge from a psychiatric admission

The proportion of adults with high or very high levels of psychological distress is also included in the Australian Health Performance Framework and reported by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.

Data for the indicators on treatment rates and rate of community follow up are reported in the data download National Healthcare Agreement Indicators tables.

Specifications for the National Healthcare Agreement Indicators are available on the AIHW online metadata registry, METEOR.

Indicator library

A number of different mental health indicator sets have been developed over time to measure the performance of the mental health system. Performance indicators are generally developed for a specific purpose, for example, measuring changes after commitment to a national strategy. The indicator sets can be viewed in terms of what aspects of health performance they measure using the National Mental Health Performance Framework which includes broad domains spanning areas such as safety and accessibility.

Mental health indicator sets include:

Mental Health Services Key Performance Indicators 3rd Edition (3.1MB PDF) (MHS KPIs 3rd Edition): Mental Health Drug and Alcohol Principal Committee; ongoing publication; 2017 data
Indicator framework: Productivity Commission (RoGS); ongoing publication; 2020 data
National Healthcare Agreement (NHA): Council of Australian Governments (CoAG) Inter-governmental Agreement(†); ongoing publication; 2017 data
National Targets and Indicators for Mental Health Reform, National Mental Health Commission Expert Reference Group (ERG). National Mental Health Commission (NMHC) Review National Mental Health Commission; 2015; data not published.
Fifth National Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Plan (3.7MB PDF) (5NMHSPP): CoAG; 2017–2022
CoAG Action Plan (AP); Council of Australian Governments Health Council; 2006–2011; Final progress report.

Overall health and the impact on life

Health condition Expand

Prevalence of mental illness or mental health-related issues
Indicator set	MHS KPIs 3rd Edition	Indicator Framework	NHA	NMHC Review	5NMHSPP	ERG	COAG AP
Prevalence of mental illness*	–	✔	–	–	✔	✔	✔
Prevalence of mental illness among prisoners	–	–	–	–	✔	–	✔
Prevalence of developmentally vulnerable children	–	–	–	✔	–	✔	–

Health functioning Expand

Alterations to body, structure or function (impairment), activities (activity limitation) and participation (restrictions in participation) due to mental illness
Indicator set	MHS KPIs 3rd Edition	Indicator Framework	NHA	NMHC Review	5NMHSPP	ERG	COAG AP
Nil	–	–	–	–	–	–	–

Life expectancy and wellbeing Expand

Broad measures of the impact of mental illness on physical, mental, and social wellbeing of individuals and other indicators such as Disability Adjusted Life Expectancy (DALE)
Indicator set	MHS KPIs 3rd Edition	Indicator Framework	NHA	NMHC Review	5NMHSPP	ERG	COAG AP
Life expectancy of people with severe mental illness	–	–	–	–	–	✔	–
Adults with a very high level of psychological distress	–	–	✔	–	–	–	–
People with satisfactory levels of social and emotional wellbeing	–	–	–	–	–	✔	–
Screening for physical and dental health issues	–	–	–	✔	–	✔	–
Physical health of people with mental illness	–	✔	–	–	–	–	–
Attempted suicide rates	–	–	–	✔	–	–	–

Death Expand

Deaths due to mental illness
Indicator set	MHS KPIs 3rd Edition	Indicator Framework	NHA	NMHC Review	5NMHSPP	ERG	COAG AP
Suicide	–	✔	–	✔	✔	✔	✔

Environmental factors Expand

Physical, chemical and biological factors such as air, water, food and soil quality resulting from chemical pollution and waste disposal
Indicator set	MHS KPIs 3rd Edition	Indicator Framework	NHA	NMHC Review	5NMHSPP	ERG	COAG AP
Nil	–	–	–	–	–	–	–

Socio-economic factors Expand

Socio-economic factors such as education, employment, per capita expenditure on health, and average weekly earnings
Indicator set	MHS KPIs 3rd Edition	Indicator Framework	NHA	NMHC Review	5NMHSPP	ERG	COAG AP
Participation in education, training or employment*; consumers and/or carers	–	–	–	✔	✔	✔	✔

Community capacity Expand

Characteristics of communities and families such as population density, age distribution, health literacy, housing, community support services and transport
Indicator set	MHS KPIs 3rd Edition	Indicator Framework	NHA	NMHC Review	5NMHSPP	ERG	COAG AP
Community stigma about mental illness*	–	–	–	–	✔	✔	–
Community understanding of mental health problems	–	–	–	–	✔	✔	–
Housing conditions*	–	–	–	✔	✔	✔	–
Primary and secondary schools with mental health literacy component included in curriculum	–	–	–	–	✔	–	–
Front-line workers (e.g. police, ambulance) who have mental health education and training	–	–	–	–	✔	–	–
Community participation by people with mental illness	–	–	–	–	✔	–	–
Connectedness and meaning in life	–	✔	–	–	–	–	–

Health behaviours Expand

Attitudes, beliefs, knowledge and behaviours (e.g. patterns of eating, physical activity, excess alcohol consumption and smoking)
Indicator set	MHS KPIs 3rd Edition	Indicator Framework	NHA	NMHC Review	5NMHSPP	ERG	COAG AP
Smoking	–	–	–	✔	–	✔	–
Drugs- alcohol and illegal drugs*	–	–	–	–	✔	–	✔

Physical health Expand

Genetics-related susceptibility to disease and other factors such as blood pressure, cholesterol levels and body weight
Indicator set	MHS KPIs 3rd Edition	Indicator Framework	NHA	NMHC Review	5NMHSPP	ERG	COAG AP
Nil	–	–	–	–	–	–	–

Effective Expand

Care, intervention or action achieves desired outcome
Indicator set	MHS KPIs 3rd Edition	Indicator Framework	NHA	NMHC Review	5NMHSPP	ERG	COAG AP
Sub-domain: Consumer outcomes
Change in consumer mental health	✔	✔	–	–	✔	–	✔
Sub-domain: Carer outcomes
Nil	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
Sub-domain: Community tenure
Readmission to hospital	✔	✔	–	–	✔	–	✔

Appropriate Expand

The care, intervention or action provided is relevant to the consumer’s and/or carer’s needs and based on established standards
Indicator set	MHS KPIs 3rd Edition	Indicator Framework	NHA	NMHC Review	5NMHSPP	ERG	COAG AP
Sub-domain: Compliance with standards
Services meeting the national mental health service standards	✔	✔	–	–	✔	–	–
Sub-domain: Relevant to consumer and carer needs
Employment of Consumers and Carers, including designated peer roles*	–	✔	–	–	✔	✔	–
Emergency Department presentations for attempted suicide with a recovery discharge plan	–	–	–	–	–	✔	–

Efficient Expand

Effective use of resources
Indicator set	MHS KPIs 3rd Edition	Indicator Framework	NHA	NMHC Review	5NMHSPP	ERG	COAG AP
Sub-domain: Inpatient care
Length of acute inpatient stay	✔	–	–	–	–	–	–
Cost per acute inpatient day	✔	✔	–	–	–	–	–
Sub-domain: Community care
Treatment days per three-month community care and support period	✔	–	–	–	–	–	–
Cost per community treatment day	✔	✔	–	–	–	–	–
No assigned sub-domain
Cost per residential care day	–	✔	–	–	–	–	–
Public reporting of performance data	–	–	–	–	✔	–	–

Accessible Expand

Ability of people to obtain health care at the right place and right time irrespective of income, geography and cultural background.
Indicator set	MHS KPIs 3rd Edition	Indicator Framework	NHA	NMHC Review	5NMHSPP	ERG	COAG AP
Sub-domain: Access for those in need
People receiving mental health care and support*	✔	✔	✔	–	✔	–	✔
Timely access to mental health services	–	–	–	✔	–	✔	–
Mental health care and support programs for children and young people	–	✔	–	–	✔	–	–
New client index	✔	–	–	–	–	–	–
Sub-domain: Local access
Comparative area resources	✔ Data not available	–	–	–	–	–	–
Sub-domain: Emergency response
Wait times for consumers with mental health problems presenting to emergency departments	–	–	–	–	✔	–	–

Continuous Expand

Ability to provide uninterrupted, coordinated care and support across programs, practitioners, organisations and levels over time.
Indicator set	MHS KPIs 3rd Edition	Indicator Framework	NHA	NMHC Review	5NMHSPP	ERG	COAG AP
Sub-domain: Continuity between providers
Nil	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
Sub-domain: Cross-setting continuity
Community care and support prior to a hospital stay	✔	–	–	–	✔	–	–
Community care and support after a hospital stay	✔	✔	✔	–	✔	–	✔
Consumers with nominated GP	–	✔	–	–	✔	–	–
Consumers leaving prisons with a recovery plan	–	–	–	–	–	✔	–
Sub-domain: Continuity over time
Nil	–	–	–	–	–	–	–

Responsive Expand

Service provides respect for persons and is consumer and carer orientated
Indicator set	MHS KPIs 3rd Edition	Indicator Framework	NHA	NMHC Review	5NMHSPP	ERG	COAG AP
Sub-domain: Consumer and carer experience of care
Consumers and carers with positive experiences of service delivery	–	✔	–	✔	✔	✔	–
Sub-domain: Consumer and carer participation
Consumer participation in outcome measures	✔ Data not available	–	–	–	–	–	–
Recovery-focussed plans developed with consumers and carers	–	–	–	–	–	✔	–

Capable Expand

An individual or service’s capacity to provide a health service based on skills and knowledge
Indicator set	MHS KPIs 3rd Edition	Indicator Framework	NHA	NMHC Review	5NMHSPP	ERG	COAG AP
Sub-domain: Provider knowledge and skill
Nil	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
Sub-domain: Outcomes orientation
Outcome readiness	✔	–	–	–	–	–	–

Safe Expand

Potential risks of an intervention or the environment are identified and avoided or minimised
Indicator set	MHS KPIs 3rd Edition	Indicator Framework	NHA	NMHC Review	5NMHSPP	ERG	COAG AP
Sub-domain: Consumer safety
Involuntary Treatment Orders	–	–	–	–	–	✔	–
Use of seclusion	✔	✔	–	–	–	✔	–
Use of restraint	–	–	–	–	–	✔	–
Safety incidents involving severe harm or death	–	–	–	–	–	✔	–
Sub-domain: Carer safety
Nil	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
Sub-domain: Provider safety
Nil	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
Sub-domain: Community safety
Nil	–	–	–	–	–	–	–

Sustainable Expand

System or organisations’ capacity to provide infrastructure such as workforce, facilities and equipment, and be innovative and respond to emerging needs (research, monitoring)
Indicator set	MHS KPIs 3rd Edition	Indicator Framework	NHA	NMHC Review	5NMHSPP	ERG	COAG AP
Sub-domain: Workforce planning
Nil	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
Sub-domain: Training investment
Nil	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
Sub-domain: Research investment
Nil	–	–	–	–	–	–	–

MHS PI 16: Aspects of recovery for children and adolescents according to parents/carers (141KB Doc)

† Since 2013, this indicator has been reported by the Productivity Commission.

* Indicates where several indicators with different technical definitions, including a range of sub-groups (e.g. by Indigenous status, child and adolescents) have been grouped into a single indicator title.

Performance indicators

Key Performance Indicators for Australian Public Mental Health Services

Figure KPI.1 Summary data for Key Performance Indicators for Australian Public Mental Health Services, 2019-20

Figure KPI.2 Key Performance Indicators for Australian Public Mental Health Services, 2019-20

National Healthcare Agreement Indicators

Indicator library

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AIHW

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Performance indicators Print this page

Key Performance Indicators for Australian Public Mental Health Services

Figure KPI.1 Summary data for Key Performance Indicators for Australian Public Mental Health Services, 2019-20

Figure KPI.2 Key Performance Indicators for Australian Public Mental Health Services, 2019-20

National Healthcare Agreement Indicators

Indicator library

Where do I go for more information?

Performance indicators