Summary
Key points
- $11.0 billion, or $431 per person, was spent on mental health-related services in Australia during 2019–20, a real increase from $409 per person in 2015–16.
- 1.3% annual average increase in the real per capita spending on mental health-related services from 2015–16 to 2019–20.
- 7.6% of government health expenditure was spent on mental health-related services in 2019–20, consistent with that for 2015–16 (7.6%).
- $6.7 billion was spent on state/territory mental health services in 2019–20; $2.9b on public hospital services; $2.6b on community services.
- $1.4 billion, or $53 per Australian, was spent by the Australian Government on benefits for Medicare-subsidised mental health-specific services in 2019–20.
- $566 million, or $22 per Australian, was spent by the Australian Government on subsidised mental health-related prescriptions under the PBS/RPBS during 2019–20.
This section reviews the available information on recurrent expenditure (running costs) for mental health-related services in Australia. Health expenditure (what was spent) and health funding (funding provided and who provided the funds) are distinct but related concepts essential to understanding the financial resources used by the health system. Data on expenditure and funding, calculated in both current and constant prices, are derived from a variety of sources, as outlined in the data source section.
Overview
In 2019–20, the national recurrent spending on mental health-related services was estimated to be $11.0 billion. This represents an annual average increase of 3.0% since 2015–16, in real terms (i.e. adjusted for inflation). Overall, national expenditure on mental health-related services increased from $409 per Australian in 2015–16 to $431 per person during 2019–20; an average annual increase of 1.3% in real terms.
Of the $11.0 billion spent nationally in 2019–20, state and territory governments spent 60.0% ($6.6 billion), the Australian Government 34.7% ($3.8 billion), and private health insurance funds and other third party insurers 5.3% ($584 million). These proportions have remained relatively stable over time, with 60.4% of national spending coming from state and territory governments, 34.4% from the Australian Government, and 5.2% from private health insurance funds and other insurers in 2015–16.
Government spending on mental health-related services in 2019–20 was estimated to be around 7.6% of total government health expenditure, in line with 2015–16 (7.6%) and up from 7.3% in 1992–93 when data collection began.
Spending by the Australian Government for mental health-related services (adjusted for inflation) has increased by an average annual rate of 3.2% over the period 2015–16 to 2019–20, while spending by state and territory governments increased by an average annual rate of 2.8%.
Specialised mental health services expenditure
Around $6.7 billion was spent on state and territory specialised mental health services in 2019–20. The largest proportion of this spending was on public hospital services for admitted patients ($2.9b), comprising of public acute hospitals with a specialist psychiatric unit or ward ($2.3b) and public psychiatric hospitals ($0.6b). This was closely followed by spending on community mental health care services totalling almost $2.6b.
Per capita spending on specialised mental health services ranged from $247 per person in Queensland to $328 per person in the Northern Territory, compared to a national average of $260 per person during 2019–20.
Per capita spending on state and territory specialised mental health services increased in real terms by an average annual rate of 1.0% between 2015–16 and 2019–20. This equates to an increase of about $10 per person, from about $250 in 2015–16 to about $260 in 2019–20.
Detailed spending data are available covering more than 25 years to 2019–20. Figure EXP.1 shows the changes in state and territory spending patterns, for example, increased investment in community mental health care services, reflecting changes to the state and territory specialised mental health service profile mix over this time. Further information can be found in the Specialised mental health care facilities section.