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Mental health

Medicare mental health services

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Key points

In 2022–23...

Over 2.7 million patients

accessed almost 13.2 million Medicare-subsidised mental health-specific services.

49% of services were provided by psychologists

27% by GPs, 20% by psychiatrists and 5% by other allied health providers.

13% of females accessed services

compared to 8% of males.

Medicare-subsidised mental health‑specific services are delivered by psychiatrists, general practitioners (GPs), psychologists and other allied health professionals. These services are delivered in a range of settings–for example, hospitals, consulting rooms, home visits, and telehealth–as defined in the Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS). Information is provided on both patient and service provider characteristics and is limited to Medicare-subsidised services only. These data relate only to services claimed under specified mental health care MBS item numbers. Therefore, the reported number of patients is unlikely to represent all patients who receive mental health care as it is unclear how many people receive GP mental health-related care that is billed as a consultation against, for example, a general MBS item number for a short consultation. For further information on the MBS data, refer to the data source section.

Spotlight data

Spotlight figure containing: a) Bar graph showing the rate (per 1,000 population) of patients or services by state and provider types; b) Line graph showing the rate (per 1,000 population) of patients or services by state and provider type from 2013–14 to 2022–23. 

Source: Medicare mental health services 2022–23 data tables.

During 2022–23, the Medicare-subsidised mental health-specific service rate was 501 services per 1,000 population in Australia with the highest rate provided by psychologists (Clinical psychologists and Other psychologists; 244) followed by General practitioners (133).

Who received Medicare mental health services?

In 2022–23, about 2.7 million Australians (10% of the population) received Medicare-subsidised mental health-specific services with Victoria and Queensland having the highest rates of patients (per 1,000 population) receiving services (111 and 105 respectively) and the Northern Territory the lowest (56). Not all services provided through Indigenous health services are included in the MBS.

People aged 18–24 years were most likely to receive services (160 patients per 1,000 population) and young females aged 18–24 had more than double the rate (217) compared with young males of the same age group (107). The rate of patients receiving services decreased with increasing remoteness. In Major cities the rate was 108 patients per 1,000 population, decreasing to 44 in Very remote areas. The rate also decreased with increasing social disadvantage. People in the SEIFA Quintile 5 (least disadvantaged) were the most likely to receive services with a rate of 130 patients per 1,000 population, decreasing to 81 for people in living in SEIFA Quintile 1 (most disadvantaged) (Figure MBS.1).

Figure MBS.1: Rate (per 1,000 population) of people receiving Medicare mental health services, by demographic characteristics, 2022–23

Horizontal bar chart showing the rate of patients (per 1,000 population) who received Medicare-subsidised mental health-specific services during 2022–23, by key demographics. 

Source: Medicare mental health services 2022–23 data tables.

In 2022–23, 8% of people received services from a General practitioner; 5% received services from Clinical psychologists and Other psychologists; 2% services from a Psychiatrist; and <1% received services from Other allied health professionals. Note that an individual may receive services from more than one provider type during the reporting period.

Figure MBS.2: People receiving Medicare mental health services, by provider type, 2013–14 to 2022–23

Line chart showing the number of people who received Medicare mental health services by the type of provider from which they received services, from 2013–14 to 2022–23. General practitioners provided services to the most people, increasing from 1.5 million patients in 2013–14, peaking at 2.4 million in 2020–21 before declining to 2.2 million in 2022–23.

Source: Medicare mental health services 2022–23 data tables.

Mental health services

How many Medicare mental health services were provided?

There were about 13.2 million Medicare-subsidised mental health-specific services provided to 2.7 million Australians in 2022–23. The national rate was 501 services per 1,000 population and Victoria (572) had the highest rate across the jurisdictions (Figure MBS.3).

Figure MBS.3: Rate (per 1,000 population) of Medicare mental health services, by state and territory, provider type, 2013–14 to 2022–23

Line chart showing the rate per 1,000 population of services provided in each state and territory by provider type, from 2013–14 to 2022–23

Source: Medicare-subsidised mental health-related services 2022–23 data tables.

In 2022–23, the 18–24 age group had the highest rate of service use (801 services per 1,000 population), and  females aged 18–24 (1,165 services per 1,000 population) had a higher rate of service use than young males aged 18–24(461). People living in Major cities had the highest rate of service use (547 services per 1,000 population) with rates decreasing with increasing remoteness. Similarly, people in the least disadvantaged SEIFA quantile had the highest rate of service use (754 services per 1,000 population) with rates decreasing with increasing disadvantage (Figure MBS.1).

Where can I find more information?

Data presented covers the time period 2013–14 to 2022–23. This section was last updated in April 2024.