Resident demographics
A higher number of females than males received RMHC in 2020–21 (55% females). People aged 18–24 years accessed care at a higher rate than other age groups (6 people per 10,000 population) in 2020–21. There were no residents aged under 12 years.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People comprised about 8% of residents in 2020–21. The rate of Indigenous residents per 10,000 population was more than double the rate for non-Indigenous (7 compared to 3).
People born in Australia accessed care in 2020–21 at about 3 times the rate for people born overseas (3 per 10,000 population compared to 1 per 10,000). About 86% of residents in 2020–21 were born in Australia.
People in Inner regional areas accessed residential mental health care at a higher rate than other remoteness areas (4 people per 10,000 population). The area of usual residence that had the lowest rate of people accessing RMHC was Major cities areas (2 people per 10,000 population).
People in SEIFA quintile 1 (most disadvantaged) accessed care at a rate higher than all other quintiles (4 people per 10,000 population) and comprised of 27% of the population accessing care (Figure RMHC.3).