Mental health
Consumer experience in public mental health services
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Key points Spotlight data Who rates a positive experience of care? How do consumers rate their experience of service? How do consumers rate service effect on their lives? Who completes a Your Experience of Service survey? Where can I find more information? Notes to interpret the dataThis page shows data about consumer-rated experiences of care in Australian public mental health services using the nationally developed Your Experience of Service (YES) survey. Service settings include ambulatory (non-admitted) services, admitted (hospital) services and residential (overnight) services.
Key points
In one year in Australia (2023–24), the Your Experience of Service survey was used across:
3 jurisdictions – New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria
26,983 surveys from consumers
86 mental health services
Spotlight data
Many survey respondents report having a positive experience of Australian mental health care. A positive experience of service is reported by at least 75% of people who received care from ambulatory (non-admitted) services and at least 49% who received admitted care.
Figure CP.Spotlight, Infographic containing a map of Australia highlighting New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria who contributed Your Experience of Service (YES) survey data for 2023–24 and doughnut charts showing the proportion of survey respondents with a positive experience of service in admitted and ambulatory care for each state. Refer to Table CP.5.
Notes:
- An individual consumer may have completed the Your Experience of Service (YES) survey more than once in the reporting period.
- The experience of service score is the average of survey questions 1–22 multiplied by 20. A score of 80 and above (out of 100) indicates a positive experience.
- In NSW, consumers are offered the YES survey throughout the year, while in Vic and Qld, consumers are offered the YES over a particular time of year. Comparisons between jurisdictions should be made with caution.
Source: Your Experience of Service Survey Database; Table CP.5.
The Your Experience of Service (YES) survey collects information from people receiving public specialised mental health care about their experience of care. New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland are the only jurisdictions that currently provide data to the AIHW for national reporting.
Since 2015–16 the findings from the YES survey show higher proportions of respondents reporting a positive experience of service than not (with the exception of admitted care in some years). Respondents have consistently reported a positive experience of service:
- across ambulatory and residential mental health care, and largely in admitted settings, and/or
- if the person was receiving care under Voluntary status rather than Involuntary mental health legal status.
Across all states and territories, between 2% and 11% of respondents rated their experience of service as Poor in admitted care and ambulatory care in 2023–24.
Who rates a positive experience of care?
An experience of service score is calculated using a method developed to reflect each respondent’s experience across multiple survey questions.
Figure CP.1: Consumer-rated positive experiences of care, by state, setting and consumer characteristics, 2015–16 to 2023–24
Figure CP.1.1, Column graph showing the per cent of consumer surveys with an experience of service score of 80 and above, indicating a positive experience, by state and setting, in 2015–16 to 2023–24. Refer to Table CP.5.
Figure CP.1.2, Bar graph showing the per cent of consumer surveys with an experience of service score of 80 and above, indicating a positive experience of service, by state, setting, consumer characteristics (age group, gender, Indigenous status) and mental health legal status in 2023–24. Refer to Tables CP.6 and 7.
Notes:
- An experience of service score of 80 and above (out of 100) indicates a positive experience.
- The experience of service score is the average of survey questions 1-22 multiplied by 20.
- An individual consumer may have completed the survey more than once in the reporting period.
Source: Your Experience of Service Survey Database; Figure CP.1.1 - Table CP.5, Figure CP.1.2 - Tables CP.6 and 7.
During 2023–24, a higher proportion of respondents indicated a positive experience of care than not, in all service settings and jurisdictions (with the exception of Victoria in admitted care) (Figure CP.1).
In all 3 states, ambulatory care and residential care had a high proportion of respondents who rated their experience positively.
- In admitted care, 72% of respondents in New South Wales reported a positive experience of care, 49% in Victoria and 51% in Queensland.
- In ambulatory care, New South Wales had 80% of respondents with a positive experience of care, Victoria had 75% and Queensland 83%.
- In residential care, 82% of Victorian respondents and 80% of Queensland respondents had a positive experience of care.
Patients in public admitted specialised mental health care in Australia may have different diagnoses compared to those in ambulatory and residential settings which may in turn impact their reported experience of care. For example, in 2023–24, patients in admitted overnight settings were more likely to have a primary diagnosis of mental and behavioural disorders due to other psychoactive substances than those in ambulatory and residential settings.
For more information about diagnoses in different settings visit the Admitted, Community and Residential services sections.
Mental health legal status refers to whether or not a person received care under the relevant state or territory mental health legislation compulsory treatment provisions. During 2023–24, the rates of respondents with a positive experience score were higher for those with a Voluntary mental health legal status than Involuntary, for all service settings and states. Percentages of positive experience scores varied by setting and state with 25% from respondents who marked their mental health legal status as ‘Not reported’.
- More information about the impact of involuntary treatment on experiences of care is presented in the ‘Who Completes a Your Experience of Service survey?’ section below.
- For more information about involuntary treatment in Australian mental health care, visit the Involuntary treatment section.
When comparing age groups, respondents aged 65 years and older usually reported the highest rates of a positive experience of care. This was observed for New South Wales and Queensland for admitted care and all jurisdictions for ambulatory care.
Rates of respondents with a positive experience of care were generally lower for consumers who identified as Other gender compared with Males and Females. This was observed for both admitted care and ambulatory care in New South Wales and Victoria (Figure CP.1.2). The relatively small number of respondents who identified as Other gender should be taken into consideration when interpreting these results. Across care settings, 2% of respondents identified as Other gender in 2023–24.
The rate of First Nations respondents who had a positive experience of care was lower than for non-Indigenous respondents for admitted care in Queensland and Victoria. Likewise, for ambulatory care, the rate of First Nations respondents who had a positive experience of care was lower than for non-Indigenous respondents for New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria.
How do consumers rate their experience of service?
Consumers also summarise their experience by answering a single question which asks for an overall rating of the experience of care in the last 3 months.
Figure CP.2: Overall ratings of service experience by state and setting, 2023–24
Figure CP.2, Column graph showing the per cent of surveys where consumers rated their experience of service as Poor, Fair, Good, Very Good or Excellent in 2023–24 for each state by service setting. Refer to Table CP.4.
| State/Territory | Poor | Fair | Good | Very good | Excellent |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New South Wales | 5% | 8% | 20% | 26% | 41% |
| Victoria | 11% | 12% | 26% | 27% | 23% |
| Queensland | 11% | 12% | 24% | 21% | 32% |
| State/Territory | Poor | Fair | Good | Very good | Excellent |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New South Wales | 6% | 5% | 14% | 24% | 51% |
| Victoria | 5% | 5% | 19% | 30% | 41% |
| Queensland | 2% | 4% | 16% | 26% | 52% |
| State/Territory | Poor | Fair | Good | Very good | Excellent |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New South Wales | . . | . . | . . | . . | . . |
| Victoria | 2% | 4% | 16% | 33% | 45% |
| Queensland | 2% | 2% | 15% | 28% | 53% |
Notes:
- An individual consumer may have completed the survey more than once in the reporting period.
- Response to question, 'Overall, how would you rate your experience of care with this service in the last 3 months?'.
Source:
Your Experience of Service Survey Database; Table CP.4.
In admitted care during 2023–24:
- a higher proportion of respondents rated the care they received as ‘Excellent’ or ‘Very good’ in New South Wales and Queensland compared with ratings of ‘Good’, ‘Fair’ or ‘Poor’. In Victoria, a higher proportion of respondents rated the care they received as ‘Very good’ than all other ratings
- 87% of respondents in New South Wales rated the care they received as ‘Good’, ‘Very good’, or ‘Excellent’, higher than Victoria (76%) and Queensland (77%).
In ambulatory care during 2023–24:
- a higher proportion of respondents rated their care as ‘Excellent’ than other categories in all states
- in Queensland, 94% of respondents rated the care they received as ‘Good’, ‘Very Good’, or ‘Excellent’; 89% of respondents in New South Wales and 90% of respondents in Victoria also gave these ratings. These proportions are higher than those observed for admitted care.
In residential care during 2023–24:
- a higher proportion of respondents rated their care as ‘Excellent’ than other categories in both Queensland and Victoria
- in Queensland, 96% of respondents rated the care they received as ‘Good’, ‘Very good’, or ‘Excellent’ and 94% of respondents gave these ratings in Victoria.
How do consumers rate service effect on their lives?
Consumers are asked to rate the effect the service had in the last 3 months on their:
- hopefulness for the future
- ability to manage day to day life
- overall well-being.
Consumers used a rating of Poor, Fair, Good, Very good or Excellent. In the following analysis, combined ratings of Good, Very good and Excellent are taken to represent a positive experience.
Figure CP.3: Rating of service effect by state and setting, 2015–16 to 2023–24
Figure CP.3, Line graph showing the per cent of surveys where consumers rated effect of service as positive (Good, Very good or Excellent) for each state by service setting in 2015–16 to 2023–24. Refer to Tables CP.8, CP.9 and CP.10.
Notes:
- An individual consumer may have completed the survey more than once in the reporting period.
- Response to questions: ‘The effect the service had on your hopefulness for the future’, ‘The effect the service had on your ability to manage your day to day life’ and ‘The effect the service had on your overall well-being’.
- Per cent is calculated from the combined ratings of Good, Very good and Excellent.
Source: Your Experience of Service Survey Database; Table CP.8, CP.9 and CP.10.
In 2023–24 consumers reported that services had a positive effect on their hopefulness, ability to manage day to day life and overall well-being. Overall responses to these questions have remained relatively stable since 2015–16. Positive responses are 60% or higher across all years.
The impact on hopefulness, ability to manage day to day life and overall well-being is consistently rated the highest in residential settings, followed by ambulatory care. Ratings for admitted care are the lowest. For example, in 2023–24, 87% of consumers reported the effect the service had on their hopefulness for the future was 'Good', 'Very good' or 'Excellent' for residential care in Queensland. This compares with 79% in ambulatory and 63% in admitted settings. Positive reports of the effect of the service may be impacted by casemix differences between settings.
Who completes a Your Experience of Service survey?
The YES survey was developed primarily for use in Australian public services that specialise in providing mental health care. The survey aims to help services and consumers work together to build better services.
Mental health consumers are invited to complete the survey when they access a service, where they rate their experience of the service they received across 26 questions using a 1–5 response scale. The survey also includes questions about consumer demographics such as age, gender and Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander (First Nations) origin.
The jurisdictions that have implemented the survey advise they have developed local practices to translate the data received from consumers completing YES to drive quality improvement in their services.
Other states and territories have indicated that they are planning to roll out the YES survey in their specialised mental health services in coming years.
Table CP.2 shows how long YES respondents received care across the different care settings.
In public specialised admitted mental health settings the average length of stay is 14 days (AIHW 2025a, Table AC.1). The YES data align with this – just over half (51%) of respondents reported receiving admitted care for a period of 1 day to 2 weeks. For more information about mental health-related hospitalisations visit the Admitted patients section.
The length of care received by YES respondents might not be representative of the length of care typically received in residential and ambulatory (non-admitted) settings in general.
In residential care:
- 33% of respondents received care for a period of 1 day to 2 weeks. This is lower than service-related data on residential mental health care episodes showing 53% of completed episodes during 2023–24 were between 0 and 2 weeks (AIHW 2025d, Table RMHC.3)
- 27% of respondents received care for more than 6 months. This is higher than service-related data which showed about 5% of completed episodes during 2023–24 were longer than 6 months (AIHW 2025d, Table RMHC.3).
For more information visit the Residential services section.
In ambulatory (non-admitted/community) care, 49% of respondents received care for a period of more than 6 months. This is higher than service-related data on the length of treatment which showed 39% of consumers received treatment of longer than 3 months during 2023–24 (AIHW 2025b, Table CMHC.3).
For more information visit the Community services section.
Most surveys were collected from New South Wales and the majority of survey respondents accessed admitted and ambulatory (non–admitted) care settings with a smaller number in residential care. This is consistent with the respective scales of these settings (as reported in the section Specialised mental health care facilities). Around 3% of surveys were collected from residential services. Figure CP.4 shows the number of surveys collected from consumers in public mental health services and from which service setting.
Figure CP.4: Number of Your Experience of Service surveys collected in Australian public mental health services by state and service setting, 2023–24
Figure CP.4, Vertical bar graph showing the number of surveys completed by mental health consumers during 2023–24 for each state, by service setting. Refer to Table CP.1.
| State/Territory | Admitted care | Ambulatory care | Residential care |
|---|---|---|---|
| New South Wales | 15390 | 7034 | 0 |
| Victoria | 718 | 1071 | 515 |
| Queensland | 513 | 1550 | 192 |
Notes:
- An individual consumer may have completed the survey more than once in the reporting period.
- In NSW, consumers are offered the YES survey throughout the year, while in Vic and Qld, consumers are offered the YES during a particular time of year. Comparisons between jurisdictions should be made with caution.
- The COVID-19 pandemic impacted mental health services from early 2020 onwards. The number of surveys received across all states remains lower than before the pandemic.
Source:
Your Experience of Service Survey Database; Table CP.1.
Since 2015-16, more surveys have been collected in public mental health services in New South Wales compared to Victoria or Queensland (Figure CP.5).
Figure CP.5: Number of Your Experience of Service surveys collected in Australian public mental health services by state, 2015–16 to 2023–24
Figure CP.5, Line graph showing the number of surveys completed from 2015–16 to 2023–24 for each state. Refer to Table CP.1.
| Year | New South Wales | Victoria | Queensland |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015–16 | 13242 | 2015 | 3380 |
| 2016–17 | 20864 | 2058 | 3458 |
| 2017–18 | 22895 | 2512 | 3244 |
| 2018–19 | 24775 | 2760 | 3747 |
| 2019–20 | 22325 | n.a. | 3311 |
| 2020–21 | 23139 | 2373 | 3507 |
| 2021–22 | 20240 | 1614 | 2713 |
| 2022–23 | 21506 | 1848 | 2056 |
| 2023–24 | 22424 | 2304 | 2255 |
Notes:
- An individual consumer may have completed the survey more than once in the reporting period.
- In NSW, consumers are offered the YES survey throughout the year, while in Vic and Qld, consumers are offered the YES during a particular time of year. Comparisons between jurisdictions should be made with caution.
- The COVID-19 pandemic impacted mental health services from early 2020 onwards. The number of surveys received across all states remains lower than before the pandemic.
Source:
Your Experience of Service Survey Database; Table CP.1.
Figure CP.6 shows demographic and other characteristics of YES survey respondents. Higher rates of surveys were received from people aged between 25–34 years in admitted care. In residential care, the highest proportion of surveys were received from people aged 35–44 years. In ambulatory care, the highest proportion of surveys were received from people aged 45–54 years. A higher proportion of surveys were received from females (except in admitted services where it was the same).
Surveys from respondents who indicated they were First Nations people made up 13% of surveys received from people in admitted care, compared to service-related data which shows 10% for all hospitalisations (AIHW 2025a, Table AC.4). Similarly, in ambulatory (non-admitted) settings 11% of people identified as First Nations compared to 13% of patients in 2023–24 (AIHW 2025b, Table CMHC.1). In residential care, 10% of respondents identified as First Nations people while 10% of estimated residents from service-related data were First Nations people (AIHW 2025d, Table RMHC.2).
A higher proportion of surveys were received from females than males or those who report their gender as other (except in admitted services where the proportions were the same for males and females).
Of the surveys completed, 49% of respondents in admitted care, 27% of respondents in ambulatory care and 29% in residential care had an involuntary status recorded.
Figure CP.6: Characteristics of consumers who completed Your Experience of Service surveys by setting, 2023–24
Figure CP.6, Bar graph showing the per cent of surveys by setting, consumer characteristics (age group, gender, Indigenous status) and mental health legal status for 2023–24. Refer to Table CP.3.
Note: An individual consumer may have completed the survey more than once in the reporting period.
Source: Your Experience of Service Survey Database; Table CP.3.
Where can I find more information?
Involuntary treatment in mental health care
Many people improve clinically after care from public mental health services. Improvement is seen after about 75% of hospital care episodes and 50% of community care episodes according to clinician-rated measures for 18–64 year olds (AIHW 2025c). More information is in the Consumer outcomes in mental health care section.
If the information presented raises any issues for you, these resources can help:
- Lifeline (Phone 13 11 14)
- Kids Helpline (Phone 1800 551 800)
- Head to Health mental health portal
- 13YARN (Phone 13 92 76)
- QLife (Phone 1800 184 527)
Notes to interpret the data
Monitoring mental health consumer and carer experiences of service has been a long-term goal of the National Mental Health Strategy (for example, the Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing’s National Mental Health Policy 2008). In 2010, under the Fourth National Mental Health Plan (Commonwealth of Australia 2009), the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing funded the National Consumer Experiences of Care project to develop a survey for use in public mental health services (Victorian DHHS 2013). This project resulted in the development of the YES survey, which was finalised in 2014.
The survey instrument was developed by the Victorian Department of Health and Human Services under the auspices of the former Mental Health Information Strategy Standing Committee (MHISSC). Implementation of the survey and national reporting of the data has been a key action under the Fifth National Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Plan (CHC 2017).
The YES survey instrument is made available by the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing for use by appropriate mental health organisations that enter a licensing agreement specifying conditions of use which are aimed at promoting consistency of use and reducing the risk of multiple versions being used.
For further information on use of the YES survey and/or to apply for a licence to use the survey in your organisation, please visit the Australian Mental Health Outcomes and Classification Network website.
The YES survey comprises 26 questions about a mental health consumer’s perceptions of their treatment and the care they received. Respondents answer each question using the following response scales:
- For questions 1–17, respondents indicate how often the service did a range of things during their care (1–Never, 2–Rarely, 3–Sometimes, 4–Usually, 5–Always). Examples include: ‘You felt welcome at this service’, ‘Staff showed hopefulness for your future’ and ‘Your opinions about the involvement of family or friends in your care were respected’.
- For questions 18–26, respondents indicate how well the service performed during their care (1–Poor, 2–Fair, 3–Good, 4–Very Good, 5–Excellent). Examples include: ‘Explanation of your rights and responsibilities’, ‘Access to peer support’ and ‘The effect the service had on your overall well-being’.
The YES survey was developed primarily for use in public specialised mental health services. Currently three jurisdictions have implemented the survey and provide data for annual national reporting.
- In New South Wales consumers are offered the survey throughout the year.
- In Victoria and Queensland consumers are encouraged to complete the survey at a particular time in the year.
This difference in methodology should be considered when interpreting data from different states. More information is in the Data Quality Statement.
New South Wales has publicly reported their survey data since 2015–16 (NSW Ministry of Health 2024).
Victoria has publicly reported their survey data in their annual mental health services report from 2016–17, including information on their early 2016 survey for 2015–16. Victoria did not run the survey in 2019–20 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and so could not publish results for that year (Victorian DHHS 2023).
While Queensland does not publicly report their survey data, there is raw data available on the Queensland Health website (Queensland Health 2024).
An experience of care score is calculated to reflect each respondent’s experience across multiple survey questions.
The score for each respondent is equal to the average response of questions 1–22 multiplied by 20. The resulting overall score converts the individual question responses into a score out of 100. A threshold score of 80 and above is used to indicate a positive experience of service.
The proportion of respondents with an experience of care score of 80 and above on the YES was developed as the metric (indicator) to be used for the Fifth National Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Plan to monitor consumer experience of service, as agreed by the former MHISSC (CHC 2017). The Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Data Governance Forum (MHSPDGF) adopted this approach to report consumer and carer experience of care under the National Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Agreement (Australian Government 2022).
The treatment of missing data in calculating the experience of care score differs between NSW and the AIHW. Therefore, the numbers reported by NSW Health and the AIHW’s Mental Health Online Report may differ.
Data in this report are supplied under the YES National Best Endeavours Data Set (YES NBEDS) agreement. The YES NBEDS was developed to collect and monitor consumers’ experiences of service over time. Participating jurisdictions agree to provide data to the YES NBEDS through their state/territory representative.
Data Quality Statements are published for the YES data collection on the Metadata online repository, METEOR. Statements provide information on the institutional environment, timeliness, accessibility, interpretability, relevance, accuracy and coherence. Refer to the Your Experience of Service NBEDS 2019-: Your Experience of Service Database, 2024; Quality Statement.
The Australian Private Hospitals Association coordinates the Patient Experience of Care Survey for participating private specialised mental health services. While the calculation method for the positive experience of service score for YES is similar to that used in the Patient Experiences of Care Survey, the data are not comparable between these collections. This is due to differences in survey instruments and casemix characteristics; for example, patients receiving mental health care in a public hospital may do so on an involuntary legal basis and are more likely to have a diagnosis of schizophrenia or other psychotic disorders.
Australian Government (2022) The National Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Agreement, accessed 15 October 2025.
AIHW (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare) (2025a) Admitted patients mental health-related care 2023–24, Mental Health Online Report, AIHW, Australian Government, accessed 15 October 2025.
AIHW (2025b) Community mental health care services 2023–24, Mental Health Online Report, AIHW, Australian Government, accessed 15 October 2025.
AIHW (2025c) Consumer outcomes in mental health care 2023–24, Mental Health Online Report, AIHW, Australian Government, accessed 15 October 2025.
AIHW (2025d) Residential mental health care services 2023–24, Mental Health Online Report, AIHW, Australian Government, accessed 15 October 2025.
CHC (COAG [Council of Australian Governments] Health Council) (2017) The Fifth National Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Plan, Department of Health, Australian Government.
Commonwealth of Australia (2009) Fourth National Mental Health Plan—An agenda for collaborative government action in mental health 2009–2014, Attorney-General’s Department, Australian Government.
NSW Ministry of Health (2024) Government partners in your health care, accessed 15 October 2025.
Queensland Health (2024) Your Experience of Service - Queensland Health Mental Health services, accessed 15 October 2025.
Victorian DHHS (Department of Health and Human Services) (2013) National Mental Health Consumer Experiences of Care Project [PDF 740kB], Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care, accessed 15 October 2025.
Victorian DHHS (2023) Victoria’s mental health services annual report, accessed 15 October 2025.
Data coverage is 2015–16 to 2023–24 for New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria. It is anticipated that data will become available from additional jurisdictions for future updates.