Mental health
Summary
Over 2 in 5 (43% or 8.5 million) Australians
aged 16–85 are estimated to have experienced a mental disorder at some time in their life.
People living with mental illness are more
likely to develop comorbid physical illness and have a lower life expectancy than the general population.
In 2022, an estimated 1 in 9 Australians experience Post-traumatic stress disorder in their life.
There were about 262,200 mental health-related overnight admitted patient hospitalisations in 2021-22.
Around 9.6 million community mental health care contacts were provided in 2021-22.
In 2021–22, 3% of presentations to public emergency departments were mental health-related.
2.8 million Australians (11% of the population) received Medicare-subsidised mental health-specific services in 2021–22.
18% of Australians (4.7 million people) were dispensed mental health-related medications in 2021–22
In December 2021, 1 in 9 NDIS participants had a psychosocial primary disability.
Around 9,000 episodes of residential mental health care were recorded for an estimated 7,100 residents in 2021-22.
6,850 specialised mental health public hospital beds were available across 158 public hospitals in 2021–22.
Spending on mental health-related services increased from $9.3 billion (2016–17) to $12.2 billion in 2021–22.
There were about 25,000 mental health nurses working in Australia in 2021.
Across NSW, Qld and Vic about 24,600 consumer-rated surveys were collected in 2021–22.
Information was recorded for 42% of consumers of public mental health services in 2021–22.
Rates of seclusion have fallen over the past decade.
In 2021–22 45% of hospitalisations in mental health care were involuntary in acute (short-term care) units.