Regional activity data

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 specific mental health care MBS item numbers, listed in the data source section. 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.

Medicare-subsidised mental health-specific services are reported at the Primary Health Network (PHN) and the Statistical Area 4 (SA4) levels.

For more information on the data source and key concepts, please refer to the Medicare mental health services page of the Mental Health Online Report.

Data tables: Medicare mental health services, 2024–25 (ZIP 716KB)

Data source

The data source for this report is AIHW analysis of Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) data maintained by the Australian Government Department of Health, Disability, and Ageing.

Further information on this topic can be found in the Medicare mental health services page of the Mental Health Online Report. For additional technical information, please refer to the data source section.

The Australian Government subsidises the cost of prescription medicines listed on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) and the Repatriation Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (RPBS).

Mental health-related medications are reported as 5 selected groups as classified in the Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical (ATC) Classification System: Antipsychotics (code N05A), Anxiolytics (code N05B), Hypnotics and sedatives (code N05C), Antidepressants (code N06A) and Psychostimulants, agents used for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and nootropics (code N06B). Both subsidised prescriptions and under co-payment prescriptions are included in the data. Medicines supplied to public hospital inpatients and private scripts (that is, pharmacy prescriptions not dispensed under the PBS) are not included.

Mental health-related prescriptions data are reported at the Primary Health Network (PHN) and the Statistical Area 4 (SA4) levels.

For more information on the data source and key concepts, please refer to the Mental health prescriptions page of the Mental Health Online Report.

Data tables: Mental health-related prescriptions, 2024–25 (ZIP 857KB)

Data source

The data source for this report is AIHW analysis of Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) and Repatriation Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (RPBS) data maintained by the Australian Government Department of Health, Disability, and Ageing.

Further information on mental health-related PBS and RPBS items can be found in the Mental health prescriptions page of the Mental Health Online Report. For additional technical information about PBS and RPBS data, please refer to the data source section.

Some people receive mental health care in a hospital setting such as a hospital ward, an emergency department and/or an outpatient clinic. Information is provided on admitted patient (those who undergo a hospital’s formal admission process) mental health-related hospitalisations from Australian public and private hospitals. When receiving mental health hospital care, a patient may be admitted to hospital for part of a day (same day admitted mental health care), or for one or more overnight stays (overnight admitted patient care).

Admitted patients data are reported at the Primary Health Network (PHN) and the Statistical Area 4 (SA4) levels.

The data tables presented below are intended for loading into analytical software for further analysis. For more information on the data sources and key concepts, please refer to the Admitted patients page of the Mental Health Online Report.

Data tables: Admitted patient care, 2023–24 (ZIP 457KB) 

Data sources

Overnight and same day public hospital data: National Hospital Morbidity Database (NHMD).

Same day private hospital data: Australian Private Hospitals Association Private Psychiatric Hospitals Data Reporting and Analysis Service (PPHDRAS).

Further information on this topic can be found in the Admitted patients page of the Mental Health Online Report. For additional technical information, please refer to the data source section.

Mental illness is often treated in specialised community and hospital-based outpatient psychiatric services provided by state and territory governments. Collectively, these services are referred to as specialised community mental health care (CMHC) services.

State and territory health authorities collect a core set of information for the Community Mental Health Care National Minimum Data Set (CMHC NMDS), which is compiled annually into the National Community Mental Health Care Database (NCMHCD). The statistical counting unit used in the NCMHCD is a service contact between either a patient or a third party and a specialised (CMHC) service provider.

Community mental health care data are reported at the Primary Health Network (PHN) and the Statistical Area 4 (SA4) levels.

For more information on the data source and key concepts, please refer to the Community mental health services page of the Mental Health Online Report.

Data tables: Community mental health care services, 2023–24 (ZIP 938KB)

Data source

National Community Mental Health Care Database (NCMHCD).

Further information on this topic can be found in the Community mental health services page of the Mental Health Online Report. For additional technical information, please refer to the data source section.

State and territory health authorities collect a core set of nationally comparable information on most public hospital emergency department (ED) presentations in their jurisdiction, which is compiled annually into the National Non-Admitted Patient Emergency Department Care Database (NNAPEDCD).

For the purpose of these data tables, mental health-related ED presentations are defined as presentations to public hospital EDs that have a principal diagnosis that falls within the categories recorded in the Mental and behavioural disorders chapter of the ICD-10-AM (Chapter 5).

Mental health services provided in emergency departments are reported at the Primary Health Network (PHN) and the Statistical Area 4 (SA4) levels.

For more information on the data source and key concepts, please refer to the Emergency departments page of the Mental Health Online Report.

Data tables: Mental health services provided in emergency departments states and territories, 2023-24 (ZIP 402KB)

Data source

National Non-Admitted Patient Emergency Department Care Database (NNAPEDCD).

Further information on this topic can be found in the Emergency departments page of the Mental Health Online Report. For additional technical information about NNAPEDCD and identifying mental health presentations, please refer to the data source section.

Mental health workers may be employed in a wide variety of settings, including state-run health services, private or not-for-profit care providers, and/or private practice. Information is provided on specialist workers, who provide mental health services directly and may include professionals with tertiary training in a mental health-related field. For the purpose of these data tables, the specialist workforce is considered to include psychiatrists, mental health nurses, psychologists, mental health occupational therapists and accredited mental health social workers.

The number of specialist mental health workers is reported at the Primary Health Network (PHN) and the Statistical Area 4 (SA4) levels.

For more information on the mental health workforce, data sources and key concepts, please refer to the Workforce page of the Mental Health Online Report.

Data tables: Mental health workforce, 2024 (ZIP 69KB)

Data sources

National Health Workforce Data Set (NHWDS).

Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW).

Further information on this topic can be found in the Workforce page of the Mental Health Online Report. For additional technical information, please refer to the data sources section.