Hospitals

Australia’s hospital system has played a significant role in managing and treating people infected with coronavirus (COVID-19). Between January and June in 2020, there were over 2,600 hospitalisations involving a COVID-19 diagnosis.

The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic also had a profound impact on hospital activity more generally. The range of social, economic, business and travel restrictions, including restrictions on some hospital services, and associated measures in other healthcare services to support social distancing in Australia resulted in an overall decrease in hospital activity.

In 2019–20, there were 11.1 million hospitalisations for admitted patient care—6.7 million in public hospitals and 4.4 million in private hospitals. Between 2018–19 and 2019–20, the number of hospitalisations in Australia decreased by 2.8%, whereas previous year-to-year changes indicated a consistent upward trend. 

The MyHospitals national reporting platform allows users to explore information about their local hospital and Local Hospital Network (LHN), as well as trends across Australia. By using the 'Explore' menu below you can explore hospital information by:

• Theme (icons in top row): information presented according to common themes underpinning the operation of the hospital system including access to hospitals, hospitals activity, spending on hospital services, the hospital workforce and hospital safety and quality.
• Sector (icons in the bottom row): information on selected functions of the hospital system; for example, emergency departments or admitted patient care
• Location (my local area): information by hospital or LHN
• Data (reports and data downloads): detailed data tables and reports

Sector and theme pages contain more detailed statistics and data visualisations.