Regular reporting of national health expenditure is vital to understanding the health system and its relationship to the economy as a whole. In 2019–20:
- total health spending was $202.5 billion, equating to $7,926 per person
- health spending increased by 1.8% in real terms, which was lower than the decade average of 3.4%
- in the first year of COVID-19, government health spending increased faster while non-government spending reduced compared to previous years.
- Cat. no: HWE 87
Findings from this report:
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Total health expenditure in 2019–20 was $202.5 billion, a real increase of 1.8% over the year
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Expenditure per person in 2019–20 was $7,926, a real increase of 0.2% over the year
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In the first year of COVID-19, nominal health spending increased at a greater rate (3.7%) than the GDP (1.7%)
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In the first year of COVID-19, non-government health spending was estimated to decline by 5.2% compared to 2018–19