Health system spending on disease and injury in Australia 2023–24

The Burden of Disease conditions list contains 220 conditions across 17 disease groups. Refer to the data tables for 2023–24, for a mapping of all the ABDS conditions to the 17 disease groups. This is not an exhaustive list of all possible health conditions and, as such, the spending associated with ‘other’ conditions that could not be individually specified are included within a residual category for each disease group – such as ‘other cardiovascular conditions’.

The following is covered within this section of the report:

• Burden of disease condition report
• Top 5 burden of disease conditions for spending
• Spending on burden of disease conditions for females
• Spending on burden of disease conditions for males
• Spending on burden of disease conditions by age group and sex
• Spending on burden of disease conditions by area of expenditure
• Spending on burden of disease groups and conditions by state and sex

Burden of disease condition report

Generate a summary of expenditure for any of the 220 burden of disease conditions.

The following interactive data visualisation (Figure 8) presents summary information for each burden of disease condition. It includes total spending on the condition in 2023–24 as well as a breakdown of the spending by males and females. Total expenditure and expenditure per 100,000 population is shown by area of expenditure over 2013–14 to 2023–24. Expenditure by area of expenditure by age group and sex and by remoteness is also available for 2023–24. Data used to create the visualisation is available to download from the data tables.

Top 5 burden of disease conditions for spending

The five specific Burden of Disease conditions with the highest spending in 2023–24 were:

• Injuries from falls ($5.4 billion)
• Osteoarthritis ($4.8 billion)
• Back pain and problems ($4.0 billion)
• Coronary heart disease ($3.8 billion)
• Lower respiratory infections (including influenza and pneumonia) ($3.7 billion)

The spending associated with ‘other’ conditions within a disease group was the highest for Other musculoskeletal disorders ($6.1 billion), Other cardiovascular diseases ($3.7 billion) and Other injuries ($3.4 billion) (excludes ‘not elsewhere classified’ groupings). These ‘other’ categories within disease groups account for health spending for conditions that are not the primary focus of the disease group but still contribute to the overall disease spending. 

Of the estimated $180 billion of health spending allocated by disease and injury in 2023–24, $1.9 billion could be allocated by age group and sex to the treatment and management of COVID–19 within the hospital, primary health care (GP services and PBS) and referred medical services (specialist, medical imaging and pathology) setting.

Spending on burden of disease conditions for females

In 2023–24, of the $95.5 billion spent on females, the disease groups with the highest spending were cancer and other neoplasms, musculoskeletal disorders and cardiovascular diseases.

• Cancer and other neoplasms ($9.2 billion) of which the top 3 specific cancers were:
  • Breast cancer ($1.8 billion)
  • Lung cancer ($0.8 billion)
  • Bowel cancer ($0.8 billion)
• Musculoskeletal disorders ($9.1 billion) of which the top 3 specific conditions within this group were:
  • Osteoarthritis ($2.7 billion)
  • Back pain and problems ($2.2 billion)
  • Rheumatoid arthritis ($0.7 billion)
• Cardiovascular diseases ($7.0 billion) of which the top 2 specific conditions within this group were:
  • Coronary heart disease ($1.1 billion)
  • Stroke ($0.9 billion)

Spending on burden of disease conditions for males

In 2023–24, of the $84.6 billion spent on males, the disease groups with the highest spending were cancer and other neoplasms, cardiovascular diseases and musculoskeletal disorders.

• Cancer and other neoplasms ($10.5 billion) of which the top 3 specific cancers were:
  • Prostate cancer ($1.6 billion)
  • Non-melanoma skin cancer ($1.2 billion)
  • Bowel cancer ($1.1 billion)
• Cardiovascular diseases ($9.9 billion) of which the top 3 specific conditions within this group were:
  • Coronary heart disease ($2.6 billion)
  • Atrial fibrillation and flutter ($1.2 billion)
  • Stroke ($1.1 billion)
• Musculoskeletal disorders ($7.2 billion) of which the top 2 specific conditions within this group were:
  • Osteoarthritis ($2.1 billion)
  • Back pain and problems ($1.9 billion)

The top 5 conditions in terms of spending for males and females by broad age group in 2023–24 is shown in Figure 9 below. It shows that for both males and females, injuries from falls followed by dementia are the conditions with the highest spending in the 85 years and over age group. For females between 45 and 64, the highest spending was for breast cancer. While for males in the same age group coronary heart disease had the highest spending.

Spending on burden of disease conditions by age group and sex

The following interactive data visualisation (Figure 10) shows spending on burden of disease conditions by age group and sex. Expenditure can be displayed as totals or as expenditure per 100,000 population. Data used to create the visualisation is available to download from the data tables.

Spending on burden of disease conditions by area of expenditure

The following interactive data visualisation (Figure 11) shows spending on burden of disease conditions for each area of expenditure. Expenditure for Australia and for each state and territory can be displayed as totals or as expenditure per 100,000 population. Data used to create the visualisation is available to download from the data tables.

Spending on disease groups and conditions by state and sex

The following interactive data visualisation (Figure 12) shows health spending for each disease group and the share of spending for each condition, by sex, for Australia and for each state and territory. Data used to create the visualisation is available to download from the data tables.