In 2019–20, 28% (238,700) of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people had an Indigenous-specific health check. Around 4% (9,900) of health checks were conducted at least partly via phone or video-conference—noting that telehealth options were only available during the final 3–4 months of 2019–20.
The rate of Indigenous-specific health checks was higher for Indigenous females than males—30% compared with 26%. Across age groups, the difference between males and females in the rate of checks was largest for those aged 25–34 (30% of Indigenous females, compared with 19% of Indigenous males) (Figure 2). Among total health check patients of each sex, females engaged with telehealth services slightly more than males (4.4% of females patients compared to 3.9% of male patients).
In 2019–20, the rate of Indigenous-specific health checks was:
- highest among those aged 65 and over, for both males and females—41% of Indigenous females and 37% of Indigenous males in this age group received a health check
- lowest among those aged 15–24 for males (19%) and those aged 5–14 for females (24%).