Figure EXP.2 Alternative text - Source data: Expenditure on mental health-related services tables (474KB XLS).
Australian Government expenditure on Department of Defence funded programs has increased by an average of 15.9% per year for the period 2012–13 ($26.6 million) to 2016–17 ($47.9 million), adjusted for inflation. The expenditure covers a range of mental health programs and services delivered to Australian Defence Force (ADF) personnel. When the number of permanent ADF personnel is taken into consideration (58,612 people; Department of Defence, 2017 ) this equates to $818 per permanent ADF member in 2016–17.
Australian Government expenditure on Medicare-subsidised mental health-specific services
More recent expenditure data for 2017–18 Medicare-subsidised mental health-specific services is presented in this section. Throughout this section, Medicare-subsidised mental health-specific services refers to the mental health-specific services subsidised by the Australian Government through the Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS). These services include mental health-specific services provided by psychiatrists, general practitioners (GPs), psychologists (both clinical and other), and other allied health professionals and are defined in the MBS. Refer to the data source section for further information on the estimation of GP expenditure prior to 2007–08.
In 2017–18, $1.2 billion was paid in benefits for Medicare-subsidised mental health-specific services, equating to 5.3% of total MBS expenditure ($23.5 billion including Dental Benefits Schedule and the Child Dental Benefits Schedule) (DHS 2018). Expenditure for services provided by psychologists ($551 million or 44.4%) made up the largest proportion, comprising mostly Psychological Therapy Services (clinical psychologists; $294 million) and Focussed Psychological Strategies (other psychologists; $252 million). Expenditure on services provided by psychiatrists was the next largest expenditure group ($358 million or 28.9%). GP expenditure comprised $299 million (24.1%) of total Medicare subsidised mental health-related benefits.
Nationally, benefits paid for Medicare-subsidised mental health-related services averaged $49 per person in 2017–18, adjusted for inflation to 2016–17 prices (Figure EXP.3). The average benefits paid per person in Victoria ($56 per person) was the highest, while those in the Northern Territory were the lowest ($14 per person).