Geography
All results are based on the patient’s Medicare enrolment postcode, not where they received the health care service. Patients may use services outside of their Medicare enrolment postcode. The accuracy of the patient’s Medicare enrolment postcode cannot be determined, and may not reflect the primary residence (for example, the Medicare enrolment postcode may be a PO box postcode).
The report presents information nationally and at the geography of:
Primary Health Network (PHN) areas – 31 geographic areas covering Australia, with boundaries defined by the Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care (2023).
Metropolitan and regional PHN groups – PHN areas have been assigned into 2 groups: metropolitan and regional
Statistical Areas Level 3 (SA3s) – 340 geographic areas covering Australia, with boundaries defined by the ABS (2016).
SA3 groups – SA3s have been assigned into 6 groups: Major cities (Higher socioeconomic), Major cities (Medium socioeconomic), Major cities (Lower socioeconomic), Inner regional, Outer regional and Remote (ABS 2018a, 2018b).
Measures calculated at PHN area and SA3 were compiled by applying a geographic concordance to the unit record data. The concordance used the patient’s Medicare enrolment postcode as recorded on the last claim processed (for any MBS service) in the reporting year. If a patient had more than one postcode listed on their last date of processing in the year, then the postcode was taken from the last date of service on that date of processing. Records with invalid or missing postcodes were included in the national total but not allocated to a PHN area or SA3.
Where a postcode boundary overlapped more than one PHN area or SA3, the percentage of records attributed to each area was the same as the percentage of the postcode population that fell within each area. Postcodes are updated (introduced, retired or changed) over time, which can affect the comparability of how patients are allocated to regions over time.
Figures were rounded at the end of the calculations to avoid truncation error. Individual area results may not add to national totals due to rounding and missing location data.
Metropolitan and regional PHN groups
PHN areas with at least 85% of the population residing in Major cities are classified as metropolitan, as defined by the ABS (2018a), using the population distribution as of 30 June 2016. All other PHN areas are classified as regional PHN areas.
Local area (SA3) groups
Identification of SA3s with similar socioeconomic or remoteness characteristics can help when making comparisons between areas. Results for local areas (SA3s) are presented by ABS categories of remoteness and, in Major cities, also by socioeconomic status. Results are grouped into the following categories:
- Major cities
- Higher socioeconomic areas
- Medium socioeconomic areas
- Lower socioeconomic areas
- Inner regional
- Outer regional
- Remote (includes Very remote).
SA3s in major cities
The majority of SA3s (190 of 340) across Australia are in the Major cities category (based on the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS) 2016, ABS 2018a). SA3 populations can be diverse in terms of socioeconomic status. To better enable fair comparisons within city areas, SA3s were divided into 3 socioeconomic groups: higher, medium and lower using the 2016 ABS Index of Relative Socioeconomic Disadvantage (IRSD) and the population as of 30 June 2016. IRSD is one of the Socio-Economic Indexes for Area (SEIFA) produced by the ABS (2018b). It ranks Statistical Area Level 1s (SA1s) from the most disadvantaged area (lowest quantile) to the least disadvantaged area (highest quantile), based on the relative socioeconomic conditions at an overall area level, not at an individual level.
The socioeconomic groups were defined as follows to produce 3 groups:
- Lower: IRSD quintiles 1 and 2
- Medium: IRSD quintiles 3 and 4
- Higher: IRSD quintile 5.
SA3s in Major cities were allocated to a socioeconomic group based on the largest number of SA1s in each group.
SA3s by remoteness
SA3 boundaries align well with the ABS remoteness classification for Major cities, Inner regional and Outer regional areas (ABS 2018a). SA3s are not as well defined between Remote and Very remote areas, so these categories were combined into a single category (Remote) for this analysis.
SA3s were allocated to one remoteness category based on the largest percentage of the population in each of the categories, using the population distribution as of 30 June 2016.
ABS (Australian Bureau of Statistics) (2016) Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS): Volume 1 Main structure and greater capital city statistical areas, July 2016, ABS, Australian Government, accessed 16 November 2023.
ABS (2018a) Australian Statistical Geography Standard: Volume 5 – Remoteness structure, July 2016, ABS, Australian Government, accessed 16 November 2023.
ABS (2018b) Census of Population and Housing: Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas (SEIFA), Australia, 2016, ABS, Australian Government, accessed 16 November 2023.
ABS (2019) Regional population growth, Australia, 2017–18, ABS, Australian Government, accessed 16 November 2023.
AIHW (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare) 2005 Age-standardised rate, Canberra: AIHW, Australian Government, accessed 14 July 2020.
AIHW (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare) 2018. Australia’s health 2018. Australia’s health series no. 16. AUS 221. Canberra: AIHW. Viewed 8 January 2024.
Department of Health and Aged Care 2023b Medicare Benefits Schedule book, operating from 1 July 2021, Department of Health and Aged Care, Australian Government, accessed 16 November 2023.
Department of Health and Aged Care 2023c Primary Health Networks (PHNs), Department of Health and Aged Care, Australian Government, accessed 16 November 2023.
Services Australia 2023a Medicare Australia statistics, Services Australia, Australian Government, accessed 16 November 2023.