Understanding the Australian healthcare system
Healthcare in Australia is shaped by a division of responsibilities between different levels of government.
Australia has three levels of government – the national or “Commonwealth” government, state and territory governments, and local (municipal) governments. Responsibility for healthcare is generally split between state and territory governments and the Commonwealth government.
States / territories
- Manage public hospitals
- Licensed private hospitals
- Are responsible for public community-based and primary health services (including mental health, dental health, alcohol and drug services)
- Deliver preventive services such as cancer screening and immunisation programs
- Are responsible for ambulance services
- Are responsible for handling health complaints
Commonwealth
- Sets national policies
- Is responsible for Medicare (including subsidising medical services and joint funding, with states and territories, of public hospital services)
- Funds pharmaceuticals through the Pharmaceuticals Benefits Scheme
- Funds community-controlled Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander primary health care
- Supports access to private health insurance
- Regulates private health insurance
- Organises health services for veterans
- Is a major funder of health and medical research, including through the National Health and Medical Research Council
- Regulates medicines, devices and blood
Shared
- Regulation of health workforce
- Education and training of health professionals
- Regulation of pharmaceuticals and pharmacies
- Support improvements in safety and quality of health care
- Funding of public health programs and services
- Funding of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health services
General practice policy and funding (via Medicare) is mostly the responsibility of the Commonwealth Government.
Although some patients will see a GP at a publicly funded clinic (e.g. Aboriginal Medical Service), most GPs work in clinics that are privately owned. These might be owned by one or more people (eg. a GP operating as a sole trader or in partnership) or by a company.
For these privately owned GP clinics, the GP/practice will decide the cost of a visit. Patients who go to the doctor pay some or none of the cost of their visit. The Commonwealth Government covers the rest via Medicare (Australia’s universal health insurance scheme). When the patient is charged the same as the government rebate (and so does not have to pay any extra or “out of pocket fees”), they are “bulk billed”.
Medicare will also help patients cover the costs of some investigations (eg. blood tests, imaging) based on certain criteria.
The Commonwealth Government also helps with the cost of many medications for patients by subsiding the cost of many of them.
The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare provides information and data on the health of Australians.
Their latest report card from 2024 shows that Australians’ overall health continues to compare well to other similar countries. Highlights include:
Australia’s life expectancy at birth is fourth highest among OECD countries (81 years for men and 85 years for women)
3 in 5 Australians were estimated to live with at least one long-term health condition
Coronary heart disease is still the leading single case of death in Australia despite the death rate falling since its peak in the late 1960s
The number of Australians with dementia is predicted to more than double by 2058 to 849,300
Cancer is a major cause of illness in Australia with an average of more than 450 cases were diagnosed each day in 2023
2 in 3 Australian adults aged 18 and over were living with overweight or obesity
Tobacco use and drinking alcohol in ways that are harmful to health has declined
43% of Australians aged 16–85 years had experienced a mental disorder at some time in their life while 4.3 million people aged 16–85 (22% of the population) had experienced a mental disorder in the last 12 months.
GPRA is committed to supporting future GPs achieve Fellowship via additional employment, education, peer to peer and exam support, so that all communities across Australia can access quality GPs and world class healthcare.
