Total spending on mental health services by the major funders in Australia in 2010-11 was $6.9 billion. This represents an increase of 6.7% in real terms from 2009-10. Spending on mental health services and related activity represented 7.7% of total government health spending in 2010-11, compared with 7.3% at the beginning of the National Mental Health Strategy. A This is the highest level of mental health spending as a share of overall health expenditure recorded since the National Mental Health Report series commenced in 1993.
The major funders are the Australian Government, state and territory governments and private health insurers. Their relative contributions are summarised in Figure 3. Collectively, state and territory governments continue to play the largest role in specialised mental health service delivery, as they are primarily responsible, either directly or indirectly, for the delivery and management of most services. They have been the main focus of previous National Mental Health Reports, and remain a major feature of the current report.
The Australian Government is the Iargest single funder and was responsible for more than one third (35%) of total spending in 2010-11. It provides funding for a range of services and programs but does not deliver these services directly.
Figure 3: Distribution of recurrent spending on mental health, 2010-11 ($millions)
Text version of figure 3
Recurrent spending
| Funder | $millions | % |
|---|---|---|
| State and territory governments | 4,188 | 61.0 |
| Australian Government | 2,420 | 35.2 |
| Private health funds | 257 | 3.7 |
Australian Government recurrent spending
Australian Government recurrent spending of $2,420m is sub-divided as follows:| $millions | % | |
|---|---|---|
| National programs (DoHA) | 265 | 3.9 |
| National programs (FaHCSIA) | 145 | 2.1 |
| National programs (DVA) | 161 | 2.3 |
| Medicare Benefits Schedule | 852 | 12.4 |
| Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme | 809 | 11.8 |
| Private health insurance rebates | 99 | 1.4 |
| Research | 58 | 0.8 |
| Other | 31 | 0.4 |
A Based on Department of Health and Ageing analysis of health expenditure data prepared by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare and extracted from the national database used for the publication Health Expenditure Australia 2010 -11 (Health and Welfare Expenditure Series No. 47, Cat. No. HW E 46). Canberra: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2012. The calculation of the proportion of total health expenditure directed to mental health includes only government and private health insurance revenue sources.