Between 1992-93 and 2010-11, the direct care workforceB in state and territory mental health services increased by 72% (see Figure 14). This is equivalent to 10,208 full-time staff.
Figure 15 summarises this trend at a national level, showing that the number of full-time equivalent direct care staff rose from 80.1 per 100,000 in 1992-93 to 108.1 per 100,000 in 2010-11. Although all jurisdictions increased the overall size of their respective workforces during this period, New South Wales reported the most growth (52%), followed by Tasmania (47%) and Queensland (43%). More detail on individual jurisdictions' growth can be found in Part 4.
The growth in the direct care workforce in state and territory mental health services equates to a 35% increase when population size is taken into account.
Table 3 summarises the composition of the mental health professional workforce since 1994-95, the year for which a breakdown by provider types first became available. It shows that all provider groups have expanded under the Strategy, but there has been a shift in the professional staffing mix. The numbers of allied health professionals grew the most (120%), followed by medical practitioners (106%) and then nurses (54%). In 2010-11, nurses accounted for 64% of the mental health professional workforce, allied health professionals for 24% and medical practitioners for 12%. This represents a drop of 7% for nurses as a percentage of the total state and territory workforce and an increase of 5% for allied health professionals, reflecting a move to develop multi-disciplinary community services.
Nationally, increases in spending by states and territories on inpatient and community-based services were greater than the work force growth in these settings. Figure 16 shows that by 2010-11, when the direct care workforce had grown 72% compared with the baseline year, recurrent expenditure had increased by 119%.
There are various reasons why higher spending may not translate into proportionally equivalent numbers of staff, and these may have a differential impact in different jurisdictions. These include, for example, rising labour costs and increases in overhead and infrastructure (including training and support) costs. Top of page
Figure 14: Number of direct care staff (FTE) employed in state and territory mental health service delivery, 1992-93 to 2010-11
Text version of figure 14
Number of direct care staff (FTE) employed in state and territory mental health service delivery:- 1992-93 Baseline year - 14,084
- 1993-94 - 13,851
- 1994-95 - 14,112
- 1995-96 - 14,378
- 1996-97 - 15,091
- 1997-98 End 1st plan - 15,151
- 1998-99 - 15,783
- 1999-2000 - 16,180
- 2000-01 - 16,668
- 2001-02 - 17,551
- 2002-03 End 2nd plan - 17,946
- 2003-04 - 18,566
- 2004-05 - 19,293
- 2005-06 - 20,403
- 2006-07 - 21,216
- 2007-08 End 3rd plan - 21,974
- 2008-09 - 22,769
- 2009-10 - 23,275
- 2010-11 Mid 4th plan - 24,292 Top of page
Figure 15: Number of direct care staff (FTE) employed in state and territory mental health service delivery per 100,000, 1992-93 to 2010-11
Text version of figure 15
FTE per 100,000:- 1992-93 Baseline year - 80
- 1993-94 - 78
- 1994-95 - 79
- 1995-96 - 79
- 1996-97 - 82
- 1997-98 End 1st plan - 81
- 1998-99 - 84
- 1999-2000 - 85
- 2000-01 - 86
- 2001-02 - 90
- 2002-03 End 2nd plan - 91
- 2003-04 - 93
- 2004-05 - 95
- 2005-06 - 99
- 2006-07 - 102
- 2007-08 End 3rd plan - 103
- 2008-09 - 105
- 2009-10 - 105
- 2010-11 Mid 4th plan - 108 Top of page
Table 3: Change in the health professional workforce (FTE) in state and territory mental health services, 1994-95 to 2010-11a
Table 3 has been split into 4 parts in this online version. It is a single table in the PDF version.Medical
 | 1994-95 (mid 1st plan) | 1997-98 (end 1st plan) | 2002-03 (end 2nd plan) | 2007-08 (end 3rd plan) | 2010-11 (mid 4th plan) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Consultant psychiatrists | 560 | 657 | 753 | 1,094 | 1,355 |
| Psychiatry registrars and trainees | 568 | 659 | 882 | 1,102 | 1,259 |
| Other medical officers | 273 | 303 | 284 | 329 | 271 |
| Total medical | 1,401 | 1,619 | 1,920 | 2,525 | 2,885 |
Nursing
| 1994-95 (mid 1st plan) | 1997-98 (end 1st plan) | 2002-03 (end 2nd plan) | 2007-08 (end 3rd plan) | 2010-11 (mid 4th plan) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Registered nurses | 8,318 | 8,504 | 9,649 | 11,405 | 12,592 |
| Enrolled nurses | 1,262 | 1,323 | 1,663 | 2,166 | 2,196 |
| Total nursing | 9,580 | 9,827 | 11,312 | 13,571 | 14,788 |
Allied health
| 1994-95 (mid 1st plan) | 1997-98 (end 1st plan) | 2002-03 (end 2nd plan) | 2007-08 (end 3rd plan) | 2010-11 (mid 4th plan) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Psychologists | 696 | 1,024 | 1,417 | 1,741 | 1,810 |
| Social workers | 759 | 975 | 1,233 | 1,563 | 1,867 |
| Occupational therapists | 525 | 548 | 697 | 859 | 1,038 |
| Other allied health professionals | 546 | 624 | 779 | 864 | 845 |
| Total allied health | 2,527 | 3,171 | 4,125 | 5,027 | 5,560 |
Total
- 1994-95 (mid 1st plan) - 13,508
- 1997-98 (end 1st plan) - 14,617
- 2002-03 (end 2nd plan) - 17,357
- 2007-08 (end 3rd plan) - 21,122
- 2010-22 (mid 4th plan) - 23,232
a Totals differ slightly from those in figure 14 because they do not include other personal care staff and do include a small number of staff employed at the organisational level.
Top of pageFigure 16: Growth in service expenditure compared with growth in direct care staff (FTE), 1992-93 to 2010-11
Text version of figure 16
| Direct care staff (%) | Expenditure (%) |
|---|---|---|
| 1992-93 Baseline year | 0 | 0 |
| 1993-94 | -2 | -1 |
| 1994-95 | 0 | 4 |
| 1995-96 | 2 | 9 |
| 1996-97 | 7 | 15 |
| 1997-98 | 8 | 18 |
| 1998-99 | 12 | 22 |
| 1999-2000 | 15 | 27 |
| 2000-01 | 18 | 33 |
| 2001-02 | 25 | 40 |
| 2002-03 | 27 | 48 |
| 2003-04 | 32 | 54 |
| 2004-05 | 37 | 63 |
| 2005-06 | 45 | 71 |
| 2006-07 | 51 | 81 |
| 2007-08 | 56 | 91 |
| 2008-09 | 62 | 101 |
| 2009-10 | 65 | 109 |
| 2010-11 | 72 | 119 |
B 'Direct care staff' include those within the health professional categories of 'medical', 'nursing', 'allied health' and 'other personal care'.