Exports of A$4.06 billion were generated in 2011–12, with around A$1 billion spent on research and development (2010–11). More than 41,000 people in more than 300 companies engage in manufacturing, research and development, and wholesaling. The most recent act relating to mental health in Australia is the Mental Health Act (1986) and mental health laws were last updated by the Mental Health Regulations of 2008. Main health concerns and plans for remedial action: Australia has a life expectancy of 82 years – one of the highest in the world. Statistics show a sustained increase in life expectancy, up from 77 years in 1990 and 80 years in 2000. Gains have been primarily due to reduced child and maternal mortality, and improved longevity for other age groups, particularly for older people with chronic diseases. The Australian Capital Territory had the highest life expectancy at birth, with 81.2 years for males and 85.1 years for females. The lowest life expectancy was in the Northern Territory: 74.7 years for males and 80.0 years for females. Improving indigenous disparities in the distribution of health and its determinants is a priority of the Australian government. Over the period 2005–07, life expectancy for indigenous Australians was around 11.5 and 9.7 years lower than the Australian average for males and females, respectively. Mental health problems, cardiovascular disease and diabetes are some of the greatest contributors to this socio-economic gap in disease burden. The gap between the high rates of infant mortality among indigenous Australians compared with other infants, however, is narrowing. Between 2002 and 2012, the indigenous infant mortality rate halved, from 12.6 to 6.4 per cent. Notwithstanding this, the infant mortality rate for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders is still around twice that for non-indigenous Australians (2012). Government expenditure on indigenous health has risen since the launch of the National Partnership Agreement (NPA) on Closing the Gap in Indigenous Health Outcomes in 2009–10 and now represents about 5.1 per cent of total government expenditure on health. A report by the Menzies Centre for Health Policy at the University of Sydney in 2013 suggested that indigenous health programmes would need to be sustained for decades in order to have a significant impact on improving health outcomes. Cancer is a significant cause of death in Australia, with seven of the 20 leading underlying causes of death attributable to some form of it. Given Australia’s high UV radiation levels, frequency of fair-skinned populations and culture of outdoor activities, the country has the highest number of malignant melanomas, the major cause of death from skin cancer, with annual levels more than 20 times those in Europe for both women and men. In 2006 the Australian government established Cancer Australia, a government entity working to reduce the impact of cancer and improve the well-being of those diagnosed with it by ensuring that evidence informs cancer prevention, screening, diagnosis, treatment and supportive care. Australia launched a major four-year national campaign in 2006 to raise awareness about skin cancer, including adopting the Global Solar UV Index, which indicates the potential for skin damage due to the UV radiation on any given day. Currently, two out of three Australians are diagnosed with skin cancer before the age of 70, Au s t r a l i a and between 95 and 99 per cent of skin cancer in Australia is caused by exposure to the sun. In 2010 there were 1,452 deaths from melanoma, with 445 deaths from non-melanoma skin cancer. The median age at death for people who died of cancer, whose death was certified by a doctor, was 75.5 years in 2012. For definitions and sources see page 314. Universal health coverage Roughly a third of health care in Australia (33 per cent) was paid for by patients or funded by other non-governmental entities – such as private insurers, charities or employers – in 2012. Total health expenditure constituted 9.1 per cent of GDP in 2012, of which 67 per cent was covered by the government. This expenditure by government amounts to US$4,108 per capita. Australia has a state-funded insurance scheme, known as ‘Medicare’, which is delivered by the Department of Human Services, with the Department of Health responsible for developing Medicare policy. Medicare covers free or subsidised health treatment by doctors, health specialists, optometrists and, in specific circumstances, dentists and other allied health practitioners. Under Medicare, free treatment and accommodation is also available for public Medicare patients in public hospitals, with up to 75 per cent of the Medicare Schedule put towards services and procedures for private patients in public or private hospitals. Medicare also covers some health care services in other countries. The Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) and the PBS Safety Net were introduced as part of Medicare and reduce the cost of medicine. It is generally recognised that the health status of Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population is inferior to that of the rest of the Australian population. This disparity is largely caused by a lack of access to health care, particularly for remote communities – Medicare services can be hundreds of miles from some Aboriginal settlements. Trachoma is one example of a disease no longer found in other developed countries that continues to blight the Aboriginal community. This bacterial infection of the eye can lead to blindness and is usually only found in developing countries, where it is linked to poor hygiene and poverty. The Australian government has taken steps to try and bridge this gap, and there are special services under Medicare dedicated to improving access to health services for native people. In 2014–15 the government’s Department of Health allocated more than A$920 million in funding for the provision of health programmes specifically for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Funding levels for indigenous health are expected to continue to grow until 2018, with the years 2017–18 seeing an investment of A$3.1 billion. In July 2014 the Australian government established the Indigenous Australians’ Health Programme, which consolidated four existing indigenous health funding streams: primary health care base funding; child and maternal health activities; Stronger Futures in the Northern Territory (Health); and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Chronic Disease Fund. Australia has signed and ratified the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, which includes ‘the right of Commonwealth Health Partnerships 2015 137
Commonwealth Health Partnerships 2015
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