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Patient Experiences

Latest release

Contains data on access and barriers to, and experiences of, healthcare services including GPs, specialists, dental professionals, hospitals and EDs.

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Reference period
2023-24 financial year

Key statistics

  • 10.9% of people in most disadvantaged areas delayed getting, or went without, prescription medication when needed due to cost 
  • 20.4% of people delayed or did not see a health professional for their own mental health when needed due to cost
  • 66.4% of people could always see their preferred GP when needed 

The scope of the Patient Experience Survey was restricted to people aged 15 years and over who were usual residents of private dwellings.

Health service use

General practitioners (GPs) continued to be the most common health professionals seen in 2023-24. 

The proportion of people who saw a medical specialist increased to 39.2% in 2023-24, from 37.9% in 2022-23. 

Health service use in 2023-24 remained similar to 2022-23 for those who:

  • saw a GP (82.6% in 2023-24 and 82.3% in 2022-23)
  • saw a dental professional (53.2% in 2023-24 and 52.3% in 2022-23)
  • visited a hospital emergency department (ED) (15.3% in 2023-24 and 15.2% in 2022-23) 
  • were admitted to hospital (12.7% in 2023-24 and 12.6% in 2022-23) 
  • saw a GP for urgent medical care (8.8% in 2023-24 and 8.6% in 2022-23)
  • saw an after hours GP (5.2% in 2023-24 and 5.5% in 2022-23). 

The proportion of people who could always see their preferred GP when needed increased to 66.4% in 2023-24, from 63.7% in 2022-23.

By sex

Females were more likely than males to use the following health services:

  • see a GP (87.3% compared to 77.7%)
  • see a dental professional (57.1% compared to 49.0%)
  • see a medical specialist (42.7% compared to 35.6%) 
  • be admitted to hospital (14.1% compared to 11.2%)
  • see a GP for urgent medical care (10.1% compared to 7.4%) 
  • see an after hours GP (6.3% compared to 4.1%).

By age

People aged 85 years and over were more likely than those aged 15-24 years to: 

  • see a GP (96.6% compared to 70.8%) 
  • see a medical specialist (60.5% compared to 27.4%)
  • visit a hospital ED (29.2% compared to 14.1%) 
  • be admitted to hospital (26.7% compared to 7.2%)
  • see a GP for urgent medical care (12.3% compared to 7.9%). 

People aged 65-74 years were more likely than those aged 25-34 years to see a dental professional (61.1% compared to 46.9%).

  1. Includes dentist, dental hygienist and dental specialists.

By long-term health condition

People with a long-term health condition were more likely than those without a long-term health condition to use all health services as follows:

  • see a GP (93.9% compared to 70.4%) 
  • see a dental professional (56.1% compared to 50.0%) 
  • see a medical specialist (55.8% compared to 21.4%)
  • visit a hospital ED (21.4% compared to 8.7%) 
  • be admitted to hospital (18.5% compared to 6.3%)
  • see a GP for urgent medical care (12.6% compared to 4.6%) 
  • see an after hours GP (6.8% compared to 3.6%).

By Socio-Economic Disadvantage 

People living in areas of least socio-economic disadvantage were more likely than those living in areas of most disadvantage to:

  • see a dental professional (64.7% compared to 40.6%)
  • see a medical specialist (42.8% compared to 37.0%).

People living in areas of most socio-economic disadvantage were more likely than those living in areas of least disadvantage to:

  • visit a hospital ED (18.9% compared to 12.4%) 
  • be admitted to hospital (13.8% compared to 11.8%).

By Remoteness

People living in major cities were more likely than those living in outer regional, remote or very remote areas to:

  • see a dental professional (55.3% compared to 46.2%)
  • see an after hours GP (5.6% compared to 3.9%). 

People living in outer regional, remote or very remote areas were more likely than those living in major cities to:

  • visit a hospital ED (20.4% compared to 13.8%) 
  • be admitted to hospital (14.2% compared to 12.1%).

See Tables 1, 2.3, 3.2 and 5.3 in Data downloads section.

Waiting times

GP waiting times

In 2023-24, 28.0% of people reported waiting longer than they felt acceptable for a GP appointment, a decrease from 29.6% in 2022-23.

The following people were more likely to report waiting longer than they felt acceptable for a GP appointment:

  • those living in outer regional, remote or very remote areas than those living in major cities (36.3% compared to 26.0%)
  • people aged 35-44 years than people aged 85 years and over (33.2% compared to 15.6%)
  • females than males (31.6% compared to 23.7%)
  • those with a long-term health condition than those without a long-term health condition (30.5% compared to 24.4%) 
  • people living in areas of most socio-economic disadvantage than people living in areas of least disadvantage (30.3% compared to 24.3%).

Reported waiting times to see a GP for urgent medical care remained similar between 2023-24 and 2022-23: 

  • saw a GP for urgent medical care and waited for 24 hours or more (46.0% in 2023-24 and 45.6% in 2022-23)
  • saw a GP for urgent medical care and were seen within 4 hours (41.7% in 2023-24 and 41.5% in 2022-23) 
  • saw a GP for urgent medical care and waited for 4 to 24 hours (12.5% in 2023-24 and 12.7% in 2022-23). 

The following people were more likely to report that they saw a GP for urgent medical care and were seen within 4 hours:

  • those aged 75-84 years than those aged 15-24 years (48.0% compared to 37.1%)
  • males than females (45.7% compared to 38.6%) 
  • people without a long-term health condition than people with a long-term health condition (45.1% compared to 40.3%). 

The following people were more likely to report that they saw a GP for urgent medical care and waited for 4 to 24 hours:

  • females than males (15.0% compared to 9.0%) 
  • those living in major cities than those living in outer regional, remote or very remote areas (13.2% compared to 7.9%). 

Medical specialist waiting times

In 2023-24, 28.6% of people reported waiting longer than they felt acceptable for a medical specialist appointment, similar to 27.9% in 2022-23. 

The following people were more likely to report waiting longer than they felt acceptable for a medical specialist appointment:

  • those aged 25-34 years than those aged 85 years and over (36.2% compared to 16.6%)
  • females than males (30.8% compared to 25.7%)
  • people living in areas of most socio-economic disadvantage than people living in areas of least disadvantage (30.6% compared to 26.3%)
  • those with a long-term health condition than those without a long-term health condition (30.3% compared to 23.9%).

Public dentistry waiting lists 

Public dental care is only available to a limited segment of the Australian population. Adults must generally have a healthcare card or Centrelink pensioner concession card to be eligible. The Child Dental Benefits Schedule (CDBS) provides basic dental services to eligible children aged 0-17 years[1][2].

The proportion of people placed on public dentistry waiting lists decreased in 2023-24 compared to 2022-23 (4.0% compared to 4.7%).

The following people were more likely to be placed on a public dentistry waiting list:

  • those living in areas of most socio-economic disadvantage than those living in areas of least disadvantage (11.6% compared to 1.0%)
  • people aged 75-84 years than people aged 25-34 years (8.1% compared to 2.5%) 
  • those living in outer regional, remote or very remote areas than those living in major cities (6.7% compared to 3.0%) 
  • people with a long-term health condition than people without a long-term health condition (5.9% compared to 1.7%).

See Tables 4, 5.3, 6.2, 10, 11.3, 12.2, 14.3 and 15.2 in Data downloads section.

Barriers to health service use

Delayed or did not use health services when needed

The proportion of people who delayed or did not use the following health services when needed decreased in 2023-24 compared to 2022-23:

  • GPs (29.2% compared to 30.3%) 
  • dental professionals (28.0% compared to 29.7%)
  • medical specialists (20.5% compared to 22.5%).

Females were more likely to delay or not use the following health services when needed than males:

  • GPs (32.8% compared to 25.0%)
  • dental professionals (29.2% compared to 26.4%)
  • medical specialists (22.8% compared to 17.7%). 

People aged 25-34 years were more likely to delay or not use the following health services when needed than those aged 85 years and over:

  • GPs (37.4% compared to 11.6%)
  • dental professionals (37.0% compared to 17.1%) 
  • medical specialists (32.3% compared to 7.3%) 
  • hospitals (14.2% compared to 6.1%).

People with a long-term health condition were more likely to delay or not use the following health services when needed than those without a long-term health condition:

  • after hours GPs (46.4% compared to 38.7%) 
  • GPs (33.3% compared to 23.2%) 
  • dental professionals (31.8% compared to 23.1%)
  • medical specialists (21.6% compared to 17.7%) 
  • hospitals (11.7% compared to 6.3%). 
  1. Includes dentist, dental hygienist and dental specialists.

People living in areas of most socio-economic disadvantage were more likely to delay or not use the following health services when needed than those living in areas of least disadvantage:

  • after hours GPs (48.3% compared to 35.0%) 
  • dental professionals (38.2% compared to 20.7%)
  • GPs (30.2% compared to 27.1%) 
  • medical specialists (22.3% compared to 18.2%) 
  • hospitals (17.4% compared to 5.5%). 

People living in outer regional, remote or very remote areas were more likely to delay or not see a GP when needed than those living in major cities (30.8% compared to 28.6%).

Delayed or did not use health services when needed - due to cost

The proportion of people who reported that cost was a reason for delaying or not seeing a GP when needed increased to 8.8% in 2023-24, from 7.0% in 2022-23.

The proportion of people who reported that cost was the main reason for not seeing an after hours GP when needed increased to 6.4% in 2023-24, from 4.4% in 2022-23.

Females were more likely to delay or not use the following health services when needed due to cost than males:

  • dental professionals (19.4% compared to 15.4%)
  • medical specialists (11.9% compared to 7.2%) 
  • GPs (10.8% compared to 6.4%).

People aged 25-34 years were more likely to delay or not use the following health services when needed due to cost than those aged 85 years and over:

  • dental professionals (25.1% compared to 11.0%) 
  • medical specialists (18.5% compared to 2.3%) 
  • GPs (15.4% compared to 1.6%). 

People with a long-term health condition were more likely to delay or not use the following health services when needed due to cost than those without a long-term health condition:

  • dental professionals (20.8% compared to 13.6%) 
  • medical specialists (10.4% compared to 8.1%) 
  • GPs (10.3% compared to 6.7%). 

People living in areas of most socio-economic disadvantage were more likely to delay or not use the following health services when needed due to cost than those living in areas of least disadvantage:

  • dental professionals (27.3% compared to 11.2%) 
  • hospitals (4.6% compared to 1.9%). 
  1. 2016 Index of Relative Socio-Economic Disadvantage: A lower Index of Disadvantage quintile (e.g. the first quintile) indicates relatively greater disadvantage and a lack of advantage in general. A higher Index of Disadvantage (e.g. the fifth quintile) indicates a relative lack of disadvantage and greater advantage in general.
  2. Includes dentist, dental hygienist and dental specialists.
  3. Cost was the main reason for not seeing an after hours GP.

People living in major cities were more likely to report that cost was the main reason for not seeing an after hours GP when needed than those living in outer regional, remote or very remote areas (6.9% compared to 3.2%).

Delayed or did not use health services when needed - reasons other than cost

The proportion of people who reported reasons other than cost (e.g. ‘Service not available when required’, ‘Too busy’ or ‘Waiting time too long’) for delaying or not using the following health services when needed decreased in 2023-24 compared to 2022-23:

  • GPs (20.4% compared to 23.3%) 
  • medical specialists (10.7% compared to 12.0%) 
  • dental professionals (10.4% compared to 12.0%).

The proportion of people who reported that the main reason for not seeing an after hours GP when needed was something other than cost decreased to 37.5% in 2023-24, from 42.4% in 2022-23. 

Females were more likely to report reasons other than cost for delaying or not using the following health services when needed than males:

  • GPs (21.9% compared to 18.7%) 
  • hospitals (8.7% compared to 5.8%). 

Males were more likely to report reasons other than cost for delaying or not seeing a dental professional when needed than females (11.0% compared to 9.8%). 

Prescription medication

The proportion of people who delayed or did not get prescription medication when needed due to cost (8.0%) remained similar to 2022-23 (7.6%).

The following people were more likely to delay getting, or go without, prescription medication when needed due to cost:

  • those aged 15-24 years than those aged 85 years and over (12.3% compared to 2.4%)
  • people living in areas of most socio-economic disadvantage than people living in areas of least disadvantage (10.9% compared to 5.9%)
  • females than males (9.4% compared to 6.3%)
  • those with a long-term health condition than those without a long-term health condition (9.2% compared to 5.5%).

See Tables 4, 5.3, 6.2, 7, 8.2, 9.2, 10, 11.3, 12.2, 14.3, 15.2, 17.2 and 18.2 in Data downloads section.

Experience with health professionals

In 2023-24, over 60.0% of people who needed to and saw a health professional reported positive experiences with them. 

People reported the most positive experiences with dental professionals and the least positive experiences with hospital ED doctors and specialists.

 

Proportion of people who reported health professional always spent enough time with them (%)(a)
Health Professional2023-24 (%)2022-23 (%)Change between 2023-24 and 2022-23
Dental professionals(b)87.989.0↓
Medical specialists77.478.9↓
Hospital nurses(c)76.174.5SIMILAR
Hospital doctors and specialists(d)72.971.0SIMILAR
GPs72.170.8↑
Hospital ED nurses(e)70.668.2SIMILAR
Hospital ED doctors and specialists(f)63.262.1SIMILAR
  1. Excludes persons for whom proxy interviews were conducted.
  2. Includes dentist, dental hygienist and dental specialists.
  3. Includes those who didn't see any nurses in a hospital.
  4. Includes those who didn't see any doctors or specialists in a hospital.
  5. Includes those who didn't see any nurses in a hospital emergency department.
  6. Includes those who didn't see any doctors or specialists in a hospital emergency department.
Proportion of people who reported health professional always listened carefully (%)(a)
Health Professional2023-24 (%)2022-23 (%)Change between 2023-24 and 2022-23
Dental professionals(b)85.586.1SIMILAR
Hospital nurses(c)78.277.6SIMILAR
Medical specialists76.977.9SIMILAR
Hospital doctors and specialists(d)76.274.1SIMILAR
Hospital ED nurses(e)73.972.3SIMILAR
GPs71.971.3SIMILAR
Hospital ED doctors and specialists(f)67.164.6SIMILAR
  1. Excludes persons for whom proxy interviews were conducted.
  2. Includes dentist, dental hygienist and dental specialists.
  3. Includes those who didn't see any nurses in a hospital.
  4. Includes those who didn't see any doctors or specialists in a hospital.
  5. Includes those who didn't see any nurses in a hospital emergency department.
  6. Includes those who didn't see any doctors or specialists in a hospital emergency department.

 

Proportion of people who reported health professional always showed respect (%)(a)
Health Professional2023-24 (%)2022-23 (%)Change between 2023-24 and 2022-23
Dental professionals(b)88.789.2SIMILAR
Medical specialists82.082.8SIMILAR
Hospital nurses(c)80.280.2SIMILAR
GPs79.880.3SIMILAR
Hospital doctors and specialists(d)78.778.1SIMILAR
Hospital ED nurses(e)76.775.5SIMILAR
Hospital ED doctors and specialists(f)71.369.8SIMILAR
  1. Excludes persons for whom proxy interviews were conducted.
  2. Includes dentist, dental hygienist and dental specialists.
  3. Includes those who didn't see any nurses in a hospital.
  4. Includes those who didn't see any doctors or specialists in a hospital.
  5. Includes those who didn't see any nurses in a hospital emergency department.
  6. Includes those who didn't see any doctors or specialists in a hospital emergency department.

Experience with hospital ED doctors, specialists and nurses

Males reported more positive experiences with hospital ED doctors and specialists than females: 

  • always listened to carefully (72.2% compared to 62.8%) 
  • always shown respect (76.9% compared to 66.3%) 
  • always had enough time spent with them (69.0% compared to 58.4%). 

Males also reported more positive experiences with hospital ED nurses than females: 

  • always listened to carefully (77.8% compared to 70.2%) 
  • always shown respect (80.4% compared to 73.7%) 
  • always had enough time spent with them (74.8% compared to 66.7%). 

People aged 85 years and over reported more positive experiences with hospital ED doctors and specialists than those aged 25-34 years:

  • always listened to carefully (87.7% compared to 56.9%) 
  • always shown respect (86.7% compared to 63.7%) 
  • always had enough time spent with them (81.5% compared to 55.2%). 

People aged 85 years and over also reported more positive experiences with hospital ED nurses than those aged 25-34 years:

  • always listened to carefully (85.6% compared to 66.0%) 
  • always shown respect (86.9% compared to 68.6%) 
  • always had enough time spent with them (77.6% compared to 63.0%). 
  1. Excludes persons for whom proxy interviews were conducted. Includes those who didn't see any doctors or specialists in a hospital emergency department.

People without a long-term health condition reported more positive experiences with hospital ED doctors and specialists than those with a long-term health condition:

  • always listened to carefully (72.1% compared to 65.2%)
  • always shown respect (76.8% compared to 69.1%)
  • always had enough time spent with them (68.3% compared to 61.3%).

People living in outer regional, remote or very remote areas reported more positive experiences with hospital ED doctors and specialists than those living in major cities:

  • always listened to carefully (71.6% compared to 66.8%)
  • always shown respect (75.4% compared to 71.2%)
  • always had enough time spent with them (71.3% compared to 61.8%).

See Tables 5.3, 11.3, 14.3, 17.2, 20.2 and 21.2 in Data downloads section.

Experience of telehealth services

The proportion of people who had at least one telehealth consultation for their own health in the last 12 months decreased to 23.6% in 2023-24, from 27.7% in 2022-23.

In the last 12 months:

  • 19.7% of people had a telehealth consultation with a GP 
  • 4.6% of people had a telehealth consultation with a medical specialist. 

The highest proportion of people who had at least one telehealth consultation were females aged 25-34 years (33.5%).

The following people were more likely to have a telehealth consultation:   

  • those with a long-term health condition than those without a long-term health condition (32.7% compared to 13.8%) 
  • females than males (28.6% compared to 18.4%)
  • people living in areas of least socio-economic disadvantage than people living in areas of most disadvantage (25.8% compared to 21.8%)  
  • those aged 65-74 years than those aged 15-24 years (25.2% compared to 17.0%). 

a.  Telehealth service refers to an appointment with a health practitioner over the phone, by video conferencing or through other communication technologies.

In 2023-24, people who had a telehealth consultation reported similar experiences with telehealth practitioners compared to 2022-23:

  • always listened to carefully (80.5% in 2023-24 and 80.7% in 2022-23) 
  • always shown respect (83.2% in 2023-24 and 83.9% in 2022-23) 
  • always had enough time spent with them (78.6% in 2023-24 and 79.1% in 2022-23). 

Males reported more positive experiences with telehealth practitioners than females: 

  • always listened to carefully (83.5% compared to 78.6%) 
  • always shown respect (85.3% compared to 82.0%)
  • always had enough time spent with them (81.8% compared to 76.8%). 

People aged 75-84 years reported more positive experiences with telehealth practitioners than those aged 15-24 years:

  • always listened to carefully (90.1% compared to 63.9%) 
  • always shown respect (90.8% compared to 67.6%)  
  • always had enough time spent with them (90.4% compared to 64.3%). 

People with a long-term health condition reported more positive experiences with telehealth practitioners than those without a long-term health condition:   

  • always listened to carefully (81.5% compared to 77.7%) 
  • always shown respect (84.1% compared to 80.7%)   
  • always had enough time spent with them (79.4% compared to 76.9%). 

Whether would use telehealth again

Of those who had a telehealth consultation, 89.2% reported that they would use telehealth for a consultation again if it was offered. This was an increase from 87.7% in 2022-23.         

People aged 35-44 years were more likely to use telehealth for a consultation again if it was offered than those aged 75-84 years (91.4% compared to 83.4%).      

See Tables 1, 25.3 and 26.2 in Data downloads section.

Experience of mental health services

Use of mental health professionals 

In 2023-24, 17.0% of people saw at least one health professional for their own mental health, similar to 2022-23 (16.5%):

  • 12.7% saw a GP for their own mental health (similar to 12.5% in 2022-23)
  • 8.3% saw a psychologist (similar to 7.7% in 2022-23) 
  • 3.2% saw a psychiatrist (similar to 2.9% in 2022-23) 
  • 2.5% saw an other mental health professional such as a mental health nurse, social worker, counsellor or occupational therapist (slightly higher than 2.2% in 2022-23).

Of people who needed to and saw a health professional for their own mental health in 2023-24, 26.2% did so at least once using a telehealth service (a decrease from 29.3% in 2022-23). 

By sex

Females were more likely to see a health professional for their own mental health than males (21.1% compared to 12.8%).

Females were more likely to see the following health professionals for their own mental health than males:

  • GPs (15.9% compared to 9.4%) 
  • psychologists (10.5% compared to 6.2%) 
  • psychiatrists (3.5% compared to 2.8%) 
  • an other mental health professional (3.2% compared to 1.8%).

By age

In general, younger people were more likely to see a health professional for their own mental health than older people, with 21.1% of people aged 25-34 years seeing a health professional for their own mental health compared to 9.2% of those aged 65 years and over. 

  1. Includes mental health nurses, social workers, counsellors and occupational therapists.

Source: Patient Experiences, 2023-24, Table 27.3 and Customised data.

Barriers

In 2023-24, 18.8% of all people reported that they needed to see a health professional for their own mental health, similar to 18.6% in 2022-23. 

Of these, 38.1% delayed or did not see a health professional for their own mental health on at least one occasion when needed (similar to 38.5% in 2022-23), while 10.0% did not see a health professional for their own mental health at all when needed (similar to 11.2% in 2022-23). 

The proportion of people who delayed or did not see a health professional for their own mental health when needed varied according to the type of health professional:

  • 27.2% of people who needed to see a GP delayed or did not see one 
  • 41.0% of people who needed to see a psychologist delayed or did not see one
  • 40.7% of people who needed to see a psychiatrist delayed or did not see one 
  • 32.8% of people who needed to see an other mental health professional delayed or did not see one.

The proportion of people who reported that cost was a reason for delaying or not seeing a health professional for their own mental health when needed was 20.4% in 2023-24, similar to 2022-23 (19.3%). 

The proportion of people who delayed or did not see a health professional for their own mental health when needed due to cost varied according to the type of health professional:

  • 10.3% of people who needed to see a GP delayed or did not see one due to cost 
  • 25.6% of people who needed to see a psychologist delayed or did not see one due to cost
  • 28.7% of people who needed to see a psychiatrist delayed or did not see one due to cost
  • 18.0% of people who needed to see an other mental health professional delayed or did not see one due to cost.

By sex

Females were more likely to delay or not see a health professional for their own mental health when needed due to cost than males (24.0% compared to 14.8%). 

Females were more likely to delay or not see the following health professionals for their own mental health when needed due to cost than males:

  • GPs (11.5% compared to 8.1%) 
  • psychologists (29.6% compared to 18.0%) 
  • psychiatrists (35.6% compared to 19.8%). 

By age 

In general, younger people were more likely to delay or not see a health professional for their own mental health when needed due to cost than older people, with 30.0% of people aged 25-34 years delaying or not seeing a health professional for their own mental health when needed due to cost compared to 7.8% of those aged 65 years and over. 

Source: Patient Experiences, 2023-24, Table 27.3 and Customised data.

By Socio-Economic Disadvantage

The proportion of people living in areas of most socio-economic disadvantage who delayed or did not see a health professional for their own mental health when needed due to cost (22.0%) was similar to that of those living in areas of least disadvantage (18.8%).

By Remoteness

People living in major cities were more likely to delay or not see a health professional for their own mental health when needed due to cost than those living in outer regional, remote or very remote areas (21.7% compared to 13.8%).

People with a mental health condition

In 2023-24, 76.6% of all people with a mental health condition reported that they needed to see a health professional for their own mental health.

Of these, 39.2% delayed or did not see a health professional for their own mental health on at least one occasion when needed, while 6.7% did not see a health professional for their own mental health at all when needed.

See Tables 27.3 and 28.2 in Data downloads section.

Coordination of care

The proportion of people who saw three or more health professionals for the same condition was similar in 2023-24 (18.0%) to 2022-23 (17.9%).

Of these people:

  • 71.2% reported that at least one health professional helped coordinate their care, an increase from 68.0% in 2022-23
  • 28.4% reported that no health professional helped coordinate their care, a decrease from 31.6% in 2022-23 
  • 16.3% reported that there were issues caused by a lack of communication between health professionals, similar to 14.5% in 2022-23. 

Of those who received coordination of their care, 57.3% reported that GPs helped most in coordinating their care. 

People with a long-term health condition were more likely than those without a long-term health condition to:

  • see three or more health professionals (28.5% compared to 6.7%) 
  • receive coordination of their care (73.0% compared to 63.0%) 
  • report issues caused by a lack of communication between health professionals (17.1% compared to 12.4%). 

People living in areas of most socio-economic disadvantage were more likely to receive coordination of their care than those living in areas of least disadvantage (74.2% compared to 66.7%).

People living in outer regional, remote or very remote areas were more likely to report issues caused by a lack of communication between health professionals than those living in major cities (19.4% compared to 14.8%). 

See Tables 1, 22 and 24.2 in Data downloads section.

Private health insurance

In 2023-24, the proportion of people with private health insurance (59.0%) remained similar to 2022-23 (58.1%). Both hospital and extras cover continued to be the most common type of private health insurance (47.3%).

The following people were more likely to have private health insurance cover:

  • those living in areas of least socio-economic disadvantage than those living in areas of most disadvantage (78.9% compared to 34.6%)
  • people who rated their health as excellent, very good or good than people who rated their health as fair or poor (62.4% compared to 46.0%) 
  • those living in major cities than those living in outer regional, remote or very remote areas (61.9% compared to 49.7%)
  • people aged 65-74 years than people aged 15-24 years (61.0% compared to 54.1%)
  • females than males (60.6% compared to 57.3%)
  • those without a long-term health condition than those with a long-term health condition (60.2% compared to 57.8%).
  1. 2016 Index of Relative Socio-Economic Disadvantage: A lower Index of Disadvantage quintile (e.g. the first quintile) indicates relatively greater disadvantage and a lack of advantage in general. A higher Index of Disadvantage (e.g. the fifth quintile) indicates a relative lack of disadvantage and greater advantage in general.

See Tables 1, 2.3 and 3.2 in Data downloads section.

Data downloads

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Data cubes

Data files

Survey material

Questionnaire

Data files
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Previous catalogue number

This release previously used catalogue number 4839.0.

Footnotes

  1. Australian Dental Association, ‘Government Dental Care’, https://www.teeth.org.au/government-dental-care; accessed 15/11/2024
  2. Services Australia, 'Child Dental Benefits Schedule', https://www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/child-dental-benefits-schedule; accessed 15/11/2024

Methodology

Scope

People aged 15 years and over who were usual residents of private dwellings.

Excludes:

  • Australian permanent defence force members and their dependants
  • non-Australian defence forces
  • residents of the Indigenous Community Strata.

Geography

Data available for:

  • Australia
  • Major cities
  • Inner regional
  • Outer regional/remote/very remote.

Source

Multipurpose Household Survey

Collection method

Interviews were conducted by telephone with responses directly recorded in an electronic questionnaire.

Proxy interviews were permissible under certain circumstances.

Concepts, sources and methods

Not applicable to this release.

History of changes

From 2022–23, all proxy interviews were not asked questions that called for personal opinions.

See Comparing the data for more detail.

View full methodology

Media releases