Quantifying the Economic Structure of the Australian Mental Health Sector Since 1992-93

Abstract

This article quantifies and describes some key dimensions of the mental health sector in Australia since 1992-93. The article considers three broad perspectives on the economic structure of the sector. Our first set of descriptions is of this sector's size. We measure expenditures and sources of funding in absolute and relative terms. Second, we examine expenditures on specialized mental health services. Here, we examine the expenditures allocated to the nationally defined set of specialized services, consisting of stand-alone and co-located hospital services, community mental health services, residential services, non-government organizations, and so on. Finally, we undertake a spatial perspective on our quantification exercise. Using population-adjusted measures of service provision data, we calculate the coefficient of variation for the provision of specialized mental health services across the regions of Australia, and determine whether temporal convergence or divergence has occured across the regions in the provision of specialized mental health services. Although the Australian mental health sector may appear to be a jigsaw with many pieces, broad overviews, such as this article, help clarify its dimensions.