Overview of Australian Health Care System: Structure, Governance, and Challenges

This paper provides a comprehensive overview of the Australian health care system, including its structure, governance arrangements, and function. It also discusses the factors that have influenced the design and function of the system, as well as the challenges facing it, particularly due to the aging population. The paper also covers nursing and public health care in Australia.

Running Head: AUSTRALIAN HEALTH CARE SYSTEM 1
AUSTRALIAN HEALTH CARE SYSTEM
Institution Affiliation
Date

AUSTRALIAN HEALTH CARE SYSTEM 2
Contents
Australian Health Care system, its structure, governance arrangements and function.................................3
Factors that have influenced the design and function of the system............................................................7
Challenges Facing Australian Health Care System.....................................................................................10
Australian Health Care system, its structure, governance arrangements and function
The healthcare system of Australia is a multifaceted network of settings and services. It
involves a number of private and public providers, participants, funding arrangements as well as

AUSTRALIAN HEALTH CARE SYSTEM 3
regulatory mechanisms. Australia, however, has the most accessible, affordable and all-inclusive
healthcare systems. It has the well-recognized health care systems all over the World. This
paper, therefore, provides an extensive overview of Australian health care system and how it
operates.
The land mass of Australia is nearly the same size as the USA or Western Europe. The
number of people who live in the cities is roughly 80 percent. A large number of individuals has
resulted in large regions having small, unpopulated or scattered settlements. Australia is
recognized as having the best health system in the World. It provides the best health services for
its people which has largely increased their lifespan in different ways ( Willis et al., 2009). The
Department of Health, as well as Ageing, plays the role of promoting good health while ensuring
all Australians have an access to health and family services such as;
 Pharmaceutical and Medicare and
 disability programs
 children's and family services
 community and aged care services
 healthcare and hospital funding
 health services for Torres Strait Islanders and Aboriginal
 public health initiatives
 Emergency amenities for people involved in the crisis.
The Commonwealth has also created a broad policy of financing and leadership in
healthcare subjects. Besides, the Commonwealth pays attention to the fields of public health,
national information management as well as the research. The states and territories on the other

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side are mainly accountable for the public section health services delivery (Leahy et al.,2017).
They are also responsible for the regulation of health staff within the private and public sectors.
Ideally, the governance, regulation, and coordination of Australian health care services are
complex. They are the shared responsibilities among all levels of the government.
Delivery and planning of the services are divided between the non-government and
government sectors. The local and state of Australia provide public-sector health care services.
Private-sector health care service providers involve the medical as well as private hospitals
practitioners within the private services ( Handbook, 2107). Thee territories and states besides
provides psychiatric and public acute hospital services including dental health, school health,
child and maternal health as well as the environmental health programs.
The consumers, the non-government segment and all levels of the government have some
duty of administering, funding and providing health care for older persons. The Commonwealth
on the other side regulates and finances the residential aged care. However, the care is mainly
provided by the non-government section such as churches and for-profit givers. The states,
Commonwealth, and territories jointly administer and fund the community care such as home
help, delivered meals and transport. Besides, the Local government plays a significant role in the
delivering of services.The services are offered through giving free hygiene and sanitation, water
quality monitoring and food safety ( Handbook, 2107). The concept here is much based on
politics, with the view of water shortage and recycled water across the world. In the year 2013
and 2014, the spending of health in Australia was roughly estimated at 155 billion dollars, more
than the 2/3 that came from the government. However, the healthcare expenditure has been
growing progressively from the year to another in the recent era. The data reveals that the latest
2years of progress have been quite slow.

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Who oversees health services?
The Australian government, territory and state government coordinates the public health
care systems. On the other hand, relevant health department and health minister has the role of
managing the territory, state and individual health systems (Leahy et al.,2017). Ministers of
health are referred as the Council of Health. The health council falls under the Australian
Governments Council which is the highest intergovernmental forum within Australia. Besides,
the Health Council membership also involves the New Zealand Health Minister as well as the
Government Minister for Veterans' Affairs. The role of Health Council is to offer a forum for
cooperation in regards to health matters such as secondary and primary care. The health council
also considers boosting cost pressures (Duckett et al., 2015). The Health Council gets support
from the Health Ministers' Advisory Council of Australia that further comprises of the leaders of
all territory and state health departments, Government Health department of Australia,
Government veterans' affairs unit and the New Zealand health sector
Types of healthcare
a) Primary health care
Primary health care entails care that is not hospital visit related. It is usually the first
connection a person has with the health organization. It pertains array of activities, for example,
promotion of health, early intervention, prevention of diseases, how to treat chronic conditions
and there management (Naccarella et al.,2017). Services offered by primary health care differ,
from health promotion activities and prevention to management and treatment of the disease. The
team of health professional in healthcare systems offers community-based, patient-centered care.
Due to this, primary health care is perceived as the best locale for management and prevention of

AUSTRALIAN HEALTH CARE SYSTEM 6
acute and difficult health conditions. General practices, allied health practices, community health
centers and communication technology, for example, video consultation and telehealth, are
settings where primary health care can be delivered. Allied health experts are trained
professionals who neither dentists, doctor or nurses. They mainly help in managing mental and
physical health, through services such as rehabilitation, treatment, and diagnosis.
b) Secondary health services
Primary health care works other larger system that offers other services and sectors; they
are considered as a leeway for broader health systems (primary health sector does not operate
alone). People can be referred from one primary care service to another, then from primary into
secondary service and more other health services, and vice versa (Dawson et al., 2017) When a
patient is directed by a primary care practitioner to secondary care, the service is offered by a
specialist.
c) Hospitals
In Australia, both private and public hospitals provide all hospital services. The study
shows there were 612 private and 747 public hospitals adding up to 1,359 hospitals in 2013 to
2014.Currently, the hospitals have increased in number. Hospital emergency units are the most
critical elements of all hospitals within health care system (Hay et al., 2107). The emergency
health departments are designed to offer care for individuals with an urgent need in regards to
health. An OECD report says that in the year 2014 and 2015, around 7.4 million presentations in
emergency departments were from public hospitals. This shows that more than 20,000
individuals needed emergency care every day.

AUSTRALIAN HEALTH CARE SYSTEM 7
Factors that have influenced the design and function of the system
The World Health Organization describes the health system as all undertakings whose
main goal is to restore, promote and maintain health. Ideally, a good health care system should
deliver quality services to every person in need of them. However, the organization of services
differs around the globe ( Handbook, 2107). Some of the common factors that in influences
health system include; a vigorous financing mechanism, adequately paid and well-trained
workforce, well-maintained facilities, Regulation, technologies, reliable info on which to build
policies and decisions as well as logistics to provide quality medicines.
Australian health care system is considered as a complex web of both private and public
providers. There are shared duties for funding and other things involving every level of the
government. However, non-government sectors, individuals, and private health insurers pay for
some services on their own. As noted, health services are offered by a number of organizations
as health professionals comprising of nurses, medical practitioners and allied (Harris et al.,
2017). Other health professionals include clinics, non-government and government agencies.
Therefore, when all these providers are involved, they deliver an extensive range of services.
Some of these services include preventive and public health services within the community,
primary health care, hospital-based- treatment, rehabilitation, emergency services as well as
palliative care.
The services are however supported by different agencies, for instance, statistical and
research bodies that give information concerning the disease prevention, monitoring, detection,
diagnosis and associated policy. Other agencies comprise of advocacy groups and consumers
that contribute to policy development and public debate as well as universities that contribute to
the health professionals training (Leahy et al., 2017).Community and voluntary agencies and

AUSTRALIAN HEALTH CARE SYSTEM 8
organizations on the other side make health and educational programs, funding and providing
extensive health services as well as managing voluntary care.
Regulation
The regulation of health system is under the care of Australian government. The
regulatory roles of the government involve overseeing therapeutic goods, quality, and safety of
pharmaceutical and appliances. The territory and state governments on the other hand registers
and certifies private hospitals. Besides, they have a legislature for the management of public
hospitals. The certifying of pharmacy ownership and premises is also the role of the territories
as well as the states. As if not enough, territory and the state government regulates health-
oriented business such as supply and sale of tobacco and alcohol products (Murray et al., 2005).
However, all levels of the government cooperatively regulate similar fields such as quality and
safety of the health system, food standards, and health care labor force.
The involved health workforce
The health staff in Australia is diverse and large. It covers several professions ranging
from highly qualified professionals headed to the support staff and to volunteers respectively.
The midwives and the nurses are the biggest groups in the labor force. The figure of full-time
equal midwives and nurses employed is nearly three rounds, that of the subsequent largest
medical practitioners and health profession. Health workforce jobs involve employees who treat
and diagnose mental and physical illness and conditions. They also administer, recommend and
dispense treatment and medications in order to restore and promote good health in Australia
(Zwar et al., 2017). However, all health practitioners should register thru the Accreditation
Scheme (NRAS) and National Registration in Australia. The registered workforce comprises of

AUSTRALIAN HEALTH CARE SYSTEM 9
midwives, nurses, medical practitioners and other health experts such as psychologists, dentists,
and physiotherapists. Among the registered number of workers, midwives and nurses have the
highest number of all departments.
How Australian health system compares internationally
The data collected shows that Australian Healthcare system compares with members of
the OECD) or the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. The group is an
international body comprising of 34 nations. In fact, the rankings are built on the examination
that uses OECD procedure. For instance, Australia health expenditure is calculated using OECD
methods (Wang et al., 2018). The report of 2013 according to OECD reveals that the spending
on health based on the ratio of GDP was 9.4 percent. It was somewhat higher compared to the
average of OECD which was 9.3%. The result led to Australia health system being ranked
number ten out of 22 OECD nations. The United States health expenditure was the highest
having a GDP of 17.1 percent. The health expenditure per head in Australia is 5,060 dollars
higher than the average of OECD which is 4,561 percent. As a result, it was ranked as number
nine out of the 22 states (Willis et al., 2016). The United States was again the leading spender
since the health expenditure per head was 10,963 dollars.
The Australian healthcare system was also compared on basis of health care resources. A
significant increase has taken place in the medical labor force in Australia from 2000.It
coincided with the increase in the number of graduates involved in the medical profession. In
fact, in 2013, the practicing number physicians in Australia were 3.4 per 1,000 populaces. The
number increased from 2.5 hence, somewhat higher exceeding the OECD average of 3.3.The
number of female employees entering in health systems is increasing. For instance, over 53

AUSTRALIAN HEALTH CARE SYSTEM 10
percent of medical experts in the age of 20 to 35 were females in 2014 (Baltagi et al.,
2017)Basically women practitioners have been increasing day by day thus enabling extra health
services within the healthcare system.
Challenges Facing Australian Health Care System
Despite that the Australian health care system ranks well in the world, it also faces
several challenges. The health care system is now stretched by the growing rate of chronic
illness, an aging population as well as outdated health services. Australia is recognized for
having low death rates and high average life expectancy ( Duckett et al., 2015). The Australia
Government confronts and will still confront great challenges in delivery and funding of health
care in future if they are not addressed. However, the difficulties must be addressed to boost the
wellbeing of people and improve health services. An inequality between the marginalized and
the wealthy patients is growing hence there no room for self-satisfaction. The following is the list
of challenges facing the Australian health care system;
a) The aging population and disease patterns.
The aging population in Australia poses a great challenge in healthcare systems. It
challenges the capability of health care services to uphold the wellbeing and their health. The
higher the life expectancy the higher chances of chronic and serious illness (Blank et al., 2107).
The health system, therefore, faces some difficulties in managing their continuous illness and
providing endless support for the disabled and frail. Australians have a long healthy lifespan of
over 70 years. However, the longevity is then followed by increased disability from continuous
illness (Powell Davies et al., 2017). Actions being taken to fight chronic disease among the aged
population pose a big challenge of morbidity, health costs, and mortality.

AUSTRALIAN HEALTH CARE SYSTEM 11
b) Health inequality
Regardless of the advances in life expectancy attained in last few years, gains in health
have not been shared equally throughout the Australian population. OECD research says that
women are doing better than men, the educated living in the city have high standards than those
living in the suburbs and in the bush. Aboriginal Australians life expectancy is lower than the
rest of Australians by nearly a difference of 20years (Harris et al., 2018) The Health and Welfare
Institute of Australia noted that if the whole population experienced equal death rates, fewer
deaths would have taken place in the past decades. As a result, the continuous health inequalities
may signal profound rifts in Australia that deserve extensive discussion and examination.
c) The costs of invented technology
The developments in medical technology have extremely led to increases in healthcare
budgets. The therapeutic and diagnostic innovations such as new biological therapeutics,
radiological scanners and invasive surgical prostheses and procedures often come at significant
costs. Listing all these for the subsidy through the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) and
Medicare really boost their use and availability hence increased the budget to the society
( Barnett et al., 2102). On the other hand, failing to fund the advanced medical technology will
also raise eyebrows among the people, asking why the services are not accessible to all
Australians hence creating political pressure. However, Australia has a suitable record that
assesses the novel pharmaceutical products built on the cost-effectiveness principles. However,
the evaluation of the new devices, surgical interventions, and other technologies are not inclusive
hence lacks the rigor of cost-effectiveness used in vaccines and pharmaceutical commodities
(Wakerman et al., 2017). Currently, several criteria are being considered in both private and

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public hospitals to control access to novel technology. Besides, the expensive cancer medicines
are not obtainable on PBS.
d) The private-public fusion in health care subsidy
Considering that the structure of Australian Health System is complex, funding approach
has also been a challenge. Patients have are experiencing frustrations led by a fragmented
system. In other words, the services, as well as providers, are uncoordinated thus making it
difficult for patients to receive the services required (Edvardsson et al., 2017). Health care access
in Australia is becoming unreasonable. A number of individuals are using money from their
pockets to pay medical bill. As a result, people who are less wealthy are not receiving the needed
care. Ideally, Australian health care system ever gets support from private and public financiers
in terms of service delivery and financing. Therefore, the matter has been a choice thus making it
difficult for public departments. The private health system insurance supplement has been
viewed as unfair. This is because the people living in rural areas have little access to private
health care services. Besides, some part serious surgery is mainly carried out in private
department. Therefore, many Australians without insurance for private hospitals are forced to
wait for elective surgery carried out in public sectors (Collyer, 2017). The matter has indeed
created a challenge of equity since the access to medical care is built on an ability to pay bills
rather than need. Also, the specialist surgical training still remains concentrated within the public
segment, where the load is lessening.
e) Quality and safety
Errors in medical within Australian Health System cost nearly 2 billion dollars every
year. However, Quality Australian Health Care research noted that around half of such medical

AUSTRALIAN HEALTH CARE SYSTEM 13
errors could be prevented (Runciman et al., 2017). Australia has not yet accepted the idea of
dealing with these medical errors. Besides, the system does not even take notes of such errors
and when they neither occur nor adapt methods from other high-risk businesses. Some of the
systems that can reduce the risk of medical errors include; aviation and nuclear power (Ludwick
et al., 2009). Australian heath system tolerates rigid, blame-allocating cultures and fault seeking
in professional pyramids thus making it difficult to handle medical errors. Therefore, the new
agency for safety and quality has been built on a series of preceding councils and committees,
though its effectiveness has not yet been presented.
Major innovations and reforms have been introduced
The federal government has already announced the introduction of health care homes.
The project is being carried out on behalf of patients with complex chronic diseases and requires
maximum attention (Schoen et al., 2009). The patients are currently are enrolling with a GP and
paid a shoved payment because of the care. The federal government also doubled its investment
towards the public dental project to almost AUD5.0 billion. It is expected that the Adult and
Child Dental program, introduced by territories and states will assist more the 10 billion people
in Australia. Its program also provides coverage for minimally 5.3 million kids under the age of
18 and other 5 million low-income grown-ups.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Australian has been recognized as the best in comparison to other OECD
nations in terms of giving efficient and effective health care system. The health system of
Australia has been successful due to it mixed up approach implemented by the national
government, to offer both private and public sector health facilities through subsidizing of drugs

AUSTRALIAN HEALTH CARE SYSTEM 14
as well as the private sector amenities. The main goal of Australian Health Care system is to
offer maximum health care to all people by providing them with Medicare health insurance
coverage. However, the health system faces some challenges led by favoring private sectors thus
causing disparity in health care. To avoid pressure, the next government is expected to address
such challenges to enable the wellbeing of all Australians.
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