Australian Health Sector: Challenges, Solutions, and Recommendations

This report addresses the significant challenges currently faced by the Australian health sector, which, despite its high international ranking, is under pressure from an aging population, outdated service structures, and a growing burden of chronic illness. The report highlights issues like high out-of-pocket costs, particularly impacting rural and low-income citizens, and the need for improved management of chronic diseases, especially within Indigenous communities. Solutions proposed include expanding universal healthcare coverage to include dental care, increasing resource allocation to the health sector through more healthcare professionals, hospital constructions and equipment, and enhancing healthcare access in remote areas. The report acknowledges the need for careful consideration of the potential economic impacts of these solutions, such as budget cuts in other sectors like transportation.

Running Head: CHALLENGES IN HEALTH SECTOR OF AUSTRALIA AND SOLUTION 1
CHALLENGES IN HEALTH SECTOR OF AUSTRALIA AND SOLUTION
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CHALLENGES IN HEALTH SECTOR OF AUSTRALIA AND SOLUTION 2
Although Australia’s health and welfare sector has been ranked among the top health
systems internationally as implicated by the country’s continuing low rates of infant mortality
and average life expectancy, the sector is currently under threats of being stretched by the aging
population, the outmoded organizations of health services and the increasing burden of chronic
illness (Duckett & Willcox, 2015). Also, the inequalities between the most and least advantaged
citizens have persisted, and which are sentinels to remind the federal government that there is no
room for inertia in restructuring the health sector of the country.
It is a fact beyond doubt that the health sector must focus on preventing and managing
chronic illnesses in a better way than before. This will only be realized by targeting those
populations affected by the calamity largely like the Indigenous communities, instituting better
links between primary, rehabilitative and acute services, and initiating innovative approaches of
providing health care services to remote and rural areas (Graves & Zheng, 2014). There has been
little or no flexibility at all to achieve that in a hamstrung system focusing on fee-for-service and
secluded approach to acute care, workforce shortages and growing out-of-pocket costs for
patients.
Here, I present some of the pressing challenges in the Australian health and welfare
programs that require national attention. I also propose some solutions which can be put into
place and help restore the sector back to its past glory. While the list of health challenges facing
the incoming federal government may not seem definitive and the challenges will have to be
addressed if the Australian citizens are to get improved health services in times of need and when
they need them with ease and affordable (Harvie & Newnham, 2018).

CHALLENGES IN HEALTH SECTOR OF AUSTRALIA AND SOLUTION 3
First, it is worth to note that the out-of-pocket approach has been unacceptably high,
rendering the low-class citizens in the rural areas unable to afford health care services when they
need them most. Statistics have indicated that about 12% of Australian citizen doesn’t seek
specialist health care because of the high costs. From those statistics, dental care has been
pointed out as one of the significant contributors to out-of-pocket costs because it is not covered
by national universal health care system of the country.
The government should, therefore, consider widening universal health care coverage to
all the diseases which affect common citizens including the dental care. Also, extending quality
health care to remote and local areas will help relieve suffering which has highly been reported
from local communities where the system of revolutionized health care has not been
commissioned. Definitely, to be able to solve the mentioned challenges, the federal government
will be forced to pump more resources into the health sector (Willis, Reynolds & Keleher, 2016).
This includes employing more health care officers, building more hospitals and acquiring more
machines which are highly expensive. Pumping more resources into the health and welfare sector
will imply a cut on the budget of other sectors of the economy like the transportation sector.
Such cuts will be expected to bring about consequences like increased road accidents which can
be seen as the costs of the solutions proposed.
References
Duckett, S., & Willcox, S. (2015). The Australian health care system (No. Ed. 5). Oxford
University Press.

CHALLENGES IN HEALTH SECTOR OF AUSTRALIA AND SOLUTION 4
Graves, N., & Zheng, H. (2014). Modeling the direct health care costs of chronic wounds in
Australia. Wound Practice & Research: Journal of the Australian Wound Management
Association, 22(1), 20.
Harvie, L., & Newnham, K. (2018). Supporting early career allied health clinicians in rural
Australia.
Willis, E., Reynolds, L., & Keleher, H. (Eds.). (2016). Understanding the Australian health care
system. Elsevier Health Sciences.