Annual spending on mental health services in Australia has risen to $6.9 billion, according to new figures released by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW).

Figures released in the AIHW’s Mental Health Services in Australia show that after allowing for inflation, spending on mental health-related services rose by an estimated $450 million between 2009-10 and 2010-11, ending at almost $6.9 billion.
“This equates to about $309 spent per Australian on mental health related services in 2010-11, an increase from $248 per Australian in 2006-07,” said AIHW spokesperson Dr Pamela Kinnear.

Over $4.2 billion was spent on state and territory specialised mental health services in
2010-11, and of this a large proportion ($1.8 billion) was spent on specialised mental health services delivered in public hospitals for admitted patients.

The average cost for specialised mental health services delivered in public hospitals was $842 per patient-day.

“The figures released today also show that the Australian Government's spending on mental health related services is rising,” Dr Kinnear said.

“This includes $852 million paid in Medicare benefits for mental-health-related services, equating to about 5% of total Medicare expenditure. Almost 9% of all prescription subsidies in 2010-11 were mental health-related, totalling $834 million, or $38 per Australian.” 

The full report can be found here