Commentary on the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare overview of statistical indicators for specialised mental healthcare facilities across Australian states and territories 1992–2022

Abstract

Objective: The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare regularly reports on specialised mental health facilities. Data are available from 1992 to 2022 on public mental health hospital and residential mental health service beds, as well as supported housing and staffing of specialised mental healthcare facilities. We provide a clinical commentary on these reports, reflecting upon the implications for psychiatric practice and patient care. Conclusions: There are overall trends in public specialised mental health bed numbers. There were substantial declines in public mental health beds that slowed around 2000 and subsequently plateaued in 2015–16 in most jurisdictions with two exceptions, South Australia and the ACT. By contrast, residential mental health service beds increased from 1999 onwards, though since 2015 there have been declines for the ACT, Victoria and Tasmania. For supported housing, most states and territories showed declines in the reported levels since 2002, although there were increases in the Northern Territory, South Australia and Western Australia. From 2009 supported housing rates were relatively stable, with declines in all states and territories from 2015 onwards.