Who funds and manages public hospitals in Australia?

Who funds public hospitals?

The Australian government, state and territory governments share funding of public hospitals in Australia. A small share of funding comes from non-government organisations such as private health insurers.

The government currently reimburses the states and territories for about 37% of their overall costs.

According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, in 2023-24, the Australian, state and territory governments and non-government organisations spent $90.8 billion on public hospitals. The state and territory governments contributed 58%.  

The government contributes funding for public hospital services through the National Health Reform Agreement (NHRA), which includes emergency departments, hospitals and community health settings.

The system is based on activity-based funding (ABF). This means the government does not give state hospitals lump sums or blocks of funding to be spent as they see fit. ABF operates as a reimbursement for actual work done because some diagnoses cost more to care for than others.

In the 2026-27 Budget, the government announced that it will contribute an estimated $220 billion to public hospitals over 5 years.

Australian government funding of public hospitals has grown from $22.1 billion in 2013-14 to an estimated $33.1 billion in 2023-24. 

The table shows estimated Australian government public hospital funding for each state and territory for 2025-26 and 2026-27.

Source: National Health Reform funding, Budget Paper No. 3 (2026–27) – excludes one-time additional funding through the Schedule K Addendum.

Who manages public hospitals?

In Australia, the state and territory governments manage and administer public hospitals.