Regular reporting of national health expenditure is vital to understanding the health system and its relationship to the economy as a whole. In 2019–20:
- total health spending was $202.5 billion, equating to $7,926 per person
- health spending increased by 1.8% in real terms, which was lower than the decade average of 3.4%
- in the first year of COVID-19, government health spending increased faster while non-government spending reduced compared to previous years.