This represented a $0.4 billion increase in spending from 2018–19 in real terms. This growth in 2019–20 was mainly due to increased spending by the Australian Government of $2.0 billion (Table 32). State and territory governments and non-government entities spending on primary health care decreased by 1.4% and 5.4% respectively compared to 2018–19, most likely due to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The increase in spending in real terms on primary health care in 2019–20 was attributable to increases on: unreferred medical services (increased by $0.7 billion), public health ($0.7 billion), and benefits-paid pharmaceuticals ($0.7 billion).
Between 2009–10 and 2019–20, real growth averaged 3.0% each year. The Australian Government spending on primary health care increased the most over the decade, by $8.0 billion, representing an average yearly real growth of 3.1%.