National Health and Hospitals Network report
The National Health and Hospitals Network will deliver better hospitals by establishing a national hospital network, funded nationally and run locally.
This is the most significant reform to our nation’s health system since the introduction of Medicare.
The National Health and Hospitals Network will:
- Create a single national network of hospitals, instead of eight separate systems
- Be funded nationally, with the Australian Government shouldering the majority of the funding burden, which will mean more money is available to meet rising health costs
- Make sure local doctors and nurses with local expertise are making the important decisions for our local hospitals
You can read the full policy document here (PDF 2.3 MB)
The Government's announcement follows detailed consideration of the report of the National Health & Hospitals Reform Commission including extensive consultations, right across Australia.
The consultation process included more than 100 consultations held across Australia and more than 1000 digital submissions including videos and blog comments received through this website.
The National Health & Hospitals Network will mean that:
The Australian Government takes majority funding responsibility
- The Government will pay for 60 per cent of all public hospitals
- This will make the Australian Government the majority funder of the whole public hospital system for the first time
- The Government will take full funding responsibility for all health services provided outside hospitals, like GPs and community health clinics
Local hospitals will work in local networks – and be paid directly
- The Australian Government will take control of hospitals from central bureaucracies and hand it to Local Hospital Networks – run by health and financial professionals
- The Australian Government will pay Local Hospital Networks directly for each service they provide, rather than providing a cheque to the States
Our health system is financially sustainable
- The Australian Government will retain one third of GST and invest this directly into health and hospitals
- Health is the fastest growing area of all governments’ budgets
Australia’s health and hospitals will be required to meet tough national standards
- The Australian Government will set national standards for Australia’s hospitals, including for elective surgery and emergency departments
