Distribution of palliative care-related service events

In 2022–23, there were 34.1 million non-admitted patient care service events reported at episode-level across Australia (AIHW 2024), of which 882,000 were palliative care-related service events (Table 1). Of these palliative care-related service events:

  • Over 9 in 10 (95% or 837,000) were primary palliative care service events (identified by care type) – equating to 320 service events per 10,000 population
  • Over 9 in 10 (96% or 846,000) were service events for palliative care identified by Tier 2 clinics type, equating to 260 service events per 10,000 population. Of these service events, 20% (169,000) were medical consultations and 80% (678,000) were allied health and/or clinical nurse specialist interventions.

Note that a palliative care-related service event can be identified both from care type and Tier 2 clinics type. Also, a single patient may have more than one of the above palliative care-related service events during reporting period.

Of these 882,000 episode-level palliative care-related service events (Figure 1):

  • slightly over half (51%) were provided for males – equating to 345 and 325 service events per 10,000 population for males and females, respectively
  • 73% were for people aged 65 and over, 12% were for people aged under 55, and 15% were for people aged 55–64 – the rate of service events increased steeply with increasing ages in patients (rising from 23 to 3,200 service events per 10,000 population between people in the age groups of 25–34 and 85 and over)
  • the average age at the time of receiving the service was 72 years 
  • 26,000 (2.9%) were for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (First Nations) people – equating to 290 service events per 10,000 population
  • the rate of service events for people living in the lowest socioeconomic areas was 1.5 times as high as those in the highest socioeconomic areas (385 compared with 250 service events per 10,000 population, respectively).

Figure 1: Distribution of palliative care-related service events, by demographic characteristics, 2022–23

Figure 1: This dashboard presents distribution of non-admitted patient service events for palliative care by selected demographic characteristics in 2022–23.

Variation across geographical areas

The rates of palliative care-related service events for people living in regional areas were higher than those living in Major cities and Remote and very remote areas (Figure 1):

  • 420 and 335 service events per 10,000 population in Inner regional and Outer regional areas, respectively
  • 280 and 275 service events per 10,000 population in Major cities and Remote and very remote areas, respectively.

The rates of palliative care-related service events varied across the states and territories, ranging from 57 per 10,000 population in Tasmania to 420 per 10,000 population in Western Australia (Figure 1). Note that there is variation among states and territories in admission practices and the types of services provided to non-admitted patients through hospitals (AIHW 2017). 

Across the Primary Health Networks (PHN) areas, the rates of palliative care-related service events also varied, ranging from 57 per 10,000 population in Tasmania PHN area, to 695 per 10,000 population in Victoria Gippsland PHN area (Figure 2). Note that healthcare services may be organised differently across the PHN areas, for example, the organisation of services in specific areas may vary particularly in relation to the availability of admitted patient and non-admitted patient services (AIHW 2023).

Figure 2: Palliative care-related service events, by Primary Health Networks (PHNs) areas, 2022–23

Figure 2: This map shows data on non-admitted patient service events for palliative care across Australia's 31 Primary Health Networks in 2022–23. 

References

AIHW (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare) (2017) Variation in hospital admission policies and practices: Australian hospital statistics, AIHW, Australian Government, accessed 10 June 2024.

AIHW (2023) Non-admitted patient NBEDS 2022–23, AIHW, Australian Government, accessed 11 July 2024.

AIHW (2024) Non-admitted patients, AIHW, Australian Government, accessed 4 July 2024.

Previous page
Next page