Socio-economic outcome area 14

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people enjoy high levels of social and emotional wellbeing

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Contextual information

Proportion of people reported experiencing one or more barriers accessing health services

Dashboard snapshot: The data below are the most recent at the time of preparing the July 2023 report. Please go to the dashboard to access the current data.

Measure 1

Proportion of people reporting they did not visit a health service provider when needed by type of service

Nationally in 2018-19, one in eight Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people reported not seeing a GP or clinic doctor on at least one occasion when needed in the previous 12 months (12.5 per cent). This increased to almost one in five for not seeing a dentist when needed (18.9 per cent), but was less than one in 10 for those not seeing a counsellor (9.6 per cent), other health professionals (9.0 per cent) or going to hospital (6.2 per cent) when needed (figure SE14e.1).

Figure SE14e.1 shows Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who did not visit a health service provider when needed, 2018-19, by jurisdiction, by type of service. More details can be found within the text near this image.
Data in figure SE14e.1 (%)
Description4NSWVicQldWASATasACTNTAust
Did not go to a hospital when needed6.99.05.06.07.97.49.14.36.2
Did not go to counsellor when needed11.111.37.710.116.310.618.83.59.6
Did not go to dentist when needed17.524.119.619.923.723.923.312.418.9
Did not go to GP/clinic doctor when needed12.818.910.911.015.319.124.77.012.5
Did not go to other health professionals when needed9.213.08.58.510.511.119.55.29.0

Measure 2

Proportion of people reporting a specific type of barrier/s to accessing a health service provider by type of service

The reasons for not visiting health care professionals when needed in 2018-19 differed by service type (figure SE14e.2). The most commonly reported factors for not visiting GPs/clinic doctors were being too busy (4.1 per cent) and other reasons (5.8 per cent) — including people who ultimately decided not to seek care (there is no information available on why they decided not to).  Cost was a top reason for not going to the dentist (7.9 per cent).

Figure SE14e.2 shows Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who did not go to a hospital when needed, 2018-19, by jurisdiction, by reason for not visiting. Confidence intervals are not available where the proportion has a relative standard error greater than 50 per cent. More details can be found within the text near this image.
Data in figure SE14e.2 (%)
Description5NSWVicQldWASATasACTNTAust
Affordability0.50.30.10.70.90.30.30.3
Cultural safety1.91.81.51.61.21.72.60.61.6
Time and physical accessibility1.83.71.62.22.32.33.91.51.8
Busyness (work; personal; family responsibilities)1.42.81.61.50.91.71.31.51.5
Other reason for not visiting4.04.22.73.35.84.76.51.03.5

Nil or rounded to zero.  

Indicator data specifications

Indicator SE14e: Barriers accessing health services

Related outcome:

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people enjoy high levels of social and emotional wellbeing.

Related target:

Significant and sustained reduction in suicide of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people towards zero.

Indicator:

Proportion of people who reported experiencing one or more barriers accessing health services.

Measure:

There are two measures for this indicator.

Measure 1 is the proportion of people reporting they did not visit a health service provider when needed in the previous 12 months by type of service (GP/clinic doctor, counsellor, dentist, other health professional, hospital), defined as:

Numerator — number Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people reporting they did not visit a health service provider when needed in the past 12 months, by type of service

Denominator — total number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the population

and is presented as a percentage.

Measure 2 is the proportion of people reporting a specific type of barrier(s) to accessing a health service provider by type of service (GP/clinic doctor, counsellor, dentist, other health professional, hospital), defined as:

Numerator — number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people reporting they did not visit a health service provider in the previous 12 months due to a specific barrier (e.g. affordability, cultural safety), by type of service

Denominator — total number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the population

and is presented as a percentage.

Indicator established:

National Agreement on Closing the Gap July 2020

Latest dashboard update for the indicator:

30 June 2022

Indicator type:

Contextual information

Interpretation of change:

For both measures, a low or decreasing proportion is desirable.

Data source:

Name: National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Survey (NATSIHS)

Frequency: Six-yearly Documentation (links): National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Survey, 2018-19 financial year | Australian Bureau of Statistics (abs.gov.au)

Data provider:

Provider name: Australian Bureau of Statistics

Provider area: Centre for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Statistics

Baseline year:

Both measures

2018-19

Latest reporting period

Both measures

2018-19

Disaggregations:

State and territory, and Australia

Computation:

Numerator divided by Denominator multiplied by 100

Counting rules

Data relate to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people living in private dwellings in remote and non-remote areas of Australia, including discrete Indigenous communities.

Geographical variables are based on a person's place of usual residence.

The scope of people differs across service types by age, with data collected for the NATSIHS for those aged:

  • 0 years and over for GP/clinic doctor, other health professionals and hospitals
  • 2 years and over for dentists
  • 18 years and over and present at interview for counsellor.

ABS TableBuilder has been used to source data for this indicator (all measures). Numbers in TableBuilder are rounded to the nearest 100. Proportions are calculated from rounded values.

Measure 1

A person is counted for each service type that they report not visiting when needed in the previous 12 months. For example, if a person reports not visiting a GP and a counsellor, they will be counted in both service types.

Measure 2

The barriers for not visiting a health care professional were grouped by the Productivity Commission into five categories:

  • Affordability
  • Cultural safety, which comprises discrimination, service not culturally appropriate, language problems, does not trust this health service provider, dislikes service or health professional, afraid, embarrassed
  • Time and physical accessibility, which comprises transport/distance, service not available in area, waiting time too long or service not available at the time required
  • Busyness (work, personal, family responsibilities)
  • Other, which comprises decided not to seek care, felt it would be inadequate and other.

The sum of proportions across barriers may exceed the total proportion of people who did not visit a health service provider when needed in the past 12 months as people may have reported more than one barrier to going to a health service provider.

Supporting calculations

Data quality considerations:

Data for these measures align with similar measures in the Overcoming Indigenous Disadvantage report and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Performance Framework report.

Estimates that have a relative standard error between 25 per cent and 50 per cent should be used with caution. Estimates with a relative standard error of 50 per cent or more are considered too unreliable for general use.

The final sample has been weighted to population benchmarks which align with the scope of the survey to account for under coverage. See NATSIHS explanatory notes for further information: National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Survey methodology, 2018-19 financial year | Australian Bureau of Statistics (abs.gov.au)

Data values have been randomly adjusted to avoid the release of confidential data. Discrepancies may occur between sums of the component items and totals.

Future reporting:

Additional disaggregations required for future reporting:

  • Remoteness areas
  • Socioeconomic status of the locality
  • Gender
  • Age groups

The Productivity Commission acknowledges the Traditional Owners of Country throughout Australia and their continuing connection to land, waters and community. We pay our respects to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultures, Country and Elders past and present.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people should be aware that this website may contain images, voices or names of people who have passed away.