PERSONS WHO ACCESSED MBS AND/OR PBS SUBSIDISED MENTAL HEALTH-RELATED TREATMENTS IN 2011

This section presents a broad summary of persons who accessed MBS subsidised mental health-related services and/or PBS subsidised mental health-related prescription medications (‘mental health-related treatments’) in 2011.

There were 3.2 million persons (14.8% of all Australians) who accessed mental health-related treatments in 2011. Overall, more females accessed mental health-related treatments than males: 2.0 million females (18.0% of all females) compared with 1.2 million males (11.6% of all males). Amongst both males and females the greatest numbers of persons who accessed mental health-related treatments were aged 35-54 years.



The age structure of the population who accessed mental health-related treatments in 2011 was considerably older than that of the total Australian population, with a median age of 49 years compared with 37 years respectively. Of the 3.2 million people who accessed mental health-related treatments in 2011, 28% were aged 65 years or over (compared with 14% of the total Australian population) while only 15% were aged less than 25 years (compared with 33% of the total Australian population).



Of the 3.2 million persons who accessed mental health-related treatments in 2011, 1.5 million persons accessed MBS subsidised mental health-related services while 2.3 million persons accessed PBS subsidised mental health-related prescription medications (7.1% and 10.9% of the total Australian population respectively).

	Number of persons no.	Proportion(a) %
MBS subsidised mental health-related service
nnnPsychiatrist	295 478	1.4
nnnGeneral practitioner	1 223 434	5.7
nnnClinical psychologist	260 094	1.2
nnnOther psychologist	438 217	2.0
nnnOther allied health professional	45 607	0.2
nnnTotal persons who accessed MBS subsidised mental health-related services	1 536 511	7.1
PBS subsidised mental health-related prescription medication
nnnAntipsychotics	338 314	1.6
nnnAnxiolytics	531 403	2.5
nnnHypnotics and sedatives	480 663	2.2
nnnAntidepressants	1 659 481	7.7
nnnPsychostimulants, agents used for ADHD and nootropics	81 382	0.4
nnnTotal persons who accessed PBS subsidised mental health-related prescription medications	2 346 536	10.9
Total persons who accessed MBS and/or PBS subsidised mental health-related treatments	3 190 847	14.8
(a) Proportion of the total 2011 Australian population (2011 Census).

The proportion of persons who accessed mental health-related services and medications differed significantly across age groups. For MBS subsidised mental health-related services, rates of access were generally highest amongst people aged 25-54 years and lowest amongst children and older persons, while for PBS subsidised mental health-related medications rates of access increased with age.



In 2011 the most commonly accessed MBS subsidised mental health-related services were mental health-related consultations with general practitioners (1.2 million persons or 5.7% of the total Australian population), while antidepressants were the most commonly accessed PBS subsidised mental health-related prescription medications (1.7 million persons or 7.7% of the total Australian population).





More information on the socio-demographic characteristics of people who accessed mental health-related treatments in 2011 is available in:

• Characteristics of People using Mental Health Services and Prescription Medications, 2011 (cat. no. 4329.0)
• Cultural and Linguistic Characteristics of People Using Mental Health Services and Prescription Medications, 2011 (cat. no. 4329.0.00.001)
• Housing Circumstances of People Using Mental Health Services and Prescription Medications, 2011 (cat. no. 4329.0.00.002)
• Patterns of Use of Mental Health Services and Prescription Medications, 2011 (cat. no. 4329.0.00.003)