Rural Australia has significant healthcare disparities compared to urban areas. Statistics show that people in rural Australia are 24 times more likely to be hospitalized due to domestic violence than those in the city, and remote Australians are more than twice as likely to die from avoidable causes. Additionally, rates of various health issues such as coronary heart disease, chronic kidney disease, type two diabetes, lung cancer, stroke, and suicide all increase with remoteness.
The National Rural Health Alliance found that nearly 45,000 people in rural Australia lack access to primary healthcare within an hour’s drive from their homes. This reflects the pronounced inequities faced by those who live in rural areas, which represent 30 percent of the population and contribute two-thirds of the nation’s export income.
According to the Alliance’s chief executive, Susi Tegen, healthcare funding models need to be more flexible and tailored to rural and remote communities. There is a $6.5 billion shortfall in rural health spending, or roughly $850 per rural person each year. Many rural councils are propping up medical and aged care facilities, while some towns are fundraising to keep services open.
The government has taken steps to address these issues with initiatives such as easier recruitment of overseas-trained doctors and an expansion of single-employer models. However, the need for a dedicated national strategy on rural health remains, as the existing reforms are Australia-wide and may not fully address the unique needs of rural communities. Without targeted efforts to improve rural healthcare, the Alliance warns that health outcomes will continue to worsen in these areas.