State, territory and the federal governments have agreed on public hospital funding arrangements after two years of negotiations.
Western Australian public hospitals will see an additional $2.4 billion in funding from the Commonwealth across the next five years.
The AMA (WA) has said this agreement must be “the floor, not the ceiling” for hospital funding reform.
The financial commitment is on top of what had already been budgeted for the period.
The increase comes in an effort by the Commonwealth to meet its commitment to increase the proportion of health funding it provides to states and territories.
Following negotiations, the Commonwealth announced that across Australia, an extra $25 billion of funding would go to public hospitals across the next five years.
This will bring the total federal funding for public hospitals across the country, for the period from mid-2026 to mid-2031 to more than $219.6 billion.
The agreement was negotiated alongside reforms to the NDIS and as a result, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced the Thriving Kids program would be implemented three months later than initially anticipated.
The PM said this would give states and territories more time ahead of the roll out of the program, which is designed to provide foundational supports to children with developmental delay and/or autism with “low to moderate support needs.”
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In December of 2023 all states and territories agreed to deliver what have been called ‘foundational supports’ for those with disabilities outside of the NDIS as part of an agreement by the Commonwealth to increase the proportion of health funding it provided.
The Commonwealth agreed the share of funding it provides to public hospitals would grow to 45% within 10 years from July 2025 and reaching 42.5% before 2030.
AMA (WA) President Dr Kyle Hoath said the association hoped to discuss the funding when representatives next met with WA Health.
“At present we don’t know how the WA Government will adjust its own funding to match this State’s needs, and have sought further clarification from the State Government,” he said.
“Nevertheless, the Commonwealth’s commitment of $25 billion over five years will turn around the Commonwealth’s decline in share of hospital funding and this is an important win for patients.”
Dr Hoath said given WA public hospitals were “under unprecedented pressure — emergency departments, elective surgery and workforce capacity are all stretched, this agreement must be “the floor, not the ceiling,” for hospital funding reform.
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He said WA hospitals faced unique pressures, including rapid population growth, and workforce shortages, especially in regional and outer-metropolitan areas.
“Our clinicians are seeing long ED wait times, ambulance ramping and elective surgery backlogs,” he said.
Dr Hoath said while the agreement showed governments recognised problems in public hospitals “the real test” would be whether patients see shorter waits, staff feel supported, and hospitals are given the capacity to deliver the care Western Australians deserve.
“Workforce must be central – funding alone won’t fix hospitals without staff,” he said.
“WA needs more doctors, nurses and allied health professionals, and better retention of senior clinicians, with safe staffing levels to reduce burnout.
“The AMA (WA) will be watching closely to ensure funding supports front-line clinical care and is not absorbed by administrative growth or short-term fixes.
WA Health Minister Meredith Hammat said National Cabinet’s agreement provided certainty to WA and all states on critical health funding matters.
“The agreement means WA will receive an extra $2.4 billion for health over the next five years from the Commonwealth, so we can continue to ensure Western Australians can access the healthcare they need, when they need it,” she said.
“It is an acknowledgement by the Commonwealth of the challenges facing Western Australia’s health system, particularly the increasing number of older patients who’ve been medically cleared for discharge but are unable to leave hospital due to a lack of aged care packages and placements.”
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