Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ)
Australians’ life expectancy has increased steadily over time but dropped during the COVID pandemic, according to a new report released today by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.
The report – Australia’s Health 2026 – shows life expectancy for a boy born in 2022–2024 was 81.1 years, while a girl could expect to live, on average, to 85.1 years.
However newer data not included in the report shows this has stabilised and life expectancy in 2024 was up marginally at 85.5 for women and 81.6 for men.
Between 2003 and 2024, Australians’ life expectancy and years lived in “full health” increased. But the time spent in poor health also rose: by 1.2 years for men and 1.5 years for women.
More than three in five (61%) Australians now have at least one chronic condition – such as asthma, arthritis or depression – and almost two in five (38%) have two or more.
Cancer causes the most burden of disease, or years of healthy life lost to illness and premature death. Mental conditions and substance use disorders as a group are the second biggest cause of healthy life lost.
Dementia is now the leading cause of death in Australia, accounting for almost one in ten deaths in 2024. Dementia deaths rose by 39% in a decade, while deaths from coronary heart disease – the previous leading cause of death – decreased by 18%.
So what are the biggest changes to Australia’s health and wellbeing over the past two years? The Conversation’s panel of health experts explain.
Our experts
Mental illness is rising among young people but supports aren’t keeping up
One in five Australians aged 16–85 (22%) had experienced a mental disorder in the previous 12 months. This rate appears fairly stable.
However, the proportion of people aged 16–24 experiencing a mental disorder has increased, from 26% to 39% between 2007 and 2020–2022.
Given 75% of all mental illness manifests before the age of 25, we need effective responses for young Australians.
Mental illness is 15% of the total burden of disease and suicide. Meanwhile, self-inflicted injury was the leading cause of disease burden among males aged 15–44.
Yet a previous report found mental health accounts for only 7% of total health spending. This gap doesn’t explain all of the crisis in mental health, but it explains something.
Some 6.5% of Australians are reported as having psychosocial disability (disability arising from a mental illness). This is up from 4.6% in 2018.
Now half a million Australians with severe or moderate psychosocial support needs aren’t receiving support through the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) or other government‐funded programs.
More cancer in young people but survival rates are increasing overall
Significantly more Australians are surviving five years after a cancer diagnosis, up from 50% in 1987–1991 to 72% in 2017–2021.
This is due to people being diagnosed earlier, when cancers are easier to treat, as well as the availability of more effective therapies.
While survival rates have not improved for all cancers equally, even the deadliest cancers have seen major improvements. Pancreatic cancer only has a 14% five-year survival rate (2017–2021), but this has increased from only 3.1% (1987–1991).
The report highlights increasing cancer incidence among younger people. Diagnoses for people in their 30s have risen by 11.6% since 2000, primarily for colorectal and thyroid cancers.
But the actual numbers remain low (135 cases per 100,000 people), and the number of deaths from cancer among younger people has actually declined by 38% since 2000.
While cancer remains the greatest contributor to disease burden in Australia, addressing modifiable risk factors such as obesity and smoking – coupled with cancer screening and focused research initiatives – will help reduce cancer incidence and deaths going forward.
Obesity has overtaken smoking as the leading contributor to disease
Excess weight and obesity have overtaken tobacco use as the leading risk factor contributing to disease burden.
In 2022–24, around 13.2 million adults (67%) and 1.4 million children and adolescents (27%) were living with obesity or were overweight.
The generational pattern is particularly concerning. Australians born more recently are more likely to be living with obesity compared to previous generations at the same age. Among adults aged 25–34, obesity increased from 20% in 2011–12 to 29% in 2022–24.
Urgent action is needed to create healthier environments that make it easier for Australians to choose healthy foods and stay physically active.
We also need more equitable access to evidence-based treatment and care, including GLP-1 weight-loss medicines. As the report notes, the high cost of these medicines means the people with the greatest need are often less able to access them.
Risky drinking is down, but we still drink more than our OECD peers
Australians drink 9.8 litres of pure alcohol (773 standard drinks) per person each year. This is well above the OECD average of 8.4 litres.
First Nations people are less likely to drink at all than the general population and risky drinking among in First Nations people has fallen from 48% in 2010 to 33% in 2022-23.
Risky drinking, which is often linked to injuries and emergency department visits, has also declined in the general population.
But alcohol is now one of the most preventable drivers of chronic disease. It contributes to more than 200 health conditions such as cancer, heart and liver disease, injuries and poor mental health.
With Australia’s population ageing – and three in five Australians already living with at least one chronic condition – reducing risky drinking is one of our biggest opportunities to prevent future disease and ease pressure on the health system.
Health-care costs have risen, with more people skipping care
After pandemic fluctuations, three long-term trends resumed: government spending kept going up, so did the share of funding going to hospitals, and so did patient out-of-pocket fees.
Australia spent just over $10,000 per person on health in 2023–24. That’s 17% higher than a decade ago, on top of inflation, and a quarter higher than the average among wealthy nations.
The biggest area of health spending remains hospitals, which take up a growing share, rising from 39% to 42% over the past decade.
Average out-of-pocket fees totalled $1,634, nearly $200 more than a decade earlier (in today’s dollars). As fees go up, more people are skipping care, with 8% of Australians saying they delayed or avoided a GP visit in 2024–25 because of the cost.
And for some care, patients shoulder a much bigger share of the bill. They pay the most for dental care, covering 61% of total costs, so it’s no surprise 16% of people skipped dental care due to cost.
Carers are compensating for system gaps and are burnt out
Unpaid carers provide ongoing support to family members, friends and neighbours who have a disability, chronic illness, mental illness, age-related frailty, dementia, or other condition that limits their independence.
In 2022 around 3 million Australians (one in eight) provided informal care, including 1.2 million primary carers. These carers perform a wide range of tasks that help the person remain safe, healthy and living in the community.
Unpaid carers are estimated to save the Australian economy around $77.9 billion each year in avoided care costs.
Research consistently shows carers experience poorer health and wellbeing than the general population. The AIHW report shows:
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61% of carers did not report healthy levels of wellbeing, compared with 34% of Australians overall
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43% felt lonely (often or always) compared with 12% of Australians overall
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36% experienced high psychological distress, compared to 16% of Australians overall.
The report warns that:
without better-coordinated and more responsive formal support, pressures on unpaid carers may intensify.
Yet the federal government’s proposed NDIS reforms may increase pressures on unpaid carers by tightening eligibility and reducing funded supports.
This risks shifting greater caring responsibilities onto families.
Disclosure statements:
Sarah Diepstraten receives funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council, Cure Cancer Australia and My Room Children’s Cancer Charity.
Kathryn Backholer is Vice President (Policy) at the Public Health Association of Australia. She receives funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council, the Australian Research Council, The Ian Potter Foundation, The National Heart Foundation and VicHealth for her research related to food and nutrition and obesity prevention.
Nicole Lee has previously been awarded grants by state and federal governments, NHMRC and other public funding bodies for alcohol and other drug research. She is CEO of Hello Sunday Morning, a government funded not for profit alcohol early intervention service.
Grattan Institute has been supported in its work by government, corporates, and philanthropic gifts. A full list of supporting organisations is published at www.grattan.edu.au.
Helen Dickinson receives funding from the Australian Research Council, National Health and Medical Research Council, the Medical Research Future Fund and Australian governments.
Sebastian Rosenberg does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Original source: https://analysis1.mil-osi.com/2026/07/08/mental-illness-is-up-in-young-people-dementia-is-now-the-biggest-killer-australias-health-in-2026/