03 November 2025
Elizabeth Deveny writes:
Access to healthcare in Australia isn’t equal for everyone. Young adults, people with chronic diseases, people from lower socio-economic areas and people without private health insurance report significant challenges in being able to access the care they need.
These are just some of the findings from the National Consumer Sentiment Survey (NCSS) 2024 Report, new national research published this week by the Consumers Health Forum of Australia.
The NCSS surveyed 5,000 Australians with a broad range of characteristics, views and experiences within the healthcare system. Its overall aim was to improve understanding of the healthcare system from consumers’ perspectives, with a focus on primary care, to better inform healthcare delivery and planning.
Postcode lottery
As I go around Australia meeting consumers and healthcare organisations, I see how the maldistribution of the health workforce deeply impacts regional and rural parts of Australia.
While this is not a new problem, it continues to worry me that in 2025, Australians are going without the care they need, simply because of the postcode they live in. The postcode lottery of Australian healthcare still exists.
Stigma and discrimination
Unfortunately, consumers are still facing stigma, discrimination and not being taken seriously when seeking healthcare, with more than eight percent of respondents facing some level of discrimination in the healthcare system.
While this figure might seem low, we need to remember that eight percent of the Australian population is more than 1.5 million people and that feeling discriminated against does lead to people either stopping treatment or never seeking it in the first place.
Aunty Maureen, a proud Budjiti woman living on Bidjura country in Southwest Queensland and a Member of our Consumer Assembly told us that: “When you go into the healthcare system and you identify as an Aboriginal person, people’s demeanour changes straight away, you wouldn’t think that it would in 2025, but it does."
Support for action and investment
Consumers told us overwhelmingly in the NCSS 2024 that they want government to spend more money on healthcare.
The survey asked consumers for their thoughts on government spending levels on healthcare, with the majority (56%) feeling that the current spend was too low.
What we’re seeing here is a real appetite for responsible investment into healthcare. Australians are comfortable with governments spending more on health, provided it’s done wisely.
You can read the full article published on Croakey's website here:
