Nearly half of Australians chronically sick

Doctors said the growing mental health burden was consuming more of their resources and making it harder for Australians to access a GP.

Rising cost of living adding to strain

Georgie Harman, chief executive of mental health organisation Beyond Blue, said the pandemic led to a significant increase in mental distress and a deepening of mental health challenges for young people in particular.

She told AFR Weekend demand had remained elevated after the pandemic as the cost-of-living squeeze had contributed to “a rolling sense of uncertainty and discombobulation” that had outlasted the health crisis.

Demand for Beyond Blue’s services had increased by about 20 per cent since the pandemic, she said. “It has not stopped.”

Beyond Blue’s clients are also becoming younger, with people under 35 now accounting for about 75 per cent of those seeking assistance.

“We know that the cost-of-living pressures are affecting young people disproportionately,” Ms Harman said.

“Financial stress, social disconnection, really deep anxiety about climate change, and, also, very importantly, a lack of easy, affordable access to mental health care are the real drivers of distress.”

Surging rents and high housing prices were only making matters worse, Ms Harman added.

Mental health problems swamping GPs

Toby Gardner, chair of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners in Tasmania, said when he started working as a GP 20 years ago, the most common reason to see a doctor was back pain.

“Now, it’s mental health conditions, and that chews up lots of our available consult time,” Dr Gardner said.

He told AFR Weekend the country’s growing mental health burden made it harder for GPs to meet the population’s increasing demand for primary care, which was rising in step with the prevalence of chronic health conditions.

“Personally, I’m booked until April at this point ... and that’s because I have a whole lot of patients with complex chronic conditions,” Dr Gardner said.

“That ties up all my available appointments going forward … which means that when people are unwell on the day and need to be seen for an emergency, it’s really hard to find space for these people.”

Dr Gardner said prevalence of chronic disease would also continue to rise due to Australia’s ageing population.

“Three in 10 GPs in Australia have indicated their intention to retire in the next five years ... and we’ve got less and less medical students electing to go into general practice. It’s down around 13 per cent now. So, who is going to service this population? [That] is the question.”

Less smoking, less drinking

The ABS survey, which came as the federal government announced a $457 million investment over five years for major mental health service providers such as Beyond Blue and Lifeline, also delivered bad news on the fight against diabetes and heart disease.

It found the share of Australians with diabetes had risen from 4.9 per cent in 2017-2018 to 5.3 per cent last year, while the prevalence of heart, stroke and vascular disease increased from 4.8 per cent to 5.2 per cent.

But it wasn’t all doom and gloom. The survey found the proportion of adult daily smokers has more than halved over the past 20 years, from 22.4 per cent in 2001 to 10.6 per cent in 2022, while Australians did an average of 69 minutes of physical activity a day in 2022 – up from 42 minutes a day on average in 2017-2018.

The share of people exceeding the alcohol guidelines has also decreased over the past 10 years.

Help is available at:

• Lifeline Australia 13 11 14
• Beyond Blue on 1300 224 636
• Suicide Call Back Service 1300 659 467