Life expectancy has dropped in Australia for the first time in decades, a new government report says

Australia's life expectancy fell by 0.1 years for both men and women between 2019-2021. Some experts say that COVID-19 was a contributing factor for the drop. (Credit: Pexels)

For the first time since the mid-90s, Australia's life expectancy has fallen.

Australia's population is ageing, and requiring more primary care than ever with more people living with a chronic disease, and spending more time in ill health.

A child born in 2020–2022 can expect to live 81.2 years, for men, and 85.3 years for women. A reduction of 0.1 years in both cases.

That's according to the latest report on the nation's health.

It's issued every two years by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW).

So how much do we spend on health?

As a country, Australia spends about $241 billion on health — that was for the year 2021-22.

This equates to about $9,365 per person.

This amount ranked Australia in 15th place in terms of health spending as a proportion of GDP out of 38 other OECD nations.

It's about 10.5 per cent of Australia's GDP, which is slightly higher than the median spend but lower than countries including the United States, Canada, Germany and the United Kingdom.

So what are some other key details in the report?

• People living in the lowest socio-economic areas had the highest rates of use of public health but had the lowest rates of service.
• There's been an increase in the number of years on average Australians spend in ill health by roughly an extra year for both men and women.
• Depression, anxiety, dementia and chronic liver disease are emerging as some of the fastest-growing chronic conditions.

The insights of the report have left some experts to call for further health spending.

Chronic conditions on the rise

A majority of Australians — about six in 10 — currently live with chronic illness.

That's expected to increase, with health authorities saying more people will likely have multiple chronic conditions.

"[It is] due to the common risk factors and disease pathways that chronic conditions share," the report read.

Chronic illnesses have contributed to about 90 per cent of deaths in the nation for the years between 2002 to 2022.

For example, chronic diseases such as cardiovascular diseases and cancer were common causes of death among people over 45 years of age, and dementia was the most common cause of death among people over 85 years of age.

Health economist Martin Hensher explained an increase in people living with chronic illness, or even multiple diseases, would need more care, specifically primary care.

"It is very likely to drive up the need and demand for health care," he said.

"It will increase the need for health care, and you deal with that either by increasing the resources available, or you're feeling more acute strain and having to ration care to people in different ways."

Dr Hensher said healthcare spending had increased steadily over the last few decades.

"So the question is all about how much value are you getting for that spending," he said.

"Are you spending and putting your increased spending into the right things, which will get the best value treatments for the people with the increasing burden of chronic diseases?"

Has COVID-19 impacted life expectancy?

Yes, according to the Australian Institute for Health and Welfare.

Dr Hensher also believes the drop was a direct result of the coronavirus pandemic.

In the year 2022, COVID-19 was the third leading cause of death.

It was the first time in more than half a century that an infectious disease has been in the top five leading causes of death in Australia.

From the beginning of the pandemic to 29 February 2024, more than 22,000 people in Australia died from or with COVID-19.

But COVID-19 hospitalisations have begun to show signs of slowing.

It's also the first time in decades that Australia's life expectancy has fallen.

It fell by 0.1 years for both men and women.

"This is likely to be due to the increase in deaths seen in 2022 of which close to half were due to COVID-19 and the remainder due to increases in other causes," the report read.

A male and female born in 2020–2022 can expect to live on average 81.2 years and 85.3 years respectively.

Australia's not alone in suffering a drop in life expectancy.

There's been a greater decline in the United States - from 78.9 to 76.4 years - and the United Kingdom - from 81.3 to 80.4 years.

"Globally, there, there's been a bigger drop in life expectancy than there was in Australia. So this is a phenomenon," he said.

But Dr Hensher said there had been signs in other OECD countries, such as the United States and the United Kingdom, of declining life expectancy overall.

"The continuous trend of life expectancy improvement, maybe running out of steam a bit," he said.

"We haven't seen evidence for that yet in Australia. But that's the wider trend that we need to keep an eye on."