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Table 2 Governance of public health care agencies in Australian states/territories

From: Australian health system restructuring – what problem is being solved?

State

Current Status

Recent changes

NSW 6.64M

Centralising by 1 January 2005; regionalised since 1986.

Moving from 17 Area Health Services with separate governance authority to 8 Area Health Services within Departmental governance.

Victoria 4.87M

Rurals partly regionalised for many years; Melbourne 'networked' since 1995.

Melbourne networks restructured from 7 to 12 and names changed in 2000. Rural structures mix of regionalised and atomised.

Q'land 3.71M

Centralised at state level since 1996 after 5 years of regionalisation.

Long history of centralisation with advisory hospital boards; Regional Health Authorities 1991–1996.

WA 1.93M

Centralised at state level in 2001/02.

Moved from 'atomised' in Perth to one board in 1997, governance centralised in 2001; state now centralised.

SA 1.52M

Regionalised in rural areas since 1995; Adelaide partly regionalising.

Moved from atomised to regionalised, with 2 regional and 1 specialised health services in the capital as of July 2004.

Tasmania 0.47M

Centralised at state level

Moved from atomised to regionalised in 1991; centralised at state level in 1997.

ACT 0.32M

Centralised (single city system)

Single board for Canberra established in 1996; abolished in 2002.

NT 0.2M

Centralised at territory Level

Never devolved. Some autonomous Aboriginal Health Services.