Is headspace making a difference to young people’s lives?

6. The Costs of headspace
(and potentially other funding streams) are not able to be observed. This would entail, for example,
young people that are referred to services outside a headspace centre during an initial consultation
within a headspace centre.
Valuing the in-scope MBS component
Using data sourced from the headspace centre Service Application (hCSA) database, we are able
to observe those services that were reported as being directly funded by the MBS and the type of
service provider who administered the service. From published Medicare data, we are also able to
estimate an average benefit paid for services that generally attract the MBS. These data are shown
in Table 6.4 below.
Table 6.4 Average MBS benefit by service provider, 12-25 year olds, 2013/14 financial
year
Service Provider No. Services Benefits paid Average Benefits Paid
Clinical Psychologists 393,358 $50,443,299 $128.24
GPs 533,740 $44,317,337 $83.03
Other allied health 536,113 $47,116,390 $87.89
Psychiatrists 327,721 $51,155,399 $156.09
Total 1,790,932 $193,032,425 $107.78
Data Source: Medicare tables
Within the 2013/14 financial year, young people aged 12-25 years received 1.79 million services that
were funded through the MBS. These services have a total benefit paid of just over $193 million.
An average benefit paid per service for each service provider has been estimated, with a service
provided by a psychiatrist receiving on average $156 in Medicare benefits, clinical psychologists $128
and GPs around $83. In order to calculate the contribution of MBS to headspace services, these
averages have been applied to services observed within headspace centres that have reported being
funded through the MBS.
Table 6.5 Estimated MBS benefits for headspace clients, by service provider, 2013/14 financial
year
Service Provider Average Benefits Paid No. of headspace occasions
of service
Estimated MBS benefit
towards headspace services
Clinical Psychologists $128.24 55,851 $7,162,201
GPs $83.03 17,865 $1,483,393
Other allied health $87.89 11,332 $995,923
Psychiatrists $156.09 3,642 $568,567
Total 88,691 $10,210,085
Notes: Only those service providers that are generally eligible to receive the MBS have been included. Data within the
hCSA is completed by the service provider and may be unreliable in some circumstances.
Data Source: Medicare tables and hCSA
For this analysis, a total of 88,691 occasions of service were deemed to be in-scope firstly because
they reported attracting the MBS, and secondly because they were eligible to receive MBS benefits
(Table 6.5). The majority of these services (more than half) represents those provided by clinical
psychologists. These services have an estimated MBS benefit value of $7.16 million. Services
provided by GPs are the second most common service that attracts the MBS within headspace
centres. Almost 18,000 headspace GP services within the 2013/14 financial year received Medicare
funding, with a total value of $1.48 million. Other allied health services and services provided by
social workers comprise 11,332 occasions of service at an estimated value of $995,923. Lastly, 3,642
psychiatric services received MBS funding at an estimated value of $568,567.
The total estimated MBS value that has gone towards a headspace client’s treatment is
approximately $10.2 million. This value is added to the overall government investment towards
providing services at headspace centres within the 2013/14 financial year.
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headspace Evaluation Final Report
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