We found preventative investments could save taxpayers billions of dollars in health and social care costs. But to achieve these gains, the way we think about investing in prevention needs to change.<\/p>\n
Investing in early intervention<\/p>\n
Australia\u2019s spending on health and social care is growing as a share of the economy and now makes up five of the top seven<\/a> fiscal pressures In many respects this reflects changing preferences. As the nation has become wealthier, we care more about our health and wellbeing. But making the most of this spending is one of Australia\u2019s key productivity challenges.<\/p>\n That means investing early to save costs later. Take for example the SunSmart skin cancer awareness campaign, which is estimated to have prevented more than 43,000 skin cancers<\/a> from 1988 to 2010.<\/p>\n Investments like this save lives and money. We estimate that an investment of A$1.5 billion across all prevention programs over five years could be expected to save governments $2.7 billion over ten years. Factoring in the broader health, social and economic benefits, the total benefits would be about $5.4 billion.<\/p>\n Other countries are ahead of the game: Canada, the UK and Finland<\/a> spend over twice as much of their health budgets on prevention as Australia. <\/p>\n Australia\u2019s own health prevention strategy<\/a> recommends that we increase spending on prevention from 2% to 5% of the health budget.<\/p>\n Prime Minister Anthony Albanese at a Cancer Council event in 2022. The big picture<\/p>\n Prevention goes beyond just health care. Investments in youth justice, out of home care and homelessness improve outcomes in a range of other areas, improving Australians\u2019 quality of life and governments\u2019 bottom lines.<\/p>\n For example, when people experiencing homelessness get stable housing, they tend to end up in hospital less often, make fewer trips to the emergency department, and in some cases, even avoid incarceration. It\u2019s also easier to look for and hold down a job when you have a stable place to call home.<\/p>\n Such investments can also address systemic inequities in both access and quality of care. <\/p>\n One early childhood education program<\/a> in outer Melbourne led to improved IQ and language development among socially disadvantaged Australian children, with participants reaching the same level of development as their peers within three years. <\/p>\n Evaluations of similar initiatives<\/a> in the United States suggest that benefits can persist well into adulthood and even intergenerationally, through improved lifetime education attainment, employment and health, and reduced criminal behaviour.<\/p>\n A whole of government approach<\/p>\n Unfortunately, the way our government is structured can work against these investments. While it\u2019s often one agency or level of government that needs to put up the money for these investments, they only enjoy part of the benefit.<\/p>\n The way governments think about and invest in prevention and early intervention needs to change. The Productivity Commission\u2019s proposed solution is for a National Prevention and Early Intervention Framework<\/a> to support strategic investments in programs that improve outcomes and reduce demand for future services.<\/p>\n The framework\u2019s consistent approach to assessing interventions would bring all levels of government to the table, so that worthwhile investments no longer fall between the cracks. <\/p>\n
\nfacing the federal budget. The care sector is also absorbing more of our workforce \u2013 close to one-third of new jobs<\/a> since the pandemic have been in the care sector.<\/p>\n![\"Australian](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/file-20260119-66-7i66pr.jpg\")
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\n Lukas Coch\/AAP<\/p>\n