National Mental Health Performance Indicators

This site contains a database of performance indicators used within the mental health sector in Australia. The initial indicators contained in the database are from the National Mental Health Performance Framework.

The database is developmental, and over time relevant indicators from other performance sets will be included.

The National Mental Health Performance Framework

As part of the National Mental Health Strategy the Australian Government and State and Territory Governments embarked on a course to improve the collection and use of information within the mental health sector. The National Mental Health Performance Framework was developed in 2005 using the tier and domain structure of the National Health Performance Framework (Figure 1).




The initial focus has been on the domains of the third tier – Health System Performance. Work began by adding mental health-specific sub domains (Figure 2), and developing a set of nationally agreed Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for public mental health services.

In 2005, a set of 13 indicators were endorsed for national use. As sector understanding and data quality improved additions have been made to the indicator set. From July 2009, there were 16 indicators endorsed as part of the national indicator set. A technical review of indicator specifications is currently being undertaken by the National Mental Health Performance Subcommittee (NMHPSC).

Figure 2 National Mental Health Performance Framework domains and mental health sub domains.

Primary and secondary domains

Each indicator within the database maps to a primary domain, being the main focus of that indicator. Some indicators also measure factors that fall under other domains, and are mapped against secondary domains.

Further information

Full details on the National Mental Health Performance Framework are available in the framework document available on the publications page.