AUSTRALIA - Medical Device Industry and Demographic Data

Shown below you will find some basic demographic and economic data in Australia, plus information specific to the medical device and healthcare industry.

Capital city: Canberra

Total area of Australia: 7686850 km²

Population of Australia: 21 million

Structure of Australian population:
0-14 years: 18.6%
15-64 years: 67.9%
65 years and over: 13.5% (2009 est.)

Currency: Australian Dollar

Language: English

Healthcare expenditures: $3 272 (at int. $ rate, 2007 data)

Number of hospitals in Australia: 758 public; 557 private (2007 data)

Healthcare financing: Hospitals are generally financed based on Australian National Diagnosis Related Groups (AN-DRGs). AR-DRGs payments apply to inpatient episodes and outpatient visits are excluded. All eligible Australian residents have access to free or low-cost health care in public hospital under a health care system so-called Medicare. Medicare also pays 75 % of schedule fee for services and procedures provided in private hospitals. The private health insurance usually covers the remaining healthcare costs.

Medical device industry in Australia: The Australian medical device market represents less than 2 % of the global market and the industry created turnover of A$6 billion in 2008. The Australian market is supplied mainly by imports which reached A$2.48 billion in 2007 - 2008. Exports were estimated at A$1.3 billion in 2007 - 2008, meaning that nearly 90 % of locally manufactured medical devices is exported. The local medical device industry is characterized by small to medium sized enterprises and by a small number of global multinational companies (comprising only 20 % of the market). The consumption of medical devices by the public and private sector is evenly divided. The emphasis of local producers lies in: surgical equipment, diagnostic devices, laboratory equipment, dental equipment, health-related software and drug delivery. According to Innovation Dynamics, there were 655 medical devices companies in Australia in 2007, 30 more than in 2006. Of these, there are 55 ASX listed companies. Total market capitalization of listed medical devices companies was $12.4 billion in December 2007.

Medical device distributors in Australia: Whilst the Australian population of close to 22 million live on large continent, most of the population is urban and majority live in the eastern states. In Australia many distributors are relatively small and only a few larger manufacturers have their own distribution networks. Often medical devices, especially consumables are distributed through major pharmacy chains such as Sigma. It is common for a distributor to use sales agents in other states or have a principal distributor appoint sub-distributors to expand the geographical reach. Only some of the companies also cover New Zealand and Pacific islands. On regional level, larger wholesaling operations have been on the rise, for example VHA trading association in Victoria. The majority of medical technology companies in Australia (60 %) employ less than 20 people, with just 10 % employing more than 100 people. Around 80 % of enterprises are concentrated on the east coast.