Australian health and welfare

Over the 20th century, Australian health and welfare improved greatly. Some of the innovations which contributed to this positive change have been identified in the Museum’s list of defining moments. These include:

1908: introduction of old age and invalid pensions

1912: introduction of a maternity allowance

1945: introduction of unemployment and sickness benefits.

This moment, suggested by Denise Moore, extends the story of health and social welfare into the later part of the 20th century.

Universal healthcare is relatively new in Australia. Healthcare in the 19th century was very much a private affair. The quality of healthcare depended on many factors, including: where you lived, what kind of background and education you had, and your level of income.

Doctors were not necessarily the highly trained and regulated professionals that we think of now; that too is a 20th century innovation.

If you got sick in the 19th century and you couldn’t afford a doctor, you were much more likely to rely on inherited folk wisdom, the local apothecary or chemist, and the kindness of friends and families. Hospitals were generally places of last resort.

Just who should bear responsibility for healthcare was a heated debate throughout the 20th century.

Politically, people form their views on this issue depending on their beliefs about the role of government. Some people believe that government should have as minimal a role as possible, and that individual rights and freedoms are paramount. Others believe individual rights and freedoms can only be exercised within the context of an equitable civil society.

This range of beliefs was evident in Medicare’s convoluted history. Any bill that takes 10 hours to debate is indicative of deeply held philosophical differences.2