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RESEARCH ARTICLE
Contents Vol 49(2)

Environmental, Social and Governance principles in Australian publicly funded healthcare: an extension of value-based care

Aletha Ward A * , Mark E. Holmes A , Isabella Ward https://orcid.org/0009-0004-7757-3832 A , Zerina Lokmic-Tomkins B , Leah East C and Tracy Levett-Jones D
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A School of Nursing and Midwifery, University of Southern Queensland, Qld, Australia. Email: q1021728@umail.usq.edu.au, u1083242@umail.usq.edu.au

B School of Nursing and Midwifery and Health and Climate Initiative, Monash University, Vic, Australia. Email: zerina.tomkins@monash.edu

C School of Nursing and Midwifery, UniSQ Centre for Health Research, University of Southern Queensland, Qld, Australia. Email: Leah.east@unisq.edu.au

D University of Technology Sydney, NSW, Australia. Email: tracy.levett-jones@uts.edu.au

* Correspondence to: aletha.ward@unisq.edu.au

Australian Health Review 49, AH24296 https://doi.org/10.1071/AH24296
Submitted: 23 October 2024  Accepted: 4 February 2025  Published: 25 February 2025

© 2025 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing on behalf of AHHA.

Abstract

Australia’s publicly funded healthcare system is financed through a complex mix of Commonwealth, State, Territory and private sources, which include activity-based funding, fee for service and block funding. These models may be insufficient to meet future budgetary constraints, and healthcare systems in Australia and worldwide are increasingly adopting value-based healthcare (VBHC), which is defined as ‘health outcomes that matter to patients relative to the resources or costs required, over a full cycle of care’. There is no national Australian strategy for the adoption of VBHC, and examining other industries or policies may provide solutions to enhance implementation. For example, as of January 2025, the Australian Securities Exchange will mandate climate-related disclosures for listed companies. This change reflects a growing societal and shareholder emphasis on environmental accountability. Our paper argues that universally applying Environmental, Social and Governance principles across all healthcare sectors represents a strategic evolution of VBHC to ensure fiscally responsible climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies.

Keywords: Australian healthcare, climate change, environmental impact, ESG, ethical governance, governance, social responsibility, value-based care.

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