Health service managers in Australia: progression and evolution

This paper contains analyses of the number and characteristics of health service managers in Australia at the time of the 2011 Census of Population. It updates the work carried out by the authors in relation to the 2006 Census. It gives an estimate of the number of managers in hospitals and medical and other health services separately and as an aggregate. It relates the number of managers per type of service to the resident population and the number of people employed in each service and compares them to averages for managers in all industries. Further, it estimates changes that have taken place between 2006 and 2011. The analyses include the diversity in managers in four categories: chief executive officers/general managers, managers not further defined, specialist and service managers. The paper goes on to examine the age of managers by sex and how they compare with the average for all industries, and some of the factors that might affect the differences encountered. It also investigates changes in the age of managers in the five-year period 2006- 2011. In addition, the relative importance of the various fields of study and levels of education of health service managers are examined, as well as changes that have taken place in the inter-census period. The income of health service managers and the hours that they worked are assessed and compared to the average for all industries. Marital status is compared with the average for all industries and differences due to age and sex are considered. The analyses are concerned with evolving trends in the country of birth of health service managers and the Indigenous status of managers in hospitals and medical and other health services, in comparison with the average for all industries. Finally, the paper discusses findings and some of their implications for health service management training and career path development.