The Australian Digital Health Agency says a substantial increase in staffing planned for 2026-27 is needed to support growing demand for national digital health infrastructure, cybersecurity requirements and the delivery of major new policy reforms including the National Medicines Record.
Pulse+IT recently reported that the Agency’s average staffing level was projected to increase from 524 positions in 2025-26 to 652 positions in 2026-27, according to figures published in the Health, Disability and Ageing Portfolio Budget Statements.
The projected increase of 128 positions represents a rise of about 24 per cent year-on-year.
Responding to questions from Pulse+IT about the increase, the Agency said the additional staffing reflected both growth in existing services and the expansion of its responsibilities under recent federal budget measures.
“The Health, Disability and Ageing Portfolio Budget Statements reflect continued investment in and commitment to national digital health initiatives, including the systems and infrastructure the Agency supports, driving towards a fully connected healthcare system,” an Australian Digital Health Agency spokesperson said.
The Agency pointed to continuing growth in the use of My Health Record following the introduction of the federal government’s Sharing by Default reforms.
“Use of My Health Record continues to grow among Australian healthcare consumers and healthcare providers,” the spokesperson said.
“Since the introduction of the Sharing by Default legislation, there has been a significant increase in the volume of documents uploaded by healthcare providers, contributing to a 112 per cent increase in consumer views of pathology reports to 114 million, and a 72 per cent increase in views of diagnostic imaging reports to 11.2 million, since April 2025 alone.”
The Agency said the increase in staffing was required to support both current operations and future expansion of national digital health systems.
“With demand growing rapidly, the increase in average staffing reflects the resourcing needed to operate, modernise and continue to scale national digital health infrastructure,” the spokesperson said.
“This includes supporting system operations, cybersecurity, compliance, clinical governance and users to ensure the system remains secure, reliable and clinically safe.”
The spokesperson also linked the staffing increase to several major digital health initiatives announced or expanded in the 2026-27 federal budget.
“Importantly, the additional resourcing will also support delivery of new and expanded policy reforms set out in the Budget, including the next phases of Sharing by Default, establishment of a National Medicines Record and development of a National Digital Child Health Record, all of which will further help connect Australia’s healthcare system.”
The Agency pointed to Budget Paper No. 4, which states that the Agency’s outcome is “to deliver national digital healthcare systems to enable and support improvement in health outcomes for Australians”.
The staffing increase accompanies a significant uplift in Agency funding outlined in the Portfolio Budget Statements.
According to the documents, the Agency’s total net resourcing is projected to increase from $486.6 million in 2025-26 to $517.8 million in 2026-27, before falling to $417.3 million in 2027-28.
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