Queensland Health
Queensland Budget 2026-27 · Crisafulli Government
As at budget day (2026-06-23)
Across budgets
Tracked across 6 budgets (2021-22 to 2026-27).
Key service areas
Budget initiatives
An additional $750 million in 2026-27 to deliver critical health services, recruit specialised health workers, and operationalise over 200 new beds across the state as part of the Hospital Rescue Plan.
More hospital care closer to home, with over 200 new beds operationalised across Hervey Bay, Cairns, West Moreton (Ripley), Gold Coast, Logan, Central Queensland and Wide Bay, plus more emergency and elective surgery capacity.
General Government operating, $750M in 2026-27
The state's hospital infrastructure capital program, building three new hospitals (Bundaberg, Coomera and Toowoomba) and the new Queensland Cancer Centre, and expanding ten major hospitals, to deliver more than 2,600 additional beds across Queensland.
Builds three new hospitals (Bundaberg, Coomera, Toowoomba) and the Queensland Cancer Centre and expands ten others, adding more than 2,600 hospital beds across the state.
Capital. $2.206 billion in 2026-27 for Major Hospital Infrastructure (new hospitals and major expansions) of a $17.271 billion total project cost (BP3 Capital Statement, Queensland Health). The broader 2026-27 Queensland Health capital program advancing the Plan is $4.040 billion (BP2 p.4); the yearProfile shows only the 2026-27 Major Hospital Infrastructure spend.
$394.4 million over four years from the Mental Health Levy for new and expanded mental health services, including 30 perinatal mother and baby beds, emergency department mental health treatment, new alcohol and other drug residential beds, and additional inpatient beds in Cairns, Rockhampton and at the Princess Alexandra Hospital.
Every dollar of the Mental Health Levy is directed into mental health services, delivering 30 new perinatal mother and baby beds, better mental health care in emergency departments, and more inpatient beds in regional Queensland.
General Government operating from the Queensland Mental Health Levy, $394.4M over 4 years plus $104.7M per annum ongoing. A separate $52.5M capital component over 3 years delivers perinatal beds. The Perinatal Mother and Baby Beds initiative ($153.9M) is a carve-out funded from within this uplift, not additional.
More than 30 new perinatal mental health beds across Brisbane, Cairns, Townsville, the Sunshine Coast, Logan and Ipswich. This $153.9 million commitment is a carve-out funded from within the $394.4 million Mental Health Funding Uplift (not additional funding).
New mother and baby mental health beds help new parents experiencing perinatal mental illness stay with their babies while receiving specialist care, in six locations across the state.
$153.9M over 4 years plus $42.8M per annum ongoing, funded from within the $394.4M Mental Health Funding Uplift per BP4 p.54 — not additional. Amount/totalAmount left null to avoid double-counting against the uplift.
$11.7 million in 2026-27 to boost the private motor vehicle fuel subsidy under the Patient Travel Subsidy Scheme from 34 cents to a nation-leading 45 cents per kilometre and improve processing times.
Regional and remote patients who travel for specialist care get a higher fuel subsidy (45c/km, the first increase in eight years) and faster reimbursements, easing the cost of accessing healthcare.
General Government operating, $11.7M in 2026-27; funding from 2027-28 met internally by the department
$37.5 million over five years to expand free vision, hearing and speech development checks for children in kindergarten statewide.
Free vision, hearing and speech checks for kindy kids across Queensland help identify developmental issues early so children get the support they need before starting school.
General Government operating, $37.5M over 5 years from 2025-26
$297 million in 2026-27 to deliver 30,000 elective surgeries sooner through the Surgery Connect program, which partners with private hospitals.
Shorter waits for planned surgery, with 30,000 operations funded in 2026-27 through partnerships with private hospitals under Surgery Connect.
General Government operating, $297M in 2026-27
$57.7 million over four years to increase the reliability of maternity services in regional Queensland and reopen maternity services in Biloela and Cooktown.
More reliable maternity care in regional Queensland, with maternity services reopening in Biloela and Cooktown so families can give birth closer to home.
General Government operating, $57.7M over 4 years
$31 million in 2026-27 to continue the free flu vaccination program for all Queenslanders.
Free flu vaccinations remain available to all Queenslanders, helping protect families and reduce pressure on hospitals during winter.
General Government operating, $31M in 2026-27
$16.2 million operating and $47.3 million capital to replace Queensland Health's clinical imaging systems and establish an Enterprise Vendor Neutral Archive for real-time access to patient imaging.
Clinicians get real-time access to patient scans and imaging across the state, supporting faster, better-informed treatment decisions.
$16.2M operating over 3 years plus $47.3M capital, funded through the Queensland Government Digital Fund
Forward estimates
Year-by-year allocations for 6 measures with published forward profiles.
| Measure | 2026-27 | 2027-28 | 2028-29 | 2029-30 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Easier Access to Health Services | $750M | — | — | — | $750.0M |
| Hospital Rescue Plan | $2.206B | — | — | — | $2.21B |
| Mental Health Funding Uplift | $80.6M | $104.5M | $104.7M | $104.7M | $394.4M |
| Strengthening the Patient Travel Subsidy Scheme | $11.7M | — | — | — | $11.7M |
| Surgery Connect Elective Surgery | $297M | — | — | — | $297.0M |
| Free Flu Vaccination Program | $31M | — | — | — | $31.0M |
| Total | $3.38B | $104.5M | $104.7M | $104.7M | $3.69B |
Performance metrics
Service standards from the Service Delivery Statement. Targets and actuals as published.
| Metric | Prior target | Actual | Target |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 2024-25 | 2025-26 | |
| Percentage of elective surgery patients treated within clinically recommended times — Category 1 (30 days) | >98% | 84.3% | >98% |
| Percentage of elective surgery patients treated within clinically recommended times — Category 2 (90 days) | >95% | 74.4% | >95% |
| Percentage of elective surgery patients treated within clinically recommended times — Category 3 (365 days) | >95% | 83.2% | >95% |
| Rate of healthcare associated Staphylococcus aureus bloodstream infections per 10,000 acute public hospital patient days | ≤1.0 | 0.7 | ≤1.0 |
| Average cost per weighted activity unit for Activity Based Funding facilities | $6,203 | $6,223 | $6,548 |
| Percentage of emergency department attendances who depart within 4 hours of arrival | >80% | 56.4% | >80% |
| Percentage of emergency department patients seen within recommended timeframes — Category 2 (within 10 minutes) | 80% | 71% | 80% |
| Percentage of emergency department patients seen within recommended timeframes — Category 3 (within 30 minutes) | 75% | 66% | 75% |
| Percentage of patients transferred off stretcher within 30 minutes | 90% | 64.0% | 90% |
| Percentage of specialist outpatients seen within clinically recommended times — Category 1 (30 days) | 83% | 76.0% | 83% |
| Proportion of re-admissions to acute psychiatric care within 28 days of discharge — Non-Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander | <12% | 8.4% | <12% |
| Vaccination rates at designated milestones for children — all children 1 year | 95% | 89.1% | 95% |
Source: Service Delivery Statement. Prior target and actual are for 2024-25; target is for 2025-26.
Source document
Service Delivery Statement — Queensland Health (PDF)Last updated: 2026-06-24. Factual information from published budget documents.