Independent Financial Review 2023-24
Date published: 29 January 2026
The National Hospital Cost Data Collection (NHCDC) is the primary data collection that IHACPA relies on to calculate the national efficient price used for the funding of public hospital services. To ensure that the quality of NHCDC data is robust and fit for purpose, we commission an independent financial review (IFR) to assess whether all participating hospitals have included appropriate costs and patient activity.
The IFR 2023–24 was a comprehensive review designed to assess the accuracy and comprehensiveness of hospital costing data and support continuous improvement across the sector. This year’s review included:
- a critical care focused review examining costing methodologies and reporting practices for Intensive Care Units and other critical care services to inform future pricing adjustments.
- a cost driver analysis reviewing changes in hospital costs and activity between 2022–23 and 2023–24 to identify key drivers of expenditure growth.
- an assessment of jurisdictional comparability to evaluate consistency in costing processes and application of the Australian Hospital Patient Costing Standards (AHPCS) version 4.2.
The review was delivered through extensive collaboration with jurisdictions and hospitals, including site visits and peer review workshops. These consultations provided valuable insights into costing practices, governance structures and quality assurance processes.
IHACPA requests jurisdictions provide a Data Quality Statement (DQS) with their annual NHCDC submission. The DQS allows jurisdictions to provide additional information about their data submission, which may be pertinent in processing or interpreting the data. The NHCDC Data Quality Statements 2023-24 for all jurisdictions include:
- A signed declaration by the head of its health department regarding their jurisdictions’ application of the AHPCS Version 4.2.
- A reconciliation of the general ledger to costing ledger for NHCDC 2023-24 submission.
- Governance and data quality assurance processes implemented by jurisdictions