Health Record Rights Index · country brief · this country's data as of October 2, 2026
Who holds the health record in Australia?
In 2026, Australia scores 66 out of 100 for how much say a person has over their own health record. It is tied for 6th of 198 countries and territories, and could rank anywhere from 2nd to 20th allowing for scoring error, in the Strong band (65 to 84). Who holds the keys: you and the health system. Source: Health Record Rights Index, SuperTruth, this country's data as of October 2, 2026.
The person has real controls inside a government or provider system. Its strongest right, compared with the typical country, is control over who sees it (68 out of 100, against 30 for the typical country). No right falls below the typical country; the closest to it is your say over research use (50 out of 100, against 46 for the typical country).
Australia's opt-out national record holds over 25 million records patients can lock and audit, and test results now upload to it by default.
Published · updated · this country's data as of October 2, 2026 · research tool, not legal advice
overall score · Strong band, 65 to 84
66/100
rank among 198 countries and territories; likely 2nd to 20th, allowing for scoring error
In 2026, getting your full record scores 70 out of 100 in Australia; the typical country scores 40 to 45. My Health Record held 25.16 million records in July 2026, and from 1 July 2026 pathology and imaging reports must be uploaded by default. It is a summary, not the full chart, and copies from providers may carry a fee. Source: Australian Digital Health Agency, July 2026, and the other sources below.
Who controls health records in Australia?
In 2026, you and the health system hold the keys to your health record in Australia. Control over who sees it scores 68 out of 100 in Australia; the typical country scores 30. People can cancel the record, lock it or single documents with access codes, stop uploads, and read an access log with alerts. But the default lets every treating provider see everything, and only about 72,000 people use advanced access controls. Source: OAIC, and the other sources below.
How does Australia compare?
In 2026, Australia scores 66 out of 100, against 39 for the typical country. This brief compares it with New Zealand (48 out of 100), Tonga (46 out of 100) and Nauru (42 out of 100). Source: the ranking of all 198 countries and territories.
Eight rights, compared with New Zealand, Tonga, Nauru and the typical country
Scores out of 100, by right
Getting your full record20%
70
55 · 45 · 28
Control over who sees it20%
68
47 · 42 · 35
Privacy and security15%
62
50 · 45 · 38
One record across your care15%
70
40 · 58 · 65
Protection from sale and ads10%
65
52 · 40 · 40
Doctors see it when treating you10%
66
40 · 60 · 68
Your say over research use5%
50
50 · 46 · 50
Rules for AI in your care5%
55
40 · 20 · 20
Black dot: Australia. Hollow dots: New Zealand, Tonga, Nauru (scores out of 100 on the right, same order). Gray line: the typical country of all 198. Overall: Australia 66 out of 100. Scores move in steps of about 5 points, so read a rank with its likely range.
What would Australia need to change to score higher?
Australia sits in Strong (65 to 84); Leading starts at 85. Every right is at or above the typical country. The two with the most room to grow, weighted by how much each counts, are control over who sees it (68 out of 100, against 30 for the typical country) and getting your full record (70 out of 100, against 40 to 45 for the typical country). Our scoring rules give more points for:
Control over who sees it: A way to say no to sharing (or to be asked first), a log you can read of who opened your record, and finer choices about who sees what. Together these put this right at 60 to 80 out of 100.
Getting your full record: A national portal that shows most people at least part of their record (a summary, prescriptions, lab results) puts this right at 60 to 75 out of 100. A near-full record that you can download, with a long history and used by most people, puts it at 76 to 90.
Which laws give health record rights in Australia?
My Health Records Act 2012: Opt-out national record; access controls, cancellation, insurance and employment bans, court order for agency access.
Health Legislation Amendment (Modernising My Health Record, Sharing by Default) Act 2025: Requires prescribed providers to share key information to My Health Record by default.
Privacy Act 1988: Health data is sensitive information; right of access (APP 12), breach notification, civil penalties.
Doctors, waits and private care context, not part of the score
Doctors per 10,000
42.3 2023 · 14th highest of 38 OECD countries
Nurses and midwives per 10,000
144 2024 · 5th highest of 38 OECD countries
Private insurance + out-of-pocket
25.8% 2023 · 15th highest of 35 OECD countries
Record reaches private care?
partly
Compulsory private insurance, counted separately: 1.1% of health spending (2023).
"This Act was passed on 14 February 2025 to mandate that key health information - starting with pathology and diagnostic imaging reports - be automatically shared to My Health Record. The range of clinical documents will be added incrementally over time."
Real cases
August 14, 2026 · ABC News · archived copy AI note-taker put a false statement into a patient's specialist letter
July 22, 2026 · ABC News · archived copy Another woman's hospital history merged into a patient's record; family told she died
Who to contact in Australia
Not legal advice. Laws, offices and websites can change, so check with the office itself before you rely on anything here.
For Australia, we list one official office to contact about your health record, as of :
See your record:My Health Record
Privacy regulator:Office of the Australian Information Commissioner
In 2026, Australia scored 66 out of 100 for how much say a person has over their own health record, tied for 6th of 198 countries and territories (could be 2nd to 20th), in the Strong band. Who holds the keys: you and the health system. Source: Health Record Rights Index, SuperTruth, this country's data as of October 2, 2026, https://healthrecordrights.com/brief/australia/
The 22 sources for Australia
Each source appears once, under the first right it supports. Titles are shown as our research agents recorded them, usually in the page's own language; text in square brackets is our machine translation. Links were checked on the date shown.
Getting your full record (4 sources)
“My Health Record statistics and insights, July 2026”
Australian Digital Health Agency (government guidance) · Title in English
Dated July 2026 · Link checked October 3, 2026 (did not answer)
Used for: Getting your full record; Control over who sees it; One record across your care; Doctors see it when treating you
SuperTruth Inc. · 24 S. 24th St., Philadelphia, PA 19103, USA · +1 215 918 4140 · supertruth.ai Something wrong? Tell us · Questions or a briefing: supertruth.ai/on-the-record#contact · Full index: healthrecordrights.com
OECD: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (38 mostly high-income countries). DTI™: the Data Trust Index, which grades the evidence behind each score. SuperTruth makes it and publishes this index. Everything here comes from public information: laws, government and regulator pages, court decisions, published news, WHO, OECD and World Bank data. Full sources: https://healthrecordrights.com/brief/australia/#sources. SuperTruth built this index and sells health data verification products; no one paid to be included. Research tool, not legal advice. Our scores and our own words are CC BY 4.0; quoted law and source titles stay with their owners.
