Victoria is spending the least on public hospitals, South Australians are waiting the longest for ambulances and Tasmania's emergency department responses are lagging.
The Productivity Commission's annual report on government health services was released on Tuesday, presenting a picture of each state and territory's health system from 2019 to 2021.
The COVID-19 pandemic saw a drop in elective surgery across Australia, while emergency departments saw fewer presentations, the report found.
The watchdog revealed Victorian public hospitals received the lowest funding in the country, equivalent of $2687 per person in recurrent funding from 2019 to 2020.
The figure puts Victoria $284 behind the national average of $2971, with South Australia closely behind on $2730, followed by New South Wales at $2887.
South Australians are waiting the longest for paramedics to arrive, with average response times rising by 10 minutes between 2019 and 2021 to 32.8 minutes.
People living in Adelaide waited the longest for paramedics out of all capital cities, at 34.4 minutes, followed by Hobart with 27.9 minutes.
Tasmania was the worst-performing for emergency triage - with 57 per cent of presentations from 2020 to 2021 seen within the recommended time frame, compared to the national average of 71 per cent.
The ACT faired poorly in total emergency department wait times, reporting 48 per cent of patients were treated on time, followed by 58 per cent in Tasmania.
Western Australia reported the fewest available hospital beds per 1000 people, at 2.2 beds from 2019 to 2020, followed by Victoria at 2.3 beds, both below the national average of 2.5.
As for staffing, South Australia had the fewest nurses, doctors and other public health staff per 1000 people, with 12.9 in 2019-20, followed by Victoria with 14.8.
Meanwhile, Tasmanians are facing the longest delays for elective surgeries.
In 2020-21 the number of Tasmanians facing "extended waits for surgeries" was 49.5 per cent, followed by 47.3 per cent in the Northern Territory and 31.6 in Victoria.
South Australian Premier Steven Marshall said the state government made "significant investments" in ambulance services since the 2020 to 2021 financial year ended.
"We don't accept the performance that has been there in the past. We are 100 per cent committed to improving that in the future," he said.
A Victorian government spokesman said, since coming into power, $8 billion had been invested into hospital infrastructure to deliver more beds and better health services.
Health Minister Martin Foley said the government spent a "much higher amount" on community and home care than other jurisdictions.
Tasmania's Health Minister Jeremy Rockliff admitted emergency department wait times "need to be better".
"We're working very hard to improve emergency department wait times," he said.
"That's why we present monthly data, so we can keep our community informed. I've open about [elective surgery] waiting lists. They are too high but they have been improving."
