In Australia today, the International Classification of Diseases (ICD) is used to code cause of death. The modern system of disease classification in Australia began with the work of Dr William Farr, and was first used in England in 1839 (Cumpston 1989). The Farr system was modified over time, and in 1881 was completely modified by Dr William Ogle, becoming known as the Farr-Ogle system. This modified system was adopted at varying times during the 1880s by each of the Australian colonies.
The compulsory registration of the fact of death was introduced over a period of time in the various States in Australia.
- New South Wales began compulsory registration in 1857 and collection was well under way by 1860. Queensland as a province of New South Wales also commenced collection in 1857.
- In Victoria, compulsory registration began in 1853, registrations in South Australia began in 1842, Western Australia commenced compulsory collection in 1841, and Tasmania commenced collections in 1838, but information did not appear until 1869.
In 1903 Australia adopted the International Classification of Diseases (ICD) to classify causes of death. In doing so, the production of a set of internationally consistent information on causes of death commenced. The Farr-Ogle system of classification of death was phased out between 1903 and 1906 making comparisons between States difficult for this period. Consequently many of the statistical series begin in 1907 (Cumpston 1989).
Since 1906 the ICD has changed nine times with the 10th Revision being implemented in Australia from 2000. The revisions are a response to the recognition of new diseases (e.g. AIDS), increased knowledge of diseases, and changing terminology in the description of disease.
The ICD encompasses the entire range of disease and injury within chapters which are based on body systems, disease types, and external causes of injury. For example, Diseases of the Circulatory System includes Chronic Rheumatic Heart Disease and Ischaemic Heart Disease. These broad chapter level classifications of disease are further classified into specific conditions (e.g. mitral valve disorders) or specific organ parts (e.g. diseases of the pericardium) or specific infecting organisms or severity of condition (e.g. acute or chronic) where a single ICD code is related to a single disease entity.
In a clinical or epidemiological setting, many of these entities are grouped as they have similar symptoms, outcomes or risk factors. This occurs in the disease profiles used in this publication. For example ischaemic heart disease consists of four different conditions; Acute myocardial infarction, Other acute and subacute forms of ischaemic heart disease, Old myocardial infarction, and Other forms of chronic ischaemic heart disease.
In this site, 'disease' has been used as a general term to describe all causes of death. A cause of death can be a particular disease (such as ischaemic heart disease), a disorder (such as a mental disorder), or an injury (accidental or intentional).