Overview

Injury is a major contributor to mortality, morbidity and permanent disability in Australia—almost half a million people are hospitalised each year as a result of injury, and a further 12,000 people die.

Most injuries requiring hospitalisation are the result of falls and transport accidents, while most deaths from injuries occur as a result of falls and suicide. 

More reports and statistics on injury can be found under Hospitals and Life expectancy & deaths.

Latest findings

Males aged 15–24 had the highest rate of hospitalisation due to non-fatal road crashes Just over 60% of all hospitalised assault injuries were caused by bodily force (an unarmed brawl or fight) Over two-thirds (64%) of all assault cases for men and boys are attributable to perpetrators known to the victim In 2014–15 over 36,000 people were admitted to hospital due to non-fatal injuries sustained in road crashes Over 14,000 people were hospitalised after being injured in off-road crashes Nearly 13,000 men and boys were hospitalised due to assault in 2014–15, over half (54%) were aged between 15 and 39 Fractures were the most common type of injury (40%) and most hospitalised assault injuries (94%) were to the upper body

Featured reports

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Highlights

The number of hospitalisationsdue to injury has steadily increased each year over the past decade and now exceeds 460,000
Malesaccount for nearly 60% of all hospitalisations due to injury, and a similar proportion of all injury deaths
Most hospitalisationsdue to injury occur in the 65+ age group for females, while for males, the majority occur in the 25–44 age group
Indigenous Australiansare twice as likely as other Australians to be seriously injured, and also twice as likely to die of an injury
40%of injuries requiring hospitalisation are due to falls, and transport accidents account for around 13%
12,000deaths a year are due to injury—8% of all deaths
Femalesare more likely to be hospitalised for injuries due to intentional self-harm than males; males are more likely to die as a result of suicide
Where you livecan affect your chances of serious injury or death from injury, with highest rates of injury among people in remote areas