Deaths involving alcohol and other drugs

Introduction

Each life lost to alcohol and other drug use is a tragedy with profound and lasting impacts on family, friends and communities. Although these deaths arise from a range of complex and often intersecting factors, they can be prevented. By monitoring these deaths, we can help identify risk factors and points where services could intervene to provide support and prevent further harm. This page focuses on the characteristics of people who have died due to alcohol and other drugs, and factors that contributed to their death. 

What data sources are available?

Data on drug-induced deaths are released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) annually, using information from the Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages in each state and territory, and the National Coronial Information System for deaths certified by a coroner. Causes of death are coded by the ABS to the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD). 

Additional analysis is undertaken by the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre (NDARC) and Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) and released the following year. For this reason, the latest year of data reported here will sometimes vary. The number of deaths reported across each data source may differ due to variations in data collection purpose, scope, and terminology.

For detailed information about each data source, see Technical notes.

Deaths involving alcohol 

Alcohol continues to account for a higher number of deaths than any other drug type and deaths involving alcohol have risen over the last decade. 

Preliminary data on alcohol-induced deaths from Causes of Death, Australia show that there were 1,765 alcohol-induced deaths in 2024, a rate of 5.9 per 100,000 population after adjusting for differences in age structure (ABS 2025a, Table 13.11). The number and rate of alcohol-induced deaths have risen over the past decade, from 1,362 deaths in 2015 (5.2 per 100,000 people) (ABS 2025a, Table 13.11). Consistent with previous years, most alcohol-induced deaths (90% or 1,585 deaths) in 2024 were due to chronic conditions such as liver cirrhosis, as opposed to the acute effects of alcohol (ABS 2025a, Table S13.16).

AIHW analysis of data from the National Mortality Database (NMD) indicate that there were 2.9 times as many alcohol-related deaths as alcohol-induced deaths in 2024 (5,031 and 1,765 deaths, respectively) (Table NMD4). Consistent with the ABS analysis, most alcohol-induced deaths related to chronic conditions (Figure 1).

Who is most likely to be involved in alcohol-induced deaths?

The ABS preliminary data on causes of death show that in 2024:

• most alcohol-induced deaths occurred among males (1,311 of the total 1,765 alcohol-induced deaths), consistent with previous years (ABS 2025a, Table S13.11) 
• the median age at death was 58.4 years (ABS 2025a, Table 13.15).

AIHW analysis of the NMD showed that, in 2024, chronic alcohol-induced deaths (representing 90% of all alcohol-induced deaths) were highest in the oldest age groups. The number of deaths was highest for those aged 65 and over (523 deaths) and 55–64 (468 deaths), while the age-specific rate of death was highest for those aged 55–64 (15.3 per 100,000 population) and 45–54 (11.6 per 100,000 population) (Table NMD6, Figure 2).

Drug-induced deaths (excluding alcohol)

Preliminary data on drug-induced deaths from AIHW analysis of the NMD indicate that there were 1,948 drug-induced deaths across Australia in 2024 (Table NMD4). Data from Causes of Death, Australia indicate that the rate of drug-induced deaths has decreased since 2017 (from 8.2 to 7.1 deaths per 100,000 population), though estimates for 2023 and 2024 are expected to rise following standard revision processes (ABS 2025a, Table 13.1).

AIHW analysis of data from the NMD indicate that there were 2.0 times as many drug-related deaths as drug-induced deaths in 2024 (3,869 and 1,948 deaths, respectively). This ratio has remained relatively stable since 2020, when there were 2.1 times as many drug-related as drug-induced deaths (4,172 and 1,967 deaths), but has risen from 1.2 times as many in 1997 (1,578 and 1,322 deaths) (Table NMD4). The long-term increase in the ratio may be due to a range of factors including changes to coding and administrative processes that capture information about drugs in deaths, as well as shifts in drug consumption patterns over time.

Most drug-induced deaths are accidental and arise from the acute effects of drug use (including overdose), often occurring at home: 

• In 2024, just over 7 in 10 drug-induced deaths (71% or 1,377 deaths) were accidental and around 1 in 5 (21% or 402) were intentional (ABS 2025a, Tables 13.3–13.4). 
• In 2023, 3 in 4 overdose deaths (75% or 1,324 deaths) occurred at home, consistent with previous years (Chrzanowska et al. 2025).
• The majority of drug-induced deaths in 2024 (97% or 1,883) were due to the acute effects of drugs, while 3.3% (65 deaths) were due to the chronic effects of drugs (including drug-induced cardiac conditions) (Table NMD4, Figure 1).

Who is most likely to be involved in drug-induced deaths?

The ABS preliminary data on causes of death show that, among all drug-induced deaths in 2024: 

• 2 in 3 deaths occurred among males (66% or 1,292 deaths), compared with around 1 in 3 deaths for females (34% or 655 deaths) (ABS 2025a, Table 13.1). 
• the median age at death was 47.4 years (ABS 2025a, Table 13.9).

NDARC analysis of preliminary revised death rates showed that, in 2023, the rate of drug-induced deaths (excluding alcohol) was: 

• almost twice as high for males (8.7 deaths per 100,000 population) as females (4.4 per 100,000), consistent with previous years
• highest for people aged 45–54 (14 per 100,000 population). This has changed since the early 2000s, when the rate of deaths was highest for people aged 25–34 (Chrzanowska et al. 2025).

For the first time in 2024, the ABS introduced occupation coding for coroner referred deaths using the Occupation Standard Classification for Australia (OSCA) (ABS 2025b). Around 2 in 3 (68%) of all coroner referred drug-induced deaths in 2023 and 2024 were coded to OSCA. 

Of the people who experienced these drug-induced deaths:

• 18% were Technicians and Trades Workers (25% for males and 5.0% for females)
• 13% were Professionals (9.7% for males and 18% for females)
• 10% were Labourers (14% for males and 3.6% for females) (ABS 2025b).

Drug-induced deaths by drug involvement

The ABS preliminary causes of death data indicate that almost 2 in 3 drug-induced deaths in 2024 involved multiple drugs (62% or 1,169 deaths) (ABS 2025a, Table 13.10). Females were more likely than males to have multiple drugs present at death (66% and 60%, respectively), and over 1 in 5 females had 5 or more drugs present at death (21%, compared with 14.4% for males) (ABS 2025a, Table 13.10).

Benzodiazepines and opioids have remained the largest contributors to drug-induced deaths for the past 2 decades (Table NMD2, Figure 3). Benzodiazepines are considered a single drug type, while opioids include a number of drug types such as natural and semi-synthetic opioids including heroin, opiate based analgesics (such as codeine, oxycodone and morphine) and synthetic opioid prescriptions (such as tramadol and fentanyl).

AIHW analysis of preliminary data from the NMD showed that in 2024:

• Opioids were present in over half (53% or 1,025) of drug-induced deaths, an age-standardised rate of 3.8 per 100,000 population. Most opioid-related deaths (80% or 819 deaths) were considered accidental (tables NMD2 and NMD11).
• Benzodiazepines were present in around 1 in 3 (34% or 654) drug-induced deaths, an age-standardised rate of 2.4 per 100,000 population. Benzodiazepine-related deaths have been decreasing since 2018 (Table NMD2).
• Other drug classes commonly identified in drug-induced deaths included depressants (42% or 827 deaths) and psychostimulants (37% or 714 deaths) (Table NMD2, Figure 2).

Over the past decade, the rate of opioid-induced deaths has been consistently higher for pharmaceutical drugs (including natural and semi-synthetic opioids such as oxycodone, codeine and morphine) than illegal opioids (primarily heroin). However, preliminary mortality data indicate that there has been a recent change in the main type of opioid identified in drug-induced deaths. AIHW analysis of the NMD indicate that:

• The rate of opioid-induced deaths has typically been highest for natural and semi-synthetic opioids since the early 2000s, but this rate has steadily declined between 2017 and 2024 (from 2.6 to 1.2 deaths per 100,000 population).
• Conversely, the rate of heroin-induced deaths has increased between 2012 and 2024 (from 0.8 to 1.9 deaths per 100,000 population) (Table NMD2). 

These differing trends resulted in a higher rate of drug-induced deaths involving heroin than natural and semi-synthetic opioids in 2024 (Table NMD2, Figure 2). 

Psychosocial risk factors in drug-induced deaths

In 2024, at least one psychosocial risk factor was recorded in 45% of drug-induced deaths. For intentional drug-induced deaths, this proportion was 74% (Table NMD9).

Personal history of self-harm continued to be the most commonly identified risk factor (12%), followed by disruption of family by separation and divorce (5.6%) and problems related to other legal circumstances (5.5%) (Table NMD10, Figure 3).

There were some notable differences when examined by intent, age group, and sex:

• Limitation of activities due to disability was ranked the 7th most common psychosocial risk factor for all drug-induced deaths, but was the second most common risk factor identified in intentional deaths.
• Limitation of activities due to disability was the most common risk factor for people aged 65 years and older.
• Problems related to other legal circumstances was the second most common risk factor for males, while for females it was problems in relationship with spouse or partner (tables NMD10–NMD13).

Mental and behavioural disorders in drug-induced deaths

Over half (54%) of drug-induced deaths in 2024 listed mental and behavioural disorders due to psychoactive substance use and over 1 in 4 (26%) listed mood disorders as an associated cause of death (Table NMD10). Among all drug-induced deaths:

• Mental and behavioural disorders due to psychoactive substance use were mentioned 1,754 times, with the most common mention being for mental and behavioural disorders due to the use of alcohol (20% or 346 mentions).
• There were 454 mentions of depressive episodes and 92 mentions of bipolar affective disorders (Table NMD14).

Do deaths involving alcohol and other drugs vary by geographic area?

Rates of alcohol- and drug-induced deaths are consistently higher among people living in the most disadvantaged areas of Australia. Rates of death also vary by remoteness area, typically being higher in regional areas. 

Detailed information on deaths involving alcohol and other drugs by geographic areas is available in State and territory data, Remoteness areas and Socioeconomic areas.

Deaths among people receiving alcohol and other drug treatment

People receiving specialist alcohol and other drug treatment services (AODTS) are vulnerable to premature death (AIHW 2026a, AIHW 2026b). The AIHW has released several feature reports on different cohorts of AODTS clients who have died. These include clients who received specialist AOD treatment and died at any time between 2012 and 2023, AODTS clients who died within 12 months of their last treatment, and clients who received specialist AOD treatment and/or specialist homelessness services (SHS) and died. These reports provide insights into the context and scale of mortality among people with a history of publicly funded, specialist AOD treatment and how these people move across health and welfare systems.

People who received specialist Alcohol and Other Drug Treatment Services in their last year of life

Around 15,400 people received alcohol and other drug treatment services in their last year of life between 1 July 2012 and 30 June 2023 (AIHW 2025). The age-standardised death rate of these people was 3.3 times higher than for the non-AODTS population in 2022–23, with the annual number of deaths rising from 1,142 in 2013–14 to 1,678 in 2022–23. Similarly, the age-standardised rate of death has also increased from 1,660 to 1,909 per 100,000 people over the same time period.

Between 1 July 2012 and 30 June 2023:

• There were more male client deaths (around 11,000) than females (around 4,400).
• Almost 1 in 2 deaths (44% or around 6,700) were people aged 30–49 years and more than 1 in 3 deaths (37% or around 5,800) were people aged 50–69 years.
• Accidental poisoning (20% of deaths), suicide (15%) and liver disease (15%) were the most common underlying causes of death, together accounting for almost half of all deaths across the period.
• Among people who received treatment for their own alcohol and other drug use and died (just over 15,200 people), almost 1 in 2 (49%) deaths were people treated for alcohol only throughout their treatment history (AIHW 2025).

People with a history of specialist alcohol and other drug treatment services who have died

Between 1 July 2012 to 30 June 2023, about 37,700 people aged 10 and over with a history of specialist alcohol and other drug (AOD) treatment services for their own drug use died. Among this population, mortality was almost 4 times as high as the expected mortality of the general Australian population (AIHW 2026b). Among this population who died:

• Around 27,200 were males (72%) and 10,500 (28%) were females.
• Nearly half (47%) were aged 40–59 at the time of death.
• Accidental poisoning (16%), suicide (12%) and liver disease (12%) were the top 3 underlying causes of death.
• Half (50% or over 18,900 people) had received treatment for alcohol only.
• The average number of potential years of life lost per death was 26 years.
• 3 in 5 deaths were from potentially avoidable causes, accounting for 1 in every 13 potentially avoidable deaths across the study period (AIHW 2026b).

The report also examined psychosocial factors among this population. ‘Policing and justice’ (for example imprisonment or other legal circumstances) was the most mentioned psychosocial factor in accidental poisoning deaths, while ‘personal history of self-harm’ (for example suicidal and non-suicidal deliberate self-injury) was the most common among deaths by suicide (AIHW 2026b).

People who received specialist homelessness services and alcohol and other drug treatment services who have died

Between 1 July 2012 and 30 June 2023, around 11,800 people aged 10 and over who received both specialist homelessness services (SHS) and specialist AOD treatment died. Among these people, around 2 in 3 (68%) were male and around 2 in 5 (37%) had been treated for alcohol only throughout their treatment history (AIHW 2026a). In addition, over this period:

• The crude mortality rate among SHS and AODTS clients was 64 deaths per 10,000 person years; higher than SHS-only clients (39) but lower than AODTS-only clients (79).
• The median age at death among people who received both SHS and AODTS (46 years) was younger than AODTS-only clients (54 years) and SHS-only clients (60 years).
• Accidental poisoning accounted for a quarter (25%) of deaths among SHS and AODTS clients aged 18–64; higher than AODTS-only clients (16%) and SHS-only clients (9.1%) aged 18–64 (AIHW 2026a).

In 2022–23, over 3 in 5 (63%) deaths among SHS and AODTS clients were potentially avoidable; higher than among AODTS-only clients (54%), SHS-only clients (55%) and non-SHS or AODTS clients (46%) (AIHW 2026a).

Where do I go for more information?

• Causes of Death, Australia
• Trends in overdose and other drug-induced deaths
• Alcohol and other drug use - feature analysis