Appendix A: Data sources
Data used in this report are derived from multiple sources and are summarised in the table below.
Data used to monitor BreastScreen | Data source |
|---|---|
Performance Indicator 1 Participation | State and territory BreastScreen registers; ABS population data |
Performance Indicator 2 Rescreening | State and territory BreastScreen registers |
Performance Indicator 3 Recall to assessment | State and territory BreastScreen registers |
Performance Indicator 4 Invasive breast cancer detection | State and territory BreastScreen registers |
Performance Indicator 5 DCIS detection | State and territory BreastScreen registers |
Performance Indicator 6 Sensitivity | State and territory BreastScreen registers |
Performance Indicator 7 Incidence | AIHW Australian Cancer Database; ABS population data |
Performance Indicator 8 Mortality | AIHW National Mortality Database; ABS population data |
State and territory BreastScreen registers
Data for the performance indicators Participation, Rescreening, Recall to assessment, Invasive breast cancer detection, DCIS detection, and Sensitivity are sourced from the BreastScreen register in each state and territory according to definitions and data specifications in the BreastScreen Australia data dictionary version 1.3. These data are compiled into national figures by the AIHW to allow national monitoring of BreastScreen Australia.
The Data Quality Statement for BreastScreen Australia data can be found on the AIHW website at:
BreastScreen Australia data 2022–2023; Quality Statement (final data for 2022–2023)
BreastScreen Australia data 2023–2024; Quality Statement (preliminary data for 2023–2024)
AIHW Australian Cancer Database
All forms of cancer, except basal and squamous cell carcinomas of the skin, are notifiable diseases in each Australian state and territory. Legislation in each jurisdiction requires hospitals, pathology laboratories, and various other institutions to report all cases of cancer to their central cancer registry. An agreed subset of the data collected by these registries is supplied annually to the AIHW, where it is compiled into the Australian Cancer Database (ACD). The ACD used in this report currently contains data on all cases of cancer diagnosed from 1982 to 2020 for all states and territories.
Cancer reporting and registration is a dynamic process, and records in the state and territory cancer registries may be modified if new information is received. As a result, the number of cancer cases reported by the AIHW for any particular year may change slightly over time and may not always align with state and territory reporting for that same year.
The latest Data Quality Statement for the 2021 ACD can be found on the AIHW website at Australian Cancer Database, 2020; Quality Statement.
National Death Index
The National Death Index is a database, housed at the AIHW, which contains records of all deaths occurring in Australia since 1980. The data are obtained from the registrars of Births, Deaths and Marriages in each state and territory. The National Death Index is designed to facilitate the conduct of epidemiological studies and its use is strictly confined to medical research.
Cancer incidence records from the ACD were linked to the National Death Index and used to calculate the survival and prevalence data presented in this report.
The Data Quality Statement for the National Death Index can be found at National Death Index (NDI), Data Quality Statement.
National Mortality Database
The AIHW NMD contains information supplied by the registrars of Births, Deaths and Marriages and the National Coronial Information System – and coded by the ABS – for deaths from 1964 to 2023. Registration of deaths is the responsibility of the Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages in each state and territory. These data are then collated and coded by the ABS and maintained at the AIHW in the NMD.
In the NMD, both the year in which the death occurred and the year in which it was registered are provided. For the purposes of this report, actual mortality data are shown based on the year the death occurred, except for the most recent year (2023), where the number of people whose death was registered is used. Previous investigation has shown that the year of death and its registration coincide for the most part. However, in some instances, deaths at the end of each calendar year may not be registered until the following year. Thus, year of death information for the latest available year is generally an underestimate of the actual number of deaths that occurred in that year.
In this report, deaths registered in 2020 and earlier are based on the final version of cause of death data; deaths registered in 2021 are based on the revised version; and deaths registered in 2022 and 2023 are based on preliminary versions. Revised and preliminary versions are subject to further revision by the ABS.
The 2024–2025 estimates for mortality were based on deaths from the 2014–2023 NMD and were derived using a combination of ABS estimated resident populations and Centre for Population projections, as described in the technical notes of Cancer data in Australia.
The data quality statements underpinning the AIHW NMD can be found on the following ABS internet pages:
- ABS quality declaration summary for Deaths, Australia
- ABS quality declaration summary for Causes of death, Australia
For more information on the AIHW NMD, see Deaths data.
Deaths in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples
The ABS Death Registrations collection identifies a death as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander where the deceased is recorded as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander on the Death Registration Form. Since 2007, the Indigenous status of the deceased has also been derived from the Medical Certificate of Cause of Death for South Australia, Western Australia, Tasmania, the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory. For New South Wales and Victoria, the Indigenous status of the deceased is derived from the Death Registration Form only. If the Indigenous status reported in this form does not agree with that in the Medical Certificate of Cause of Death, an identification from either source that the deceased was Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander is given preference over identifying them as non‑Indigenous.
Population data
Throughout this report, population data were used to derive rates of participation in breast cancer screening, breast cancer incidence and mortality rates. The population data were sourced from the ABS using the most up-to-date estimates available at the time of analysis.
To derive its estimates of the resident populations, the ABS uses the 5-yearly Census of Population and Housing data and adjusts them as follows:
- all respondents in the Census are placed in their state or territory, statistical area and postcode of usual residence; overseas visitors are excluded
- an adjustment is made for people missed in the Census
- Australians temporarily overseas on Census night are added to the usual residence Census count.
Estimated resident populations are then updated each year from the Census data, using indicators of population change, such as births, deaths and net migration. More information is available from the ABS website.
The projected incidence and mortality rates cited for 2024 in this report will sometimes differ from the rates that would occur if the Centre for Population data were used to calculate rates.
For the Indigenous Australians incidence and mortality comparisons in this report, the most recently released ABS Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander estimated resident populations (based on the 2021 Census of Population and Housing) were used.