Technical notes
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National populations
The population data used are estimated resident populations (ERPs) derived from the ABS Census of Population and Housing.
For more information, see National, state and territory population (ABS 2025a).
International Classifications of Disease and Related Health Problems
For causes of death
Australia uses the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD) to code causes of death (WHO 2019). In this report, deaths were coded using the 10th Revision (ICD-10) (Table 1).
| Chronic musculoskeletal condition | ICD–10 edition codes |
|---|---|
| Rheumatoid arthritis | M05–M06 |
| Osteoarthritis | M15–M19 |
| Back problems | M40–M43, M45–M51, M53–M54, M99 |
| Gout | M10 |
| Osteoporosis | M80–M82 |
| All musculoskeletal conditions | M00–M99 |
Source: WHO 2019.
For hospital diagnosis and related data
For hospital diagnoses and procedures, a classification modified for Australia is used. Data were coded using the ICD-10-AM classification (International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Conditions, 7th to 11th Revision, Australian Modification) (ACCD 2019a), incorporating the Australian Classification of Health Interventions (ACHI) (ACCD 2019b) (Tables 2 to 4).
| Chronic musculoskeletal condition | ICD-10-AM 7th to 11th edition codes | Definition/ description |
|---|---|---|
| Rheumatoid arthritis | M05–M06 | Rheumatoid arthritis |
| Osteoarthritis | M15 | Polyarthrosis |
| Osteoarthritis | M16 | Coxarthrosis [arthrosis of hip] |
| Osteoarthritis | M17 | Gonarthrosis [arthrosis of knee] |
| Osteoarthritis | M18 | Arthrosis of first carpometacarpal joint |
| Osteoarthritis | M19 | Other arthrosis |
| Back Problems | M40–M43 | Deforming Dorsopathies |
| Back Problems | M45–M51 | Spondylopathies/other dorsopathies |
| Back Problems | M53–M54 | Other dorsopathies |
| Back Problems | M99 | Biomechanical lesions, not elsewhere classified |
| Gout | M10 | Gout |
| Osteoporosis | M80 | Osteoporosis with pathological fracture |
| Osteoporosis | M81 | Osteoporosis without pathological fracture |
| Osteoporosis | M82 | Osteoporosis in diseases classified elsewhere |
| Fracture site | ICD-10-AM 7th to 11th edition codes | Definition/ description |
|---|---|---|
| Hip fracture | S72.0 | Fracture of neck of femur |
| Hip fracture | S72.1 | Pertrochanteric fracture |
| Hip fracture | S72.2 | Subtrochanteric fracture |
| Shoulder and upper arm fracture | S42 | Fracture of shoulder and upper arm |
| Lower leg including ankle fracture | S82 | Fracture of lower leg, including ankle |
| Lumbar spine and pelvis fracture | S32 | Fracture of lumbar spine and pelvis |
| Forearm fracture | S52 | Fracture of forearm |
| Fractures (multiple sites) | S02 | Fracture of skull and facial bones |
| Fractures (multiple sites) | S12 | Fracture of neck |
| Fractures (multiple sites) | S22 | Fracture of rib(s), sternum and thoracic spine |
| Fractures (multiple sites) | S32 | Fracture of lumbar spine and pelvis |
| Fractures (multiple sites) | S42 | Fracture of shoulder and upper arm |
| Fractures (multiple sites) | S52 | Fracture of forearm |
| Fractures (multiple sites) | S62 | Fracture at wrist and hand level |
| Fractures (multiple sites) | S72 | Fracture of femur |
| Fractures (multiple sites) | S82 | Fracture of lower leg, including ankle |
| Fractures (multiple sites) | S92 | Fracture of foot, except ankle |
| Fractures (multiple sites) | T02 | Fractures involving multiple body regions |
| Fractures (multiple sites) | T08 | Fracture of spine, level unspecified |
| Fractures (multiple sites) | T10 | Fracture of upper limb, level unspecified |
| Fractures (multiple sites) | T12 | Fracture of lower limb, level unspecified |
| External cause | ICD-10-AM 7th to 11th edition codes | Definition/ description |
|---|---|---|
| With a first external cause of: Minimal trauma falls | W00 | Fall on same level involving ice and snow |
| With a first external cause of: Minimal trauma falls | W01 | Fall on same level from slipping, tripping and stumbling |
| With a first external cause of: Minimal trauma falls | W03 | Other fall on same level due to collision with, or pushing by, another person |
| With a first external cause of: Minimal trauma falls | W04 | Fall while being carried or supported by other persons |
| With a first external cause of: Minimal trauma falls | W05–W08 | Fall involving wheelchair; bed; chair; other furniture |
| With a first external cause of: Minimal trauma falls | W18 | Other fall on same level |
| With a first external cause of: Minimal trauma falls | W19 | Unspecified fall |
| With a first external cause of: Other minimal trauma events | W22 | Striking against or struck by other objects |
| With a first external cause of: Other minimal trauma events | W50 | Hit, struck, kicked, twisted, bitten or scratched by another person |
| With a first external cause of: Other minimal trauma events | W51 | Striking against or bumped into by another person |
| With a first external cause of: Other minimal trauma events | W54.8 | Other contact with dog |
| Musculoskeletal surgery | ACHI 10th edition codes |
|---|---|
| Total knee replacement | 4951700, 4951800, 4951900, 4953401, 4952100, 4952101, 4952102, 4952103, 4952400 and 4952401 |
| Total hip replacement | 4931800 and 4931900 |
Methods
Age-standardised rates
Age-standardisation is a method of removing the influence of age when comparing populations with different age structures–ither different populations at one time or the same population at different times.
Rates are directly age-standardised in this report where possible, to enhance comparison across groups where the age structure of the population may affect interpretation.
The Australian ERP as at 30 June 2001 has been used as the standard population.
Age-standardised rates are not shown where the numerator is less than 20.
Rates that have been age-standardised are identified as such throughout the report.
Remoteness
Comparisons of regions in this report use the ABS Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS) 2021 Remoteness Structure, which groups Australian regions into 6 remoteness areas.
The 6 remoteness areas are:
- Major cities
- Inner regional
- Outer regional
- Remote
- Very remote
- Migratory.
These areas are defined using the Accessibility/ Remoteness Index for Australia (ARIA), which is a measure of the remoteness of a location from the services that large towns or cities provide.
In some instances, data for remoteness areas have been combined because of small sample sizes.
For more information on the ASGS, see the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ABS 2023a).
Socioeconomic areas
Socioeconomic classifications in this report are based on the ABS Index of Relative Socio-economic Disadvantage (IRSD). Geographic areas are assigned a score based on social and economic characteristics of that area, such as income, educational attainment, public sector housing, unemployment and jobs in low-skill occupations. The IRSD relates to the average disadvantage of all people living in a geographical area. It cannot be presumed to apply to all individuals living in the area.
For the analyses in this report, the population is divided into 5 socioeconomic groups, with roughly equal populations (each around 20% of the total), based on the level of disadvantage of the statistical local area of their usual residence. The first group includes the 20% of areas with the highest levels of relative disadvantage (referred to as Group 1, most disadvantaged), while the last group includes the 20% of areas with the lowest levels of relative disadvantage (referred to as Group 5, least disadvantaged).
The IRSD values used in this report are based on the 2021 Census.
For more information on socioeconomic areas, see Using and interpreting SEIFA (ABS 2023b).
Deriving Remoteness and Socioeconomic area statistics for 2021
The National Mortality Database includes information on people's area of usual residence prior to death. From 2022, this was at Statistical Areas Level 2 (SA2) based on the 2021 ASGS.
This location information from the National Mortality Database, along with IRSD values based on the ABS 2021 Census of Population and Housing, and estimated resident populations, have been used to derive statistics for 2021 ASGS Remoteness areas and 2021 IRSD SEIFA population-based quintiles.
For more information on SA2, see the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ABS 2023a).
Data sources
Australian Burden of Disease Database
The Australian Burden of Disease Database contains aggregate burden of disease metrics from the Australian Burden of Disease Study (ABDS) undertaken by the AIHW. This includes measures of fatal burden (years of life lost, YLL), non-fatal burden (years lived with disability, YLD) and total burden (disability-adjusted life years, DALY)
The Australian Burden of Disease Study provides estimates for over 200 diseases and injuries in Australia for 2024, 2018, 2015, 2011 and 2003.
Estimates for First Nations people are available for 2022, 2018 and 2011.
Estimates for geography, socioeconomic groups and remoteness areas are available for 2018, 2015 and 2011.
For more information, see the topic: Burden of disease.
Health Expenditure Database
The AIHW Health Expenditure Database provides a broad picture of the use of health system resources classified by disease groups and conditions.
It contains estimates of expenditure by the Australian Burden of Disease Study diseases and injuries, age group, and sex for admitted patient, emergency department and outpatient hospital services, out-of-hospital medical services, and prescription pharmaceuticals.
It does not allocate all expenditure on health goods and services by disease – for example, neither administration expenditure nor capital expenditure can be meaningfully attributed to any particular condition due to their nature.
For more information, see the topic: Health & Welfare expenditure.
Medicare Benefits Schedule
Statistics were extracted by the AIHW from the Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) claim records data in the Australian Government Department of Health Enterprise Data Warehouse or from online MBS published reports.
The MBS provides a subsidy for services listed in the MBS, for all Australian residents and certain categories of visitors to Australia. The major elements of Medicare are contained in the Health Insurance Act 1973. See details of the services covered by the MBS.
MBS items for pathology tests are subject to episode coning. Episode coning is an MBS funding arrangement that applies to general practitioners ordering more than 3 items in an episode for a non-hospitalised patient on the same day. Under the coning rule, Medicare benefits are only payable for the 3 most expensive items. The remaining items are coned out. As a result of the application of this rule, MBS data for some items will not reflect the number of tests performed for non-hospitalised patients.
Pathology services requested for hospitalised patients, or ordered by specialists, are not subject to these coning arrangements. Episode coning was introduced to prevent over servicing by doctors.
For more information, see Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) data collection.
National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Survey
The National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Survey (NATSIHS) is conducted by the ABS to obtain national information on the health of First Nations people, their use of health services and health-related aspects of their lifestyle. The most recent NATSIHS was conducted in 2022–23.
The NATSIHS collects information from First Nations people of all ages in non-remote and remote areas of Australia, including discrete First Nations communities.
For more information, see the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Survey, 2022–23 (ABS 2024).
National Health Survey
The National Health Survey (NHS) is conducted by the ABS to obtain national information on the health status of Australians, their use of health services and facilities, prevalence of long-term health conditions and health risk factors. The most recent NHS was conducted in 2022.
The NHS collects self-reported data on whether a respondent had one or more long-term health conditions; that is, conditions that lasted, or were expected to last, 6 months or more.
When interpreting data from the NHS, some limitations need to be considered:
- Data that are self-reported and as such rely on respondents knowing and providing accurate information.
- The survey does not include information from people living in nursing homes or otherwise institutionalised.
- Residents of Very remote areas and discrete First Nations communities were excluded from the survey. This is unlikely to affect national estimates, but will impact prevalence estimates by remoteness.
For more information, see the National Health Survey (ABS 2023c).
National Hospital Morbidity Database
The National Hospital Morbidity Database (NHMD) is a compilation of episode-level records from admitted patient morbidity data collection systems in Australian hospitals.
Reporting to the NHMD occurs at the end of a person’s admitted episode of care (separation or hospitalisation) and is based on the clinical documentation for that hospitalisation.
The NHMD is based on the Admitted Patient Care National Minimum Data Set (APC NMDS). It records information on admitted patient care (hospitalisations) in essentially all hospitals in Australia, and includes demographic, administrative and length-of-stay data, as well as data on the diagnoses of the patients, the procedures they underwent in hospital and external causes of injury and poisoning.
The hospital separations data do not include episodes of non-admitted patient care given in outpatient clinics or emergency departments. Patients in these settings may be admitted subsequently, with the care provided to them as admitted patients being included in the NHMD.
The following care types were excluded when undertaking the analysis:
- 7.3 (newborn – unqualified days only)
- 9 (organ procurement – posthumous)
- 10 (hospital boarder).
Further information about the NHMD, see the National Hospitals Data Collection.
AIHW National Mortality Database
The AIHW National Mortality Database (NMD) comprises information about causes of death and other characteristics of the person, such as sex, age at death, area of usual residence and Indigenous status. The cause of death data are provided to the AIHW by the Registries of Births, Deaths and Marriages and the National Coronial Information System (managed by the Victorian Department of Justice) and include cause of death coded by the ABS. The data are maintained by the AIHW in the NMD.
In the Chronic Musculoskeletal Conditions in Australia report, deaths registered in 2021 and earlier are based on the final version of cause of death data; deaths registered in 2022 are based on the revised version; and deaths registered in 2023 are based on the preliminary version. Data in the individual musculoskeletal condition reports may vary from this.
The data quality statements underpinning the AIHW National Mortality Database can be found in the following Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) publications:
- ABS quality declaration summary for Deaths, Australia (ABS 2025b).
- ABS quality declaration summary for Causes of death, Australia (ABS 2025c).
For more information, see the National Mortality Database (NMD).
National Non-admitted Patient Emergency Department Care Database
The AIHW National Non-admitted Patient Emergency Department Care Database (NNAPEDCD) is a compilation of episode-level records (including waiting times for care) for non-admitted patients registered for care in emergency departments in selected public hospitals. The database only captures information for physical presentations to emergency departments and does not include advice provided via telehealth or videoconferencing.
Patients being treated in emergency departments may be subsequently admitted, including admission in the emergency department, another hospital ward or to hospital-in-the-home. For this reason, there is an overlap in the scope of the NNAPEDCD NMDS and the Admitted Patient Care National Minimum Data Set (APC NMDS).
For more information, see the National Hospitals Data Collection.
Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme
Statistics were extracted by the AIHW from the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) records data in the Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care Enterprise Data Warehouse or from published reports.
The Australian Government subsidises the cost of a wide range of medicines through the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) and the Repatriation Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (RPBS). Claims for reimbursement for the supply of PBS- or RPBS-subsidised medicines are submitted by pharmacies through Services Australia for processing and are provided to the Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care.
Subsidies for prescription medicines are available to all Australian residents who hold a current Medicare card, and overseas visitors from countries with which Australia has a Reciprocal Health Care Agreement. In general, patients pay a contribution to the cost of the medicine (co-payment), and the Australian Government covers the remaining cost. This remaining cost is referred to as the benefit paid.
PBS data are from records of prescriptions dispensed under the PBS and RPBS, where either:
- the Australian Government paid a subsidy
- the prescription was dispensed at a price less than the relevant patient co-payment (under co-payment prescriptions) and did not attract a subsidy.
PBS data cover all PBS prescriptions dispensed by approved suppliers, including community pharmacies, public and private hospital pharmacies and dispensing doctors.
For more information, see Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) data collection.
ABS (Australian Bureau of Statistics) (2025a) National, state and territory population, ABS website, accessed 12 June 2026.
ABS (2025b) Deaths, Australia methodology, ABS website, accessed 12 June 2026.
ABS (2025c) Causes of Death, Australia methodology, ABS website, accessed 12 June 2026.
ABS (2024) National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Survey, ABS website, accessed 12 June 2026.
ABS (2023a) Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS), ABS website, accessed 12 June 2026.
ABS (2023b) Using and interpreting SEIFA, Latest release, Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas (SEIFA): Technical Paper, ABS website, accessed 5 March 2024.
ABS (2023c) National Health Survey 2022, ABS website, accessed 1 February 2024.
ACCD (Australian Consortium for Classification Development) (2019a) International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, 10th Revision, Australian Modification (ICD-10-AM) – 11th edition, tabular list of diseases and alphabetic index of diseases, Adelaide: Independent Hospital Pricing Authority.
ACCD (2019b) Australian Classification of Health Interventions (ACHI) – 11th edition, tabular list of interventions, and alphabetic index of interventions, Adelaide: Independent Hospital Pricing Authority.
WHO (World Health Organization) (2019) International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, 10th Revision (ICD-10), Geneva: WHO.