Chronic respiratory conditions:
National asthma indicators
Web article
Last updated:
Citation
AIHW (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare) (2026) National asthma indicators, AIHW, Australian Government, accessed 6 June 2026.
This article is part of Chronic respiratory conditions
Asthma
- Asthma
- First Nations people with asthma 2023
- National asthma indicators This page
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
Bronchiectasis
Allergic rhinitis
Indicator update
Progressing well
- Asthma-related hospitalisations decreased from 157 per 100,000 hospitalisations in 2017–18 to 119 per 100,000 hospitalisations in 2023–24.
- Asthma-related emergency department presentations decreased from 285 per 100,000 presentations in 2017–18 to 220 per 100,000 presentations in 2024–25.
Areas for improvement
- Deaths due to asthma in people aged 35–54 increased from 1.0 deaths per 100,000 population in 2017 to 1.1 deaths per 100,000 population in 2023.
- For people who were dispensed preventers, those considered to have good adherence to their preventer medication decreased from 33% in 2017–18 to 31% in 2022–23.
Overview
The 10 National asthma indicators were published in the National Asthma Strategy 2018 (Strategy) (NACA 2018). These indicators provide information for policymakers about the status of asthma in Australia. Development of the Strategy was led by the National Asthma Council Australia, in partnership with Asthma Australia and with funding from the Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing.
The Strategy aims to reduce the health, social and economic impacts of asthma with a targeted and comprehensive approach to optimise asthma diagnosis and management through 5 high-level objectives with potential areas for action:
- support effective self-management practices
- develop the health professional workforce
- enhance asthma care and management
- create supportive community environments
- promote research, evidence and data.
For the February 2026 release, indicators using the AIHW National Hospital Morbidity Database (NHMD), the National Non-Admitted Patient Emergency Department Care Database (NAPEDC), the National Mortality Database (NMD) and the AIHW Disease Expenditure database have been updated.
For more information on each indicator, select the indicator links in the following Indicator summary table.
# | Indicator | Outcome measure | Baseline value* | Latest value | Progress status | Last updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | The proportion of people estimated to be living with current and long-term asthma | Reduced prevalence of asthma | 11% of people in Australia in 2017–18 | 11% of people in Australia in 2022 | No change
| 27 November 2024 |
2 | Reduced asthma-related deaths | 1.9 deaths per 100,000 population for all ages in 2017 | 1.8 deaths per 100,000 population for all ages in 2023 | Progress
| 18 February 2026 | |
3a | Reduced asthma-related deaths | 0.3 deaths per 100,000 population for people aged 5–34 in 2017 | 0.2 deaths per 100,000 population for people aged 5–34 in 2023 | Progress
| 18 February 2026 | |
3b | Reduced asthma-related deaths | 1.0 deaths per 100,000 population for people aged 35–54 in 2017 | 1.1 deaths per 100,000 population people aged 35–54 in 2023 | Regress
| 18 February 2026 | |
3c | Reduced asthma-related deaths | 5.6 per 100,000 population for people aged 55 and over, in 2017 | 5.0 per 100,000 population for people aged 55 and over, in 2023 | Progress
| 18 February 2026 | |
4a | Reduced asthma-related hospitalisations | 172 hospitalisations per 100,000 due to asthma in 2016–17 | 119 hospitalisations per 100,000 due to asthma in 2023–24 | Progress
| 18 February 2026 | |
4b | Reduced asthma-related hospitalisations | 285 per 100,000 ED presentations in 2018–19 due to asthma | 220 per 100,000 ED presentations in 2024–25 due to asthma | Progress
| 18 February 2026 | |
5 | Decrease in suboptimal asthma control(a) | 29% of people considered to have poor asthma control in 2017–18 | 27% of people considered to have poor asthma control in 2022–23 | Progress
| 27 November 2024 | |
6 | Increase in annual General Practitioner (GP) reviews of people with asthma(b) | 0.3% of people in Australia claimed in 2017–18 | 0.1% of people in Australia claimed in 2021–22 | Regress
| 30 June 2023 | |
7 | Increase in asthma action plan uptake for both adults and children | 31% of people with asthma had a plan in 2017–18 | 32% of people with asthma had a plan in 2022 | No change
| 27 November 2024 | |
8a | Impact of asthma on quality of life (interference in daily activities) | Improved quality of life among people with asthma | 23% of people with asthma reported that asthma interfered with their daily activities 2 or more times in the past 4 weeks in 2017–18 | 19% of people with asthma reported that asthma interfered with their daily activities 2 or more times in the past 4 weeks in 2022 | Progress
| 27 November 2024 |
8b | Impact of asthma on quality of life (psychological distress) | Improved quality of life among people with asthma | 11% of people with asthma reported experiencing very high levels of psychological distress in 2017–18 | 8.8% of people with asthma reported experiencing very high levels of psychological distress in 2022 | No change
| 27 November 2024 |
8c | Improved quality of life among people with asthma | 7.6% of people with asthma reported poor health in 2017–18 | 9.4% of people with asthma reported poor health in 2022 | No change
| 27 November 2024 | |
9a | Improved adherence with appropriate preventer medicines | 33% of people considered to have good adherence to preventer medication in 2017–18 | 31% of people considered to have good adherence to preventer medication in 2022–23 | Regress
| 27 November 2024 | |
9b | Improved adherence with appropriate biologic therapies | 72% of people considered to have good adherence to biologics in 2018–19 | 70% of people considered to have good adherence to biologics in 2022–23 | Regress
| 27 November 2024 | |
10 | Reduced costs of asthma to patients, the health-care system and government, including indirect costs such as reduced productivity | $817.9 million (unadjusted for inflation) in 2015–16 (c) | $1.3 billion in 2023–24 | Regress
| 18 February 2026 |
* Baseline data was included in the 2019 Indicator report. Full indicator text is included in the Asthma web pages at links provided in the table above.
- This indicator now includes budesonide-formoterol inhalers 50–200mcg (ATC5 codes: R03AK07 & R03AK08), which can be used as both a preventer and reliever medicine. Data have been updated for both baseline and latest values.
- As of 1 November 2022, the asthma cycle of care items were removed from the MBS.
- Disease expenditure estimates in the latest report are not directly comparable to estimates in previous reports due to changes to data and methods. Therefore, the baseline estimate has been updated to allow comparability.
Progress | Regress | No change | Data not comparable |
|---|---|---|---|
Used where there is sufficient evidence of improvement in the indicator across 2 or more data points, and is moving in the direction the Strategy wants to see. This is determined based on considering the following factors: statistically significant change, quality and reliability of the data sources used and the magnitude of the observed difference. Further monitoring is required to see if progress is sustained. | Used where there is sufficient evidence of regression in the indicator across 2 or more data points, and the indicator is not moving in the direction the Strategy wants to see. This is determined based on considering the following factors: statistically significant change, quality and reliability of the data sources used and the magnitude of the observed difference. Further monitoring is required to see if outcome measures set out in the Strategy can be achieved. | Used where there is insufficient evidence of change across 2 or more data points, and the latest data is similar to the baseline value. This can occur even if the comparison change is large. This is determined based on considering the following factors: statistically significant change, quality and reliability of the data sources used and the magnitude of the observed difference. Further monitoring is required to see if outcome measures set out in the Strategy can be achieved. | Used where data are not comparable over time. |
Indicator definitions
Prevalence of asthma
1. The proportion of the Australian population who are estimated to be living with current and long-term asthma.
Deaths due to asthma
2. The number of deaths (all ages) due to asthma per 100,000 population (underlying cause of death).
3a, 3b, 3c. The number of deaths (for those aged 5–34, 35–55 and 55 and over) due to asthma, per 100,000 population (underlying cause of death).
Asthma hospitalisations
4a. The number of hospital admissions where asthma was the principal diagnosis, per 100,000 population.
Emergency department presentations for asthma
4b. The number of emergency department presentations where asthma was the principal diagnosis, per 100,000 population.
Asthma control medication use
5. The proportion of people, aged 40 and under, who were dispensed SABA relievers 3 or more times, within the financial year.
Asthma cycle of care claims
6. The proportion of people who claimed the completion of the asthma cycle of care service.
Asthma action plans
7. The proportion of people estimated to be living with asthma who have a written asthma action plan.
Impact of asthma on quality of life
8a, 8b, 8c. Selected measures relevant to quality of life for people aged 18 and over with asthma:
- number of times asthma interfered with daily activities in the last 4 weeks
- level of psychological distress experienced in the last 4 weeks
- self-assessed health status.
Preventer medication use for asthma
9a. The proportion of people, aged 50 and under, who were dispensed preventer medicines 3 or more times, within the financial year.
Biologic therapies for asthma control
9b. The proportion of people, aged 50 and under, who were dispensed biologic medicines 6 or more times, within the financial year.
Annual health expenditure on asthma
10. Annual health expenditure on asthma (unadjusted for inflation).