Technical notes
In order to provide a more complete picture of dementia in Australia, data presented in this report are sourced from a range of data collections from several organisations, including:
- Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW)
- Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS)
- Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care
- Dementia Australia
- Dementia Support Australia.
The latest data have been used wherever possible. Data are subject to change due to: the nature and timing of the data collection; a regular program of updates and maintenance; and newly discovered errors or anomalies. Revisions and changes in coverage should be considered when interpreting changes over time.
A summary of the main data sources used in this report are included in Table 1 below. For more detailed information, see Data sources.
For information on the methodologies used to derive estimates (for example, dementia prevalence or health and aged care expenditure) and other statistics presented in this report, see Methods. It is important to note that differences between data collections and methodological approaches may influence the comparability of estimates across data sources within this report, as well as with other published information not estimated by AIHW. Where relevant these considerations have been noted within the report.
In this report, numbers are generally rounded to the nearest 10,100 or 1,000 in text. Percentages and rates are generally rounded to whole numbers, except for numbers less than 10 which are rounded to 1 decimal place. For unrounded numbers, refer to the Supplementary data tables.
For definitions of technical concepts used throughout this report, see Glossary.
| Source | Data source | Main source year | Frequency of updates | Description | Section/s where data was used |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australian Institute of Health and Welfare | Australian Burden of Disease Study | 2023 (national estimates) 2018 (small area and First Nations people estimates) | Ad hoc | Data on the fatal, non-fatal and total burden of disease in Australia. | Burden of disease due to dementia Burden of disease due to dementia among First Nations people |
| Australian Institute of Health and Welfare | Disease Expenditure Database | 2020–21 | Ad hoc | Data on government expenditure on disease estimated using multiple data sources. | Health and aged care expenditure on dementia |
| Australian Institute of Health and Welfare | National Aged Care Data Clearinghouse | Various | Various | A central repository of national aged care data from various sources, mostly related to government-subsidised aged care programs operating under the Aged Care Act 1997. In this report data on the National Screening and Assessment Form and the Aged Care Funding Instrument are presented. | Aged care and support services used by people with dementia Behaviours and psychological symptoms of dementia Dementia among people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds Aged care and support services available to people with younger onset dementia |
| Australian Institute of Health and Welfare | National Hospital Morbidity Database | 2022–23 | Annual | Episode-level records from admitted patient morbidity data collection systems in Australian hospitals (public and private). The data set for the reference period 2022–23 includes records for admitted patient separations between 1 July 2022 and 30 June 2023. | Hospitalisations due to dementia |
| Australian Institute of Health and Welfare | National Health Data Hub (NHDH) (previously referred to as the National Integrated Health Services Information (NIHSI) analytical asset) | 2020–21 | Annual | NIHSI contains linked data from 2010–11 to 2020–21 on:
| |
| Australian Institute of Health and Welfare | National Mortality Database | 2022 | Annual | Data on records for deaths in Australia from 1964. | Dying due to dementia compared to dying with dementia Population health impacts of dementia among First Nations people |
| Australian Institute of Health and Welfare | Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme/ Repatriation Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme | 2022–23 | Daily | Data on medications prescribed and prescriptions dispensed under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme and Repatriation Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. | Prescriptions for dementia-specific medications Health services used by people with younger onset dementia |
| Australian Bureau of Statistics | Estimated Resident Population | Various | Yearly | ABS estimates of the usual resident population of Australia. | Prevalence of dementia Dementia among people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds |
| Australian Bureau of Statistics | 2021 Census | 2021 | Every five years | Census data tells us about the economic, social and cultural make-up of the country. | Dementia among people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds |
| Australian Bureau of Statistics | Survey of Disability Ageing and Carers | 2018 | Every 3–4 years | Detailed information on a sample of people who either; have a disability that restricts every-day activities, are aged 65 or over or are people who care for individuals with a disability, long-term health condition(s) (including dementia) or older people. | Carers and care needs of people with dementia Dementia among people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds |
| Dementia Australia | National Dementia Helpline administrative data | 2022–23 | Ad hoc | Data on contacts to the National Dementia Helpline. Further information on these data is not available. | National Dementia Support Program and Dementia Friendly Communities |
| Dementia Support Australia | Dementia Behaviour Management Advisory Service and Severe Behaviour Response Teams administrative data | 2023 | Ad hoc | Data on cases supported by the Dementia Behaviour Management Advisory Service and Severe Behaviour Response Teams. |