Eye health measures for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people 2025: interactive data

The number of hospitalisations for diseases of the eye, per 1,000 First Nations people: Measure 3.1

Hospitalisations reflect both the occurrence in the population of eye conditions which are serious enough to require hospitalisation, as well as access to and use of hospitals services (Figure 28 and Figure 29).

Latest data

In the 2-year period 2022–24, there were 15,461 hospitalisations of First Nations people for diseases of the eye – a crude rate of 7.6 per 1,000 population.  (Figure 28).

In 2022–24, for First Nations people, the most common principal diagnosis for hospitalisations for diseases of the eye was disorders of the lens (9,329 hospitalisations or 4.6 per 1,000). This was followed by disorders of the choroid and retina (2,267 hospitalisations or 1.1 per 1,000); disorders of the eyelid, lacrimal system and orbit (0.5 per 1,000); and disorders of the conjunctiva (0.4 per 1,000) (Figure 28).

By remoteness

In 2022–24, age-standardised hospitalisation rates for eye diseases increased with remoteness. Remote and very remote areas (combined) had the highest hospitalisation rate for First Nations people was (14.4 per 1,000) (Figure 29 – remoteness).

By jurisdiction

In 2022–24, the jurisdictions with the highest age-standardised hospitalisation rates for First Nations people for diseases of the eye were Western Australia (19.4 per 1,000), Queensland (12.7 per 1,000) and Tasmania (12.6 per 1,000)  (Figure 29 – jurisdiction).

By age and Indigenous status

In 2022–24, hospitalisation rates for eye diseases increased with age and were greatest for those aged 75 and over. Hospitalisation rates were higher among non‑Indigenous Australians aged 75 and over (107.0 per 1,000) than among First Nations people (84.2 per 1,000) 

For First Nations people in 2022–24, age-specific hospitalisation rates for eye diseases were highest for males and females in the 75 and over age group (84.7 and 83.8 per 1,000, respectively) (Figure 29 – population groups).

By Primary Health Network

In 2022–24, the PHNs with the highest hospitalisation rates for First Nations people for diseases of the eye were Country WA (16.1 per 1,000), Central Queensland, Wide Bay, Sunshine coast (10.4 per 1,000) and Western Queensland (9.9 per 1,000) (Figure 29 – geography).

Time trend

Between 2016–17 and 2023–24, age-specific hospitalisation rates for First Nations people for diseases of the eye fluctuated but increased overall for all age groups over age 45. The largest increase was for those aged 75 and over, where the rate rose from 58.5 per 1,000 in 2016–17 to 88.0 per 1,000 in 2023–24. Hospitalisation rates for non-Indigenous Australians fluctuated but increased overall across all age groups apart from those aged 75 and over from 2016–17 to 2023–24. Hospitalisation rates were higher among First Nations people than among non-Indigenous Australians in 2023–24 for those aged 45 to 54 (9.3 and 6.3 per 1,000, respectively) and 55 to 64 (23.3 and 20.8 per 1,000, respectively) but were lower for those aged 65 to 74 and 75 and over (Figure 29 – time trend). 

Between 2016–17 and 2023–24, the age-standardised hospitalisation rate for diseases of the eye for First Nations people increased from 9.3 to 13.1 per 1,000, while the rate for non‑Indigenous Australians showed little change from 13.9 to 14.1 per 1,000. The trend line shows there has been a slight rise in the age-standardised hospitalisation rate for First Nations people over this time (Figure 29 – time trend).