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

The number of hospital separations with a procedure on the eye and adnexa, per 1,000 First Nations people: Measure 3.3

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 32 and Figure 33).

Latest data

In the 2-year period 2022–24, there were 14,920 hospitalisations of First Nations people for eye procedures – a crude rate of 7.3 per 1,000 population. For  First Nations people, the most common hospitalisations for an eye procedure were lens procedures (4.3 per 1,000) followed by retinal procedures (1.5 per 1,000) (Figure 32).

By remoteness

In 2022–24, age-standardised rates of hospitalisations for First Nations people for eye procedures were highest in Remote and very remote areas (combined) (13.8 per 1,000) (Figure 33 – remoteness).

By jurisdiction

In 2022–24, the age-standardised hospitalisation rate for First Nations people for eye procedures was highest in Western Australia (19.0 per 1,000) (Figure 33 – jurisdiction).

By age and Indigenous status

In 2022–24, the rate of hospitalisations for eye procedures for First Nations people and non-Indigenous Australians increased with age. Rates were similar for First Nations people and non‑Indigenous Australians at younger ages but were notably higher for non‑Indigenous Australians than First Nations people for those aged 75 and over (Figure 33 – population groups).

By Primary Health Network

In 2022–24, the PHN’s with the highest reported rates of hospitalisations for First Nations people for eye procedures were Country WA (15.9 per 1,000) and Central Queensland, Wide Bay and Sunshine Coast (10.1 per 1,000) (Figure 33 – geography).

Time trend

Between 2016–17 and 2023–24, age-specific hospitalisation rates for eye procedures for First Nations people fluctuated but increased overall for all age groups, with the greatest increase for those aged 75 and over. Hospitalisation rates for non-Indigenous Australians remained fairly constant for all age groups. Hospitalisations rates for First Nations people aged 75 and over were lower than those for non-Indigenous Australians of the same age. 

Between 2016–17 and 2023–24, the age-standardised hospitalisation rate for eye procedures for First Nations people increased from 8.8 to 12.7 per 1,000, while the rate for non-Indigenous Australians remained fairly constant. The trend line shows that the age‑standardised hospitalisation rate for First Nations people remained relatively constant over this period (Figure 33 - time trend).