Mortality
Deaths
Measures
- Number of deaths from all causes.
- Proportion of deaths from all causes.
- Crude rate (per 100,000 population) of death from all causes.
- Age-standardised rate (per 100,000 population) of death from all causes.
Available by
- Sex: males, females, persons.
- Age group: 0–14, 15–24, 25–34, 35–44, 45–54, 55–64, 65–74, 75 and over, all ages.
- Indigenous status: First Nations, non-Indigenous.
Data periods
- Current year: 2019–2023
- Time trend: 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019.
Data sources
AIHW National Mortality Database.
Region types
Main structure: Australia, states and territories, Greater Capital City Statistical Areas (GCCSA), Statistical Area Level 4 (SA4), Statistical Area Level 3 (SA3).
Data for GCCSA, SA4 and SA3 are presented for ‘urban areas’ only.
Suppression
- Data have been suppressed to protect confidentiality when the number of deaths is less than 5, including the use of consequential suppression to prevent back-calculation.
- Crude rates have been suppressed where the denominator is <100.
- Age standardised rates have been suppressed where the number of deaths for all ages is <20, or the denominator in any age group is <30.
- When the numerator is suppressed, crude/age-specific rates or percentages are also suppressed.
Notes
- Cause of Death Unit Record File 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 Community Safety) and include cause of death coded by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). The data are maintained by the AIHW in the National Mortality Database.
- Versions of data: deaths registered in years 2021 and earlier – Final; 2022 – Revised; 2023 – Preliminary. Revised and preliminary versions were subject to further revision by the ABS.
- Mortality rates (crude and age-standardised) reported for 2019–2023 are reported for the 5 jurisdictions (New South Wales, Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia and the Northern Territory) where the quality of Indigenous status identification in deaths data is considered adequate. National mortality rates for this period are therefore reported for these 5 jurisdictions combined. Rates are not reported for Victoria, Tasmania or the Australian Capital Territory due to concerns about the quality of Indigenous status identification in deaths data.
- Deaths were registered in 2019–2023. The analysis excluded deaths where Indigenous status was not stated.
- The First Nations origin of a deceased person is captured in death registration via the Death Registration From (DRF) and the Medical Certificate of Cause of Death (MCCD). The use of both the DRF and MCCD has varied over time and across the jurisdictions. In 2022, New South Wales started using both to derive Indigenous status, bringing the derivation in line with all other states and territories except Victoria. This change has led to improved recording of Indigenous status, but also introduced a break in time series data for NSW and Australia. For its impact and further information, see the ABS methodology notes on deaths of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Causes of death, Australia methodology.
- Deaths were counted according to year of registration of death and the region of usual residence.
- Deaths at the GCCSA, SA4 and SA3 level were aggregated from Statistical Areas Level 2 (SA2s) by truncating the digits of the SA2 codes.
Measure
Median age (years) at death from all causes.
Available by
- Sex: males, females, persons.
- Indigenous status: First Nations, non-Indigenous.
Data periods
2019–2023
Data sources
AIHW National Mortality Database.
Region types
Main structure: Australia, states and territories, Greater Capital City Statistical Areas (GCCSA), Statistical Area Level 4 (SA4), Statistical Area Level 4 (SA3).
Data for GCCSA, SA4 and SA3 are presented for ‘urban areas’ only.
Suppression
Median age at death has been suppressed where there are less than 5 deaths.
Notes
- Cause of Death Unit Record File 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 Community Safety) and include cause of death coded by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). The data are maintained by the AIHW in the National Mortality Database.
- Versions of data: deaths registered in years 2021 and earlier – Final; 2022 – Revised; 2023 – Preliminary. Revised and preliminary versions were subject to further revision by the ABS.
- Median age at death reported for 2019–2023 are reported for the 5 jurisdictions (New South Wales, Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia and the Northern Territory) where the quality of Indigenous status identification in deaths data is considered adequate. National mortality rates for this period are therefore reported for these 5 jurisdictions combined. Rates are not reported for Victoria, Tasmania or the Australian Capital Territory due to concerns about the quality of Indigenous status identification in deaths data.
- Deaths were registered in 2019–2023. The analysis excluded deaths where Indigenous status was not stated.
- The First Nations origin of a deceased person is captured in death registration via the Death Registration From (DRF) and the Medical Certificate of Cause of Death (MCCD). The use of both the DRF and MCCD has varied over time and across the jurisdictions. In 2022, New South Wales started using both to derive Indigenous status, bringing the derivation in line with all other states and territories except Victoria. This change has led to improved recording of Indigenous status, but also introduced a break in time series data for NSW and Australia. For its impact and further information, see the ABS methodology notes on deaths of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Causes of death, Australia methodology.
- Deaths were counted according to year of registration of death and the region of usual residence.
- Deaths at the GCCSA, SA4 and SA3 level were aggregated from Statistical Areas Level 2 (SA2s) by truncating the digits of the SA2 codes.
- The median age of death was calculated from age at death in single years, assuming a uniform distribution for deaths occurring in an age interval.
- Deaths with missing age at death were excluded in the analysis.
Measures
- Number of deaths that were potentially avoidable among those aged 0-74 years.
- Proportion of deaths that were potentially avoidable among those aged 0-74 years.
- Crude rate (per 100,000 population) of deaths that were potentially avoidable among those aged 0-74 years.
- Age-standardised rate (per 100,000 population) of deaths that were potentially avoidable among those aged 0-74 years.
Categories
- Potentially avoidable deaths
- Not potentially avoidable deaths
Available by
- Sex: males, females, persons.
- Indigenous status: First Nations, non-Indigenous.
Data periods
2019–2023
Data sources
AIHW National Mortality Database (NMD).
Region types
Main structure: Australia, states and territories, Greater Capital City Statistical Areas (GCCSA), Statistical Area Level 4 (SA4), Statistical Area Level 4 (SA3).
Data for GCCSA, SA4 and SA3 are presented for ‘urban areas’ only.
Suppression
- Data have been suppressed to protect confidentiality when the number of deaths is less than 5, including the use of consequential suppression to prevent back-calculation.
- Crude rates have been suppressed where the denominator is <100.
- Age standardised rates have been suppressed where the number of deaths for all ages is <20, or the denominator in any age group is <30.
- When the numerator is suppressed, crude/age-specific rates or percentages are also suppressed.
Notes
- Cause of Death Unit Record File 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 Community Safety) and include cause of death coded by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). The data are maintained by the AIHW in the National Mortality Database.
- Versions of data: deaths registered in years 2021 and earlier – Final; 2022 – Revised; 2023 – Preliminary. Revised and preliminary versions were subject to further revision by the ABS.
- Mortality rates (crude) reported for 2019–2023 are reported for the 5 jurisdictions (New South Wales, Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia and the Northern Territory) where the quality of Indigenous status identification in deaths data is considered adequate. National mortality rates for this period are therefore reported for these 5 jurisdictions combined. Rates are not reported for Victoria, Tasmania or the Australian Capital Territory due to concerns about the quality of Indigenous status identification in deaths data.
- Deaths registered in 2019–2023 under age 75 years. The analysis excluded deaths where Indigenous status was not stated.
- The First Nations origin of a deceased person is captured in death registration via the Death Registration From (DRF) and the Medical Certificate of Cause of Death (MCCD). The use of both the DRF and MCCD has varied over time and across the jurisdictions. In 2022, New South Wales started using both to derive Indigenous status, bringing the derivation in line with all other states and territories except Victoria. This change has led to improved recording of Indigenous status, but also introduced a break in time series data for NSW and Australia. For its impact and further information, see the ABS methodology notes on deaths of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Causes of death, Australia methodology.
- Potentially avoidable deaths (PADs) were deaths among people aged under 75 that were avoidable in the context of the present health care system. PADs include deaths from conditions that were potentially preventable through individualised care and/or treatable through existing primary or hospital care. PADs were classified using nationally agreed definitions (AIHW 2022. National Healthcare Agreement: PI 16–Potentially Avoidable Deaths, 2022. (National Healthcare Agreement: PI 16–Potentially avoidable deaths, 2022).
- Deaths were counted according to year of registration of death and region of usual residence.
Cause of death
Measures
- Number of deaths by leading cause.
- Proportion of deaths by leading cause.
- Crude rate (per 100,000 population) of death by leading cause.
- Age-standardised rate (per 100,000 population) of death by leading cause.
Available by
- Sex: males, females, persons.
- Age group: 0–14, 15–24, 25–34, 35–44, 45–54, 55–64, 65–74, 75 and over, all ages.
- Indigenous status: First Nations, non-Indigenous.
Data periods
- Current year: 2019–2023
- Time trend: 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019.
Data sources
AIHW National Mortality Database.
Region types
Main structure: Australia, states and territories, Greater Capital City Statistical Areas (GCCSA), Statistical Area Level 4 (SA4), Statistical Area Level 3 (SA3).
Data for GCCSA, SA4 and SA3 are presented for ‘urban areas’ only.
Suppression
- Data have been suppressed to protect confidentiality when the number of deaths is less than 5, including the use of consequential suppression to prevent back-calculation.
- Data have been suppressed where the underlying cause according to the ICD-10 classification as suicide (X60-X84, Y87.0), when the number of deaths is less than 10.
- Crude rates have been suppressed where the denominator is <100.
- Age standardised rates have been suppressed where the number of deaths for all ages is <20, or the denominator in any age group is <30.
- When the numerator is suppressed, crude/age-specific rates or percentages are also suppressed.
Notes
- Cause of Death Unit Record File 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 Community Safety) and include cause of death coded by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). The data are maintained by the AIHW in the National Mortality Database.
- Versions of data: deaths registered in years 2021 and earlier – Final; 2022 – Revised; 2023 – Preliminary. Revised and preliminary versions were subject to further revision by the ABS.
- Mortality rates (crude and age-standardised) reported for 2019–2023 are reported for the 5 jurisdictions (New South Wales, Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia and the Northern Territory) where the quality of Indigenous status identification in deaths data is considered adequate. National mortality rates for this period are therefore reported for these 5 jurisdictions combined. Rates are not reported for Victoria, Tasmania or the Australian Capital Territory due to concerns about the quality of Indigenous status identification in deaths data.
- Deaths were registered in 2019–2023. The analysis excluded deaths where Indigenous status was not stated.
- The First Nations origin of a deceased person is captured in death registration via the Death Registration From (DRF) and the Medical Certificate of Cause of Death (MCCD). The use of both the DRF and MCCD has varied over time and across the jurisdictions. In 2022, New South Wales started using both to derive Indigenous status, bringing the derivation in line with all other states and territories except Victoria. This change has led to improved recording of Indigenous status, but also introduced a break in time series data for NSW and Australia. For its impact and further information, see the ABS methodology notes on deaths of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Causes of death, Australia methodology.
- Deaths were counted according to year of registration of death and the region of usual residence.
- Deaths at the GCCSA and SA4 level were aggregated from Statistical Areas Level 2 (SA2s) by truncating the digits of the SA2 codes.
- Cause of death information was based on underlying cause of death and classified according to the International Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD-10). The causes were ranked by using the AIHW-modified version of groupings recommended by the WHO Becker et al. (2006). A method for deriving leading causes of death. Bulletin of the World Health Organization 84: 297–304.
Measures
- Number of deaths due to top 5 leading causes.
- Proportion of deaths due to top 5 leading causes.
- Crude rate (per 100,000 population) of deaths due to top 5 leading causes.
- Age-standardised rate (per 100,000 population) of deaths due to top 5 leading causes.
Available by
- Sex: males, females, persons.
- Age group: 0–14, 15–24, 25–34, 35–44, 45–54, 55–64, 65–74, 75 and over, all ages.
- Indigenous status: First Nations, non-Indigenous.
Data periods
2019–2023
Data sources
AIHW National Mortality Database (NMD).
Region types
Main structure: Australia, states and territories, Greater Capital City Statistical Areas (GCCSA), Statistical Area Level 4 (SA4), Statistical Area Level 4 (SA3).
Data for GCCSA, SA4 and SA3 are presented for ‘urban areas’ only.
Suppression
- Data have been suppressed to protect confidentiality when the number of deaths is less than 5, including the use of consequential suppression to prevent back-calculation.
- Data have been suppressed where the underlying cause according to the ICD-10 classification as suicide (X60-X84, Y87.0), when the number of deaths is less than 10.
- Crude rates have been suppressed where the denominator is <100.
- Age standardised rates have been suppressed where the number of deaths for all ages is <20, or the denominator in any age group is <30.
- When the numerator is suppressed, crude/age-specific rates or percentages are also suppressed.
Notes
- Cause of Death Unit Record File 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 Community Safety) and include cause of death coded by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). The data are maintained by the AIHW in the National Mortality Database.
- Versions of data: deaths registered in years 2021 and earlier – Final; 2022 – Revised; 2023 – Preliminary. Revised and preliminary versions were subject to further revision by the ABS.
- Mortality rates (crude and age-standardised) reported for 2019–2023 are reported for the 5 jurisdictions (New South Wales, Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia and the Northern Territory) where the quality of Indigenous status identification in deaths data is considered adequate. National mortality rates for this period are therefore reported for these 5 jurisdictions combined. Rates are not reported for Victoria, Tasmania or the Australian Capital Territory due to concerns about the quality of Indigenous status identification in deaths data.
- Deaths were registered in 2019–2023. The analysis excluded deaths where Indigenous status was not stated.
- The First Nations origin of a deceased person is captured in death registration via the Death Registration From (DRF) and the Medical Certificate of Cause of Death (MCCD). The use of both the DRF and MCCD has varied over time and across the jurisdictions. In 2022, New South Wales started using both to derive Indigenous status, bringing the derivation in line with all other states and territories except Victoria. This change has led to improved recording of Indigenous status, but also introduced a break in time series data for NSW and Australia. For its impact and further information, see the ABS methodology notes on deaths of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Causes of death, Australia methodology.
- Cause of death information was based on underlying cause of death and classified according to the International Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD-10). The causes were ranked by using the AIHW-modified version of groupings recommended by the WHO Becker et al. (2006). A method for deriving leading causes of death. Bulletin of the World Health Organization 84: 297–304.
- Deaths were counted according to year of registration of death and region of usual residence.
Infant deaths
Measures
- Number of infant deaths (under 1 year).
- Rate (per 1,000 births) of infant deaths (under 1 year).
Available by
Indigenous status: First Nations, non-Indigenous.
Data periods
- Current year: 2019–2023
- Time trend: 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019.
Data sources
- AIHW National Mortality Database (NMD)
- Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), Births, Australia.
Region types
Main structure: Australia, states and territories, Greater Capital City Statistical Areas (GCCSA).
Data for GCCSA are presented for ‘urban areas’ only.
Suppression
- Data have been suppressed to protect confidentiality when the number of deaths is less than 5, including the use of consequential suppression to prevent back-calculation.
- Crude rates have been suppressed where the denominator is <100.
- When the numerator is suppressed, rates or percentages are also suppressed.
Notes
- Deaths registered in 2019–2023 under age 75 years. The analysis excluded deaths where Indigenous status was not stated.
- The First Nations origin of a deceased person is captured in death registration via the Death Registration From (DRF) and the Medical Certificate of Cause of Death (MCCD). The use of both the DRF and MCCD has varied over time and across the jurisdictions. In 2022, New South Wales started using both to derive Indigenous status, bringing the derivation in line with all other states and territories except Victoria. This change has led to improved recording of Indigenous status, but also introduced a break in time series data for NSW and Australia. For its impact and further information, see the ABS methodology notes on deaths of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Causes of death, Australia methodology.
- Versions of data: deaths registered in years 2021 and earlier – Final; 2022 – Revised; 2023 – Preliminary. Revised and preliminary versions were subject to further revision by the ABS.
- Cause of death information was based on underlying cause of death and was classified according to the International Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD-10).
- Denominator for rates are births sourced from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Birth Registrations collection (Births, Australia).
- Numerator for rates are deaths sourced from the AIHW National Mortality Database (NMD).
- Deaths were counted according to year of registration of death and region of usual residence.
- Cause of Death Unit Record File data were 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 included cause of death coded by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). The data were maintained by the AIHW in the NMD.