Assault and homicide

Intentional violence against another person is classified as assault (injury) or homicide (death). Intentional injuries or deaths are those that did not occur by accident. Assault was the seventh ranked cause of injury hospitalisations in 2024–25 and homicide was the eighth ranked cause of injury deaths in 2023–24.

These intentional injuries resulted in:

In 2023–24, assaults and homicides are estimated to have cost the health system about $463 million. For more detail, see Figure 8 of the Health system spending on disease and injury in Australia report.

Note: Expenditure is an estimate - ICD-10 code inclusions may vary between reporting groups.

The Family, domestic and sexual violence website presents more detail about assault injuries in the context of family, domestic and sexual violence.

Types of assault and homicide

In 2024–25, assault by bodily force (such as an unarmed brawl or fight), assault by blunt object (such as a hammer or bat) and assault by sharp object (such as a knife, razor or glass) were the three types most often resulting in injury hospitalisations (Figure 1).

Figure 1: Assault-related injury hospitalisations by type of assault, 2024–25

Notes: Crude rates where the numerator is less than 10 are not shown due to data volatility.

Sources: AIHW National Hospital Morbidity Database and ABS National, state and territory population.

For more detail, see the Assault and homicide supplementary data tables (Assault Tables 1 and 2). 

In 2023–24, most homicide deaths were due to an assault by sharp object, assault by bodily force or assault by unspecified means (Figure 2).

Figure 2: Homicide deaths by type of assault, 2023–24

Note: Crude rates where the numerator is less than 10 are not shown due to data volatility.

Sources: AIHW National Mortality Database and ABS National, state and territory population.

For more detail, see the Assault and homicide supplementary data tables (Assault Tables 7 and 8). 

Trends over time

Over the past decade, the likelihood of Australians being hospitalised due to assault has generally declined. The rate dropped from 84.9 per 100,000 in 2015–16 to 80.1 in 2024–25 (Figure 3). Between 2017–18 and 2024–25, this rate decreased by an average of 1.4% per year. In 2024–25, the hospitalisation rate was 3.2% lower than the previous 5-year average of 82.8 per 100,000 population.

Figure 3: Assault-related injury hospitalisations, 2015–16 to 2024–25

Note: Columns are number of hospitalisations, and the line graph represents crude rates per 100,000 population.

Sources: AIHW National Hospital Morbidity Database and ABS National, state and territory population.

The number of homicides has generally decreased over time. Between 2014–15 and 2023–24, the rate decreased by an average of 0.9% per year (Figure 4). In 2023–24, the rate was 4.2% higher than the previous 5-year average of 1.0 per 100,000 population.

Figure 4: Injury deaths due to homicide, 2014–15 to 2023–24

Note: Columns are number of deaths, and the line graph represents the mortality rate per 100,000 population.

Source: AIHW National Mortality Database and ABS National, state and territory population.

The trends differed depending on the type of assault and the perpetrator. Compared to the previous 5-year average, in 2024–25 hospitalisation rates:

• for assaults by unspecified means decreased by 14.1% and assaults by blunt object decreased by 7.5%
• perpetrated by a person unknown to the victim increased by 17.9% and an unspecified person decreased by 14.8%.

For homicides, assault by unspecified means increased by 25% and assault by sharp object decreased by 6.3% (Figure 5). 

Perpetrator information from the latest Homicide in Australia report indicates that most offences involved a single victim and a single offender, with murder being the most frequent charge, followed by manslaughter. Female victims of homicide were most likely to be killed by intimate partners while male victims of homicide were most likely to be killed by acquaintances or had a domestic relationship with. 

Seasonality

Hospitalisations due to assault tended to increase over warmer months, with the highest numbers in 2024–25 occurring in December and January (Figure 6).

Assault injury hospitalisations due to hanging, strangulation and suffocation were markedly higher in every month of 2024–25 as compared to the previous 5-year average. Spouses or domestic partners were the main perpetrators recorded in these types of assaults. Sexual assault by bodily force also increased over much of 2024–25 compared to the previous 5-year average.

February had the highest number of homicides (32), while the other summer months (19 and 18 homicides in December and January, respectively) were substantially below the previous 5-year average.    

What injuries occur?

Body part injured and type of injury

In 2024–25, the head and neck were the body parts most frequently injured in assault hospitalisations (13,117 cases or 47.9 per 100,000 population), followed by the trunk (2,835 cases or 10.4 per 100,000) (Figure 7).

There is some variation by the type of assault, with the most common body parts being:

• head and neck injuries for all assault, assault by bodily force, assault by blunt object, assault by sharp object, assault by unspecified means, assault by hanging, strangulation and suffocation, and legal interventions
• trunk injuries for sexual assault by bodily force
• hip and lower limb injuries for assault by other and unspecified firearm discharge.

Fractures were the most frequent type of injury for people who were hospitalised due to assaults (31.3%, 6,870 hospitalisations). By both body part and type of injury, the most frequent injury types were fractures to the head and neck, and open wounds to the head and neck.

For more detail, see Assault and homicide supplementary data tables (Assault Table 6).

Activity while injured and place of occurrence

Perpetrators

In 2024-25, 29% of assault injury hospitalisations (6,303 cases, 23 per 100,000 population) involved unspecified perpetrators. Of the 15,649 cases where a perpetrator was specified, the spouses or domestic partners were responsible for the highest rate (4,608 cases, or 16.8 per 100,000 persons) 

Homicide in Australia details homicide offender characteristics. Key findings include:

• Most offenders are males, regardless of victim sex and age
• Most have a criminal history. Recorded criminal history was more common where the homicide was perpetrated by a stranger, as opposed to in domestic homicides.
• Offenders were frequently known to police in relation to domestic and family violence incidents (either as perpetrators or victims). Intimate partner homicide offenders were more likely to have been previously known to police than homicide offenders overall.
• Victimisation rates differ by sex and offender categories, with intimate partners being responsible for most female homicide deaths. 

Severity

In 2024–25, the average length of stay in hospital for assault-related injuries was lower than for all hospitalised injuries. However, a higher proportion of these cases involved ICU admission or continuous ventilatory support, and the in-hospital death rate was lower (Table 1).

Notes:

1. Average number of days in hospital (length of stay) includes admissions that are transfers from one hospital to another or transfers from one admitted care type to another within the same hospital, except where care involves rehabilitation procedures.
2. All injuries includes assault injuries in the total calculations.

Source: AIHW National Hospital Morbidity Database.

For more detail, see supplementary data Table H14.

Age and sex

Over the past decade, trends in these injuries have varied by sex, with hospitalisation and mortality rates consistently higher for males than females during period (Figure 8). However, hospitalisation rates for males have decreased over the past decade, while those for females increased.  

The likelihood of assault injuries differs by age and sex. Hospitalisation rates are highest among younger adults and decline as people get older for both men and women (Figure 9).

Figure 9: Assault-related injury hospitalisations (2024–25) and deaths (2023–24), by sex and age.

Notes:

1. Columns are case counts, the line graph represents crude rate per 100,000 population.
2. Age groups where the count is less than 5 are not displayed
3. Crude rates based on a number of hospitalisations or deaths under 10 are not shown.

Sources: AIHW National Hospital Morbidity Database, AIHW National Mortality Database and ABS National, state and territory population.

Trends in assault injury hospitalisations vary by both sex and age, as well as the type of assault and the perpetrator. Among those assaulted, adults aged 15–44 had the highest rates of injury hospitalisations across the decade. Most assault types decreased across the decade for most age groups, with exceptions being:

• Hanging, strangulation and suffocation: increased mostly in females and 25–44-year-olds
• Sexual assaults by bodily force: increased mostly in females and 15–24-year-olds
• Assault by bodily force: decreased in males but remained stable in females, and increased among those aged 15–24 and 65 and above

Homicide in Australia reports that the most common cause of death was stab wounds from sharp objects, for both sexes, followed by blunt force trauma and gunshot wounds. Female homicide victims were more likely to die from strangulation or suffocation than males.

For more detail, see the Assault and homicide supplementary data tables (Assault Tables 1 and 2) .

First Nations people

Among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (First Nations) people :

• there were 7,336 hospitalisations due to assaults in 2024–25 (699 per 100,000 persons)
• females were 1.4 times as likely as males to be assaulted and hospitalised (817.6 and 581.1 per 100,000, respectively)
• people aged 25–44 were most likely to be hospitalised due to assault (Figure 10)
• there were 36 deaths due to homicides in 2023–24 (3.5 per 100,000)
• males were twice as likely as females to die (4.6 and 2.3 per 100,000, respectively) (Table 2).

Figure 10: Assault-related injury hospitalisations among First Nations people, by age and sex, 2024–25

Note: Columns are case counts, the line graph represents crude rate per 100,000 population.

Sources: AIHW National Mortality Database and ABS Estimates and Projections, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians.

Homicides

Over the past decade, the homicide mortality rate among First Nations people has increased by an average of 15.1% per year, compared with a 4.8% annual increase for non-Indigenous Australians.

Note: Numbers and rates are reported for the following 5 jurisdictions combined: New South Wales, Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia and the Northern Territory. These jurisdictions are considered to have adequate levels of Indigenous identification in mortality data.

Sources: AIHW National Mortality Database and ABS Estimates and Projections, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians.

Homicide in Australia reports higher proportions of First Nations children being victims of homicide than non-Indigenous children. For more detail, see the Assault and Homicide supplementary data tables (Assault Tables 5 and 8) and Homicide in Australia.

Comparison between First Nations and non-Indigenous Australians

Between 2017–18 and 2024–25, the age-standardised rate of assault-related hospitalisations for First Nations people decreased by an average of 0.8% per year, compared with an average annual decrease of 1.9% for non-Indigenous Australians (Figure 11).

Figure 11: Assault injury hospitalisations (2017–18 to 2024–25) and homicide deaths (2017–18 to 2023–24) by Indigenous status 

Notes:

1. Age-standardised rates per 100,000 population.
2. Age-standardised rates based on a number of hospitalisations or deaths under 20 are not shown.
3. ’Non-Indigenous’ excludes cases where Indigenous status is missing or not stated.
4. Mortality rates are reported for 5 jurisdictions combined – New South Wales, Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia and the Northern Territory. These jurisdictions are considered to have adequate levels of Indigenous identification in mortality data.

Sources: AIHW National Hospital Morbidity Database, AIHW National Mortality Database and ABS Estimates and Projections, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians.

State and territory

The states and territories with the highest rates of assault injury hospitalisations in 2023–24 were:

• Northern Territory (1,041.4 per 100,000)
• Queensland (101.0 per 100,000)
• Western Australia (97.1 per 100,000) (Figure 12).

Rates of deaths from assault (homicide) cannot be reliably calculated in most states due to low numbers. Figure 13 shows the number of such deaths in each state and territory in 2022–23.

Figure 12: Age-standardised rate of assault injury hospitalisations (2023–24) and number of homicides (2022–23), by state or territory of usual residence, Australia

Notes:

1. State and territory refers to the state and territory of usual residence for the individual.
2. Age-standardised rates per 100,000 population.

Sources: AIHW National Hospital Morbidity Database, AIHW National Mortality Database, and ABS National, state and territory population.

Patterns of assault have differed across states by type of assault and perpetrator over time (Figure 13). Assault injury hospitalisations have decreased in the latest reporting year (compared to the previous 5-year average) in most states across Australia, except in Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory. Assaults by hanging, suffocation and strangulation and sexual assaults have increased across most states and territories, with assaults by unspecified means decreasing. Assaults where perpetrators were unknown to victims also increased across most states and territories. 

For more information see the geography dashboard and Homicide in Australia.

Remoteness

Areas of Australia which are more remote tend to have higher rates of hospitalisation and death from injury than less remote areas. 

For all types of assault, the rates of injury hospitalisation increased with remoteness, with the highest rates observed in Very remote regions (Figure 14).

For information on how statistics are calculated by remoteness, see the technical notes.

Socioeconomic areas

The risk of injury increases with socioeconomic disadvantage. People living in the most socioeconomically disadvantaged areas of Australia, compared to the least socioeconomically disadvantaged were 5.0 times as likely to be hospitalised due to an assault injury in 2023–24.

The most socioeconomically disadvantaged areas had the highest rates of assault across different types and perpetrators (Figure 15).

Data details

• Technical notes: how the data were calculated
• Data tables: download the full tables
• Glossary
  
  

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