Contact with objects

Contact with objects such as everyday or industrial objects, including knives, tools, machines, and sports equipment, is the second leading cause of injury hospitalisations and the eleventh leading cause of injury deaths.

Injuries by type of object

There is a considerable diversity of inanimate objects that can cause injuries. Hospitalisations record the type of object responsible for the injury, classified according to ICD-10-AM codes in the W20-W49 range. 

In 2024–25, hospitalisations most often resulted from the following object types (Figure 1):

• contact with other sharp object(s) (53 per 100,000 population)
• striking against or struck by other object(s) (46.1 per 100,000 population)
• foreign body entering into or through eye or natural orifice (32.5 per 100,000 population)

Figure 1: Injury hospitalisations due to contact with objects, by type of object, 2024–25

Note: Only object types causing more than 100 hospitalisations in 2024-25 are shown. For a comprehensive list of all object types, refer to supplementary data tables.

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

For some object type categories, it is possible to provide further detail about the specific type of object responsible for the injury hospitalisation. Click on the categories below for more detail on injuries caused by:

For more detail, see Objects supplementary data tables (Objects Table 7).

Trends over time

There is a break in the time series for hospitalisations between 2016–17 and 2017–18 due to a change in data collection methods (see the technical notes for details).

The number of injury hospitalisations due to contact with objects has generally increased over the past decade (Figure 2).

Between 2017–18 and 2024–25, the rate increased from 291.4 to 300.3 hospitalisations per 100,000, an average of 0.2% per year. There was a spike in 2020–21, likely due to more object-related injuries occurring at home during the COVID-19 pandemic (see What injuries occur? for more detail), but rates have since returned to pre-pandemic levels.

Figure 2: Injury hospitalisations due to contact with objects, 2015–16 to 2024–25

Note: Columns represent numbers of hospitalisations, the line represents the crude rate per 100,000.

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

The number of deaths caused by contact with objects has generally remained stable over time, with the exception of a peak in 2019–20 (Figure 3).

Figure 3: Deaths due to contact with objects, 2014–15 to 2023–24

Note: Columns represent numbers of hospitalisations, lines represent crude rates per 100,000.

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

While all object types showed an increase in the rate of injury hospitalisations in 2020–21, detailed trends varied depending on the type of object involved (Figure 4). For example:

For more detail, see supplementary Objects supplementary data tables (Objects Table 7).

Seasonality

Injury hospitalisations due to contact with objects in 2024–25 followed similar patterns to the previous 5 years, with peaks in summer months, from December to March (Figure 5).

Some object types were associated with stronger seasonal patterns. For example, injury hospitalisations:

• caused by contact with other powered hand tools and household machinery or contact with non-powered hand tools are less likely to occur in summer months
• caused by contact with sharp glass are more likely in the summer months
• caused by contact with powered lawnmower are more likely to occur between October and March, and showed a spike in December in 2024–25.

What injuries occur?

Body part injured and type of injury

Wrist and hand injuries were most frequent across object types, with some exceptions:

• head and neck injuries were most common for injury hospitalisations caused by striking against or struck by other object, struck by thrown, projected or falling object, explosion and rupture of gas cylinder and explosion of other materials
• shoulder and upper limb injuries were most common for contact with hypodermic needle hospitalisations
• hip and lower limb injuries were most common for discharge from other and unspecified firearms hospitalisations (Figure 6).

The most common types of injury for people who were hospitalised due to contact with objects were:

The most frequent injuries by body part were open wounds to the wrist and hand, and fractures to the wrist and hand.

For more detail, see Objects supplementary data tables (Objects Table 6).

Activity while injured and place of occurrence

Over the past decade, most object-related injury hospitalisations occurred during unpaid work and learning (Figure 7). Injury hospitalisation rates caused by this type of activity peaked during the COVID-19 period, but have since resumed their gradual pre-pandemic rise.

Figure 7: Injury hospitalisations due to contact with objects, by activity at the time of injury (for selected activities), 2015–16 to 2024–25

Notes: 

1. Crude rates per 100,000 population.
2. Only the 3 most commonly recorded activities are shown here. For more detail please refer to the Supplementary Data tables.

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

Object-related injury hospitalisation rates were highest in the home over the past decade, with rates increasing from 69.6 to 78.7 per 100,000 population (Figure 8). Rates also peaked during the COVID-19 period. Minimal observable changes in rates of injury hospitalisations occurred at other places of occurrence.

Figure 8: Injury hospitalisations due to contact with objects, by recorded place of occurrence, 2015–16 to 2024–25

Note: Rates are age-standardised per 100,000 population.

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

Severity

Object-related injury hospitalisations are generally less severe than the average of all hospitalised injuries. In 2024–25, the average length of stay was shorter, a lower proportion of cases involved ICU admission or continuous ventilatory support, and a lower proportion died in hospital (Table 1).

Note: 

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 injuries from contact with objects in the total calculations.

Source: AIHW National Hospital Morbidity Database.

Age and sex

Males are generally more likely to be hospitalised with injuries from contact with objects than females (Figure 9).

First Nations people

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

• there were 5,644 injury hospitalisations due to contact with objects in 2024–25 (537.7 per 100,000)
• males were twice as likely as females to be hospitalised (703.1 and 370.7 per 100,000 population, respectively)
• hospitalisation rates were highest among people aged 25–44 (Figure 10)
• there were 4 injury deaths due to contact with objects in 2023–24.

Figure 10: Injury hospitalisations due to contact with objects among First Nations people, by age group and sex, 2024–25

Note: Columns are the number of hospitalisations, the line is the crude rate per 100,000 population.

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

For more detail, see Objects supplementary data tables (Objects Table 5).

Comparison between First Nations people and non-Indigenous Australians

Between 2017–18 and 2024–25, the First Nations hospitalisation rates due to contact with objects has increased by an annual average of 3.8%, while the rate for non-Indigenous Australians has remained stable.

Figure 11: Injury hospitalisations due to contact with objects, by Indigenous status, 2017–18 to 2024–25

Notes:

1. Age-standardised rates per 100,000 population.
2. ‘Non-Indigenous people’ excludes cases where Indigenous status is missing or not stated.

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

In 2024–25, the injury hospitalisation rate for contact with objects was much higher among the 15–24 and 25–44 age groups for First Nations people, whereas there was less variation between age groups for non-Indigenous Australians (Figure 12). Data on deaths are not presented because of small numbers.

Figure 12: Injury hospitalisations due to contact with objects, by Indigenous status and age group, 2024–25

Notes:

1. Crude rates per 100,000 population.
2. ‘Non-Indigenous’ excludes cases where Indigenous status is missing or not stated.

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

For more detail, see Supplementary Data table H6.

State and territory

The states and territories with the highest rates of object-related injury hospitalisation in 2023–24 were:

• Northern Territory (500.8 per 100,000)
• Queensland (343.8 per 100,000)
• Australian Capital Territory (311.2 per 100,000) (Figure 13).

Rates of injury death cannot be reliably calculated in most states due to low numbers. In Figure 15, we show the number of object-related injury deaths in each state and territory in 2022–23.

Figure 13: Age-standardised rate of injury hospitalisations (2023–24), and number of injury deaths (2022–23), due to contact with objects, by state of usual residence, Australia

Notes:

1. Injury hospitalisation rates are age-standardised per 100,000 population
2. The number of injury deaths in each state is presented, as numbers are too low for a reliable rate calculation.

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

There are some differences in trends across states by type of contact with objects involved (Figure 14). As compared to the previous 5-year average, 2023–24 saw a decrease in overall contact with objects across all states and territories except for Tasmania. Contact with other and unspecified machinery injuries decreased across all states and territories. Other decreases that were seen across most states and territories include:

• Contact with other powered hand tools and household machinery
• Contact with other shard objects
• Contact with sharp glass
• Foreign body or object entering through skin
• Striking against or struck by other objects
• Struck by thrown, projected or falling object. 

For more information see the state supplementary data tables and the geography dashboard.

Remoteness

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

While most types of objects cause higher rates of hospitalisation in more remote regions, some object types exhibit different patterns (Figure 15):

• Remote areas had the highest rate of injuries caused by foreign body entering into or through eye or natural orifice or foreign body or object entering through skin
• Outer regional areas had the highest rate of contact with other and unspecified machinery-related hospitalisations
• Inner regional areas had the highest rate of contact with other powered hand tools and household machinery

Notes:

1. Age-standardised rates per 100,000 population.
2. Due to a change in coding practices, data for the Contact with other sharp object(s) and Foreign body or object entering through skin are only presented from 2015–16.

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

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

Socioeconomic areas

Most object types are associated with higher rates of injury hospitalisation in more socioeconomically disadvantaged areas (Figure 16). The only exception concerns injuries caused by striking or being struck by sports equipment, with rates highest in least disadvantaged areas (22.7 per 100,000), and decreasing with socioeconomic disadvantage.

Notes:

1. Age-standardised rates per 100,000 population
2. Due to a change in coding practices, data for the Contact with other sharp object(s) and Foreign body or object entering through skin are only presented from 2015–16.

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

For more detail, see Supplementary data tables.

Data details

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

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