Falls

Falls were the leading cause of injury hospitalisations in 2024–25 and the leading cause of injury deaths in 2023–24.

In 2023–24, fall-related injuries are estimated to have cost the health system about $5.4 billion. For more detail, see the health system spending report.

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

Fall injuries resulted in:

Types of falls

In 2024–25, fall on same level from slipping, tripping and stumbling was most commonly associated with injury hospitalisations (Figure 1). However, a large number of falls were recorded as other fall on same level or unspecified fall.

Figure 1: Fall-related injury hospitalisations by type of fall, 2024–25

Notes:

1. Crude rate per 100,000 persons.
2. Only fall types with more than 100 hospitalisations are shown.

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

For some fall types, further detail about the fall can be ascertained. Table 1 presents the 10 most frequently recorded detailed fall types responsible for injury hospitalisations in 2024–25.

Notes:

1. Crude rates per 100,000 population.
2. Hospitalisations where the fall type was unspecified have been excluded from this ranked table.

Source: AIHW National Hospital Morbidity Database.

For more detail, see Falls supplementary data tables (Falls table 7).

The specific causes of fatal falls remain unclear. In 2023–24, most fall-related injury deaths were recorded as either unspecified falls or as other fall excluded from above (Figure 2).

Figure 2: Injury deaths by type of fall, 2023–24

Note: Only fall types with over 10 injury deaths are included.

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

For more detail, see Falls supplementary data tables (Falls Table 12).

Fall injuries over time

Over the past decade, the rate of fall injury hospitalisations has gradually increased, with the rate ranging from 848.7 to 926.1 per 100,000 between 2015–16 and 2024–25 (Figure 3). The hospitalisation rate in 2024–25 was 1.7% higher than the previous 5-year average of 910.5 per 100,000 population.

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

Notes:

1. Columns are case counts, while the line graph represents crude rates per 100,000.
2. Break in series between 2016–2017 and 2017–18. See technical notes for detail.

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

The number of injury deaths caused by falls is increasing. For fall deaths in 2023–24, the crude rate was 7.1% higher than the previous 5-year average rate of 23.3 per 100,000 population (Figure 4).

Figure 4: Fall-related injury deaths, 2014–15 to 2023–24

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

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

Trends varied by fall type (Figure 5). Hospitalisation rates from same-level falls, slips, trips and stumbles rose by 4.8%, and other same-level falls increased by 3.6%, compared to the previous five-year average. However, injury mortality rates for these incidents fell by 7.7%.

For more detail, see the Falls supplementary data tables (Falls Table 13).

Seasonality

Hospital admissions due to fall injuries suggest some patterns over the year (Figure 6).

There were higher numbers of all fall types (collectively) across 2024–25 as compared to the previous 5-year average. While the largest causes of falls (including slips, trips and stumbles, fall involving furniture and fall on the same level) show little variation through the year, the fall types that occurred more often in summer included:

Falls on the same level due to pushing or collision by another person were markedly increased in winter, as were those involving ice and snow.

What injuries occur?

Body part injured and type of injury

In 2024–25, the three body parts most frequently injured in fall-related hospitalisations (Figure 7) were:

• head and neck (72,382 cases or 264.1 per 100,000 population)
• hip and lower limb (64,674 cases or 236 per 100,000 population)
• shoulder and upper limb (56,613 cases or 206.6 per 100,000 population)

There is some variation by the type of fall and body part affected:

• falls from slipping, tripping and stumbling, stairs and steps, and high places like cliffs commonly resulted in hip and lower limb injuries
• shoulder and upper limb injuries were most common in falls involving playground equipment, skating equipment or during collisions or pushing by another person.

Fractures were by far the most common type of injury during fall hospitalisations (53.3%, 135,211 hospitalisations). The most frequent injuries by body part were fractures to the shoulder and upper limb, and fractures to the hip and lower limb.

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

Activity while injured and place of occurrence

Home was the most common specified place of occurrence for fall-related injuries across all age groups (Table 2). Key points are:

• Rates were particularly high at home among children aged 0–4 (331 per 100,000) and people aged 65 and over (1,776.4 per 100,000).
• Rates for settings such as schools and sports areas were highest among children and young people.
• Fall-related hospitalisations from aged care facilities are concentrated in older ages, making it one of the highest non-home settings for older people.

For more details on fall-related injuries occurring in residential aged care services, please go to: Residential aged care quality indicators. Falls are a reportable indicator for measuring quality of care in residential aged care services. Please refer to the GEN aged care site for further detail about falls and major injuries in residential aged care.

Note: Crude rates per 100,000 population.

Source: AIHW National Hospital Morbidity Database.

Severity

In 2024–25, the average length of stay in hospital for fall-related injuries was higher than for all hospitalised injuries. A lower proportion of these cases involved ICU admission or continuous ventilatory support, and the in-hospital death rate was higher (Table 3).

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 fall injuries in the total calculations.
   

Source: AIHW National Hospital Morbidity Database.

For more detail, see Falls supplementary data tables (Falls Tables 9 and 10).

Age and sex

For fall-related injury hospitalisations in 2024–25 (Figure 8):

• 140,836 cases (55.5%) were females
• the rate for females (1,020.7 per 100,000) was 1.2 times that for males (829.3 per 100,000)
• females aged 95 and above had the highest rate (15,168.2 per 100,000).

For fall-related injury deaths in 2023–24:

• 3,405 deaths (50.7%) were females
• the rate for females (25.1 per 100,000) was similar to that for males (24.8 per 100,000)
• males aged 85 and over had the highest rate (800.4 deaths per 100,000).

In 2024–25, people aged 65 and over were hospitalised for falls 12 times more often than adults aged 25 to 44 (3,275.3 and 268.1 per 100,000 population, respectively). Young children, aged 0 to 4 years, also had high fall-related hospitalisation rates (645.1 per 100,000).

Fall-related mortality rates have increased with age over the past decade (Figure 8). Although females generally had higher mortality rates from falls than males during this period, the difference has narrowed, and by 2024–25, the rates were nearly the same (25.1 and 24.8 per 100,000 for females and males respectively).

Deaths from falls from stairs and steps and unspecified falls increased among those aged 75 years and over during the past decade, while mortality rates from slips, trips and stumbles decreased in this age group.

Common types of falls among younger people

Most falls in people aged under 15 years occur among males, and falls involving playground equipment was the top ranked cause of hospitalisation for both sexes.

Notes:

1. Unspecified fall types are excluded from this table.
2. Crude rate is presented per 100,000 population.

Source: AIHW National Hospital Morbidity Database.

Common types of falls among people of working ages

This section presents data for individuals of working age, categorised into groups: 15 to 49 years and 50 to 64 years.

In 2024–25, males aged 15 to 19 had the highest hospitalisation rate for falls among people aged 15 to 49, due to collisions with or being pushed by another person, at 130.9 per 100,000 population (Table 5a).

For those age 50 to 64, females aged 60–64 had the highest rate, from same-level slips, trips and stumbles, at 474.6 per 100,000 population (Table 5b).

Notes:

1. Unspecified fall types are excluded from this table.
2. Crude rate is presented per 100,000 population.

Source: AIHW National Hospital Morbidity Database.

Notes:

1. Unspecified fall types are excluded from this table
2. Crude rate is presented per 100,000 population

Source: AIHW National Hospital Morbidity Database.

Common types of falls among people aged 65+

In 2024–25, the most common types of falls resulting in hospitalisation among people aged 65 and over were same-level slips, trips and stumbles (Table 6).

Notes:

1. Unspecified fall types are excluded from this table
2. Crude rate is presented per 100,000 population

Source: AIHW National Hospital Morbidity Database.

For more detail, see Falls supplementary data tables (Fall Table 1).

First Nations people

Among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (First Nations) people (Figure 9):

• there were 9,346 hospitalisations due to falls in 2024–25 (890.5 per 100,000)
• the hospitalisation rate was similar for males and females (890.1 and 890.8 per 100,000 population, respectively)
• hospitalisation rates were highest among people aged 65 and over 
• there were 73 deaths due to falls in 2023–24 (7.1 per 100,000)
• the mortality rate was similar for males and females (7.4 and 6.8 per 100,000 population, respectively) (Table 7).

Figure 9: Fall-related injury hospitalisations among First Nations people, by age and sex, 2024–25

Note: Numbers and crude rates of injury hospitalisation are represented in columns and as a line graph by financial years. Columns are case counts, while the line graph represents crude rates per 100,000.

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

Notes:

1. Crude rates per 100,000 population.
2. Deaths data only includes data for New South Wales, Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia, and the Northern Territory, as these jurisdictions are considered to have adequate levels of Indigenous identification in mortality data.

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

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

Comparison between First Nations and non-Indigenous Australians

First Nations people, when compared with non-Indigenous Australians, were:

Figure 10: Fall-related injury hospitalisations (2017–18 to 2024–25) and deaths (2017–18 to 2023–24) by Indigenous status

Notes:

1. Age-standardised rate per 100,000 population.
2. 'Non-Indigenous’ excludes cases where Indigenous status is missing or not stated.
3. Deaths data only includes data for people whose usual residence was New South Wales, Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia, and the Northern Territory, as 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.

The highest rate of fall-related injury hospitalisations was seen in the 65 and over age group for both First Nations and non-Indigenous Australians. However, for all other age groups, the rate was higher among First Nations people (Figure 11). Deaths data are not presented because of small numbers.

Figure 11: Injury hospitalisations caused by falls, by Indigenous status and age group, 2024–25

Notes:

1. Rates are crude per 100,000 population.
2. ‘Non-Indigenous Australians’ 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 fall injury hospitalisations in 2023–24 were:

• Northern Territory (1,264.6 per 100,000)
• Australian Capital Territory (970.0 per 100,000)
• Queensland (908.8 per 100,000).

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

• Tasmania (20.1 per 100,000)
• Western Australia (19.7 per 100,000)
• Northern Territory (19.0 per 100,000) (Figure 12).

Figure 12: Age-standardised rates of fall injury hospitalisations (2023–24) and deaths (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.

Most states and territories recorded a decrease in age-standardised hospitalisation rates for most fall types compared to the previous 5-year average (Figure 13).

Exceptions include:

• Northern Territory: a 39% increase for falls involving a wheelchair, rising from 16 to 22.2 per 100,000 in 2023–24.
• Australian Capital Territory:
  • a 23% increase for falls on same level from slipping, tripping and stumbling, from 245.2 to 301.6 per 100,000 in 2023–24.
  • an 11% increase for other same level falls from, 172.0 to 191.0 per 100,000 in 2023–24.

Most states and territories showed an increase in death rates for most fall types compared to the previous 5-year average (Figure 13).

• Queensland had an increase of just over 11% in age-standardised death rates, increasing from 16.7 to 18.6 per 100,000 in 2022–23.
• Western Australia had an increase of about 10% in age-standardised death rates, increasing from 18.0 to 19.7 per 100,000 in 2022–23.
• South Australia’s age-standardised death rates increased by just under 8%, from 15 to 16.1 per 100,000 in 2022–23.

For more information please see 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. People living in Very remote areas, when compared with people living in Inner regional areas, were 1.4 times as likely to be hospitalised for an injury caused by a fall in 2023–24.

While most types of falls demonstrate the highest rates of hospitalisation in Very remote areas, Major cities had the highest rate of hospitalisations due to falls on and from stairs and steps while Inner regional areas had the highest rates for falls on and from ladders (Figure 14).

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

Socioeconomic areas

Rates of hospitalisation for falls related injuries were similar across socioeconomic areas, ranging between 720.7 and 819.8 per 100,000 (Figure 15).

People living in the most socioeconomically disadvantaged areas, when compared with people living in the least socioeconomically disadvantaged were 1.3 times as likely to die from a fall in 2022–23 (20.2 compared to 15.5 per 100,000 population).

For most types of falls, hospitalisations rates by level of socioeconomic disadvantage were relatively similar. There are some differences in trends across different types of falls:

• The most socioeconomically disadvantaged areas had the highest hospitalisation rates from falling from, out of or through a building or structure, slipping, tripping and stumbling, other falls from one level to another, and other falls on the same level. These areas also had relatively high rates of falls involving wheelchairs, ladders, scaffolding, beds and chairs.
• The least socioeconomically disadvantaged areas had the highest hospitalisation rates of falls on and from stairs and steps, and diving or jumping into water.

Data details

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

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