Population groups
Age and sex
The hospital-onset injury rate was relatively flat in younger age groups, rising more steeply at older ages, and was higher for males compared with females, across most age groups (Figure 4).
In 2024–25, the rate was:
- 62 per 100,000 separations for males and 46 per 100,000 for females
- highest for persons aged 95 years and over (200 per 100,000 separations)
- lowest for persons aged 35–39 years (23 per 100,000 separations).
Figure 4: Hospital-onset injury rates by age and sex, 2024–25
Bar chart showing hospital-onset injury rates per 10,000 separations by age group and sex for 2024-25. Injury rates increase significantly with age, peaking in the 95+ group, with males consistently having higher rates than females across most age groups.
| Age group | Persons | Females | Males |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0–4 | 49 | 49 | 49 |
| 5–9 | 41 | 38 | 43 |
| 10–14 | 34 | 39 | 30 |
| 15–19 | 43 | 48 | 35 |
| 20–24 | 29 | 27 | 33 |
| 25–29 | 26 | 23 | 32 |
| 30–34 | 24 | 21 | 32 |
| 35–39 | 23 | 21 | 29 |
| 40–44 | 27 | 25 | 31 |
| 45–49 | 31 | 29 | 33 |
| 50–54 | 34 | 32 | 36 |
| 55–59 | 38 | 34 | 42 |
| 60–64 | 41 | 40 | 43 |
| 65–69 | 45 | 40 | 49 |
| 70–74 | 53 | 46 | 60 |
| 75–79 | 69 | 61 | 76 |
| 80–84 | 96 | 84 | 108 |
| 85–89 | 140 | 120 | 162 |
| 90–94 | 175 | 142 | 219 |
| 95+ | 200 | 171 | 252 |
| All ages | 53 | 46 | 62 |
- Hospital-onset injuries exclude diagnosis codes T80-T88 Complications of surgical and medical care and Y90-Y98 Sequelae of injuries, of poisoning and of other external causes.
- Analysis excludes care types 7.3, 9, 10, and separations for same day chemotherapy or haemodialysis.
- Person totals include separations where the sex of the patient was other, inadequately described or not stated.
Downloadable data tables are available on Data. See Table S12.
Source:
AIHW analysis of the National Hospital Morbidity Database
|
Data source overview
The hospital-onset injury rate decreased between 2015–16 to 2024–25 for all age groups, except for children aged below 10 years, where the rate almost doubled, and for adults aged 95 years and above which increased by 6%:
- 26 to 49 per 10,000 separations for 0–4-year-olds
- 19 to 41 per 10,000 separations for 5–9-year-olds
- 188 to 200 per 10,000 separations for 95 years and above.
For more information see Table S12 in the downloadable tables available on Data.
First Nations people
The rate of hospital-onset injuries for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (First Nations) people and non-Indigenous Australians converged around 2017–18 and has remained similar since, fluctuating between 50 and 57 per 10,000 separations each year for both groups (Figure 5).
In 2024–25, there were 2,342 hospital-onset injury separations among First Nations people (55 per 10,000). Indigenous status was not assigned for 1.5% of hospital-onset injury separations.
Figure 5: Hospital-onset injury rates by Indigenous status, 2015–16 to 2024–25
Line graph showing hospital-onset injury rates per 10,000 separations from 2015-16 to 2024-25, comparing Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander origin with neither Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander origin. Injury rates for both groups start around 54 and 65 respectively, converge near 50 in 2019-20, then remain close with slight fluctuations, ending around 55 by 2024-25.
| Year | Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander origin | Neither Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander origin |
|---|---|---|
| 2015-16 | 54 | 65 |
| 2016-17 | 58 | 68 |
| 2017-18 | 57 | 58 |
| 2018-19 | 57 | 57 |
| 2019-20 | 50 | 51 |
| 2020-21 | 52 | 50 |
| 2021-22 | 52 | 52 |
| 2022-23 | 52 | 50 |
| 2023-24 | 55 | 52 |
| 2024-25 | 55 | 54 |
- Hospital-onset injuries exclude diagnosis codes T80-T88 Complications of surgical and medical care and Y90-Y98 Sequelae of injuries, of poisoning and of other external causes.
- Analysis excludes care types 7.3, 9, 10, and separations for same day chemotherapy or haemodialysis
Downloadable data tables are available on Data. See Table S13.
Source:
AIHW analysis of the National Hospital Morbidity Database
|
Data source overview
Socio-economic area
Hospital-onset injury rates have declined since 2015–16 for each of the 5 levels of relative socio-economic disadvantage and remained relatively stable between 2019–20 and 2024–25 for each level (Figure 6). However, rates increased with increasing levels of disadvantage – in 2024–25 the hospital-onset injury rate for residents of the least disadvantaged areas was 45 per 100,000 separations and 61 for the most disadvantaged areas.
Figure 6: Hospital-onset injury rates by socio-economic area, 2015–16 to 2024–25
Line graph showing hospital-onset injury rates by socioeconomic area from 2015-16 to 2024-25, measured in number per 10,000 separations. Rates decline across all groups from 2016-17, with most disadvantaged areas consistently having highest rates and least disadvantaged lowest. There is a slight increase for most disadvantaged areas from 2022-23 to 2024-25.
| Year | Most disadvantaged | Second most disadvantaged | Middle | Second least disadvantaged | Least disadvantaged |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015-16 | 69 | 70 | 65 | 59 | 55 |
| 2016-17 | 73 | 73 | 68 | 63 | 59 |
| 2017-18 | 65 | 62 | 58 | 52 | 49 |
| 2018-19 | 66 | 62 | 57 | 52 | 48 |
| 2019-20 | 56 | 56 | 50 | 45 | 43 |
| 2020-21 | 59 | 54 | 48 | 45 | 43 |
| 2021-22 | 58 | 55 | 50 | 46 | 45 |
| 2022-23 | 56 | 55 | 49 | 45 | 43 |
| 2023-24 | 58 | 57 | 52 | 47 | 44 |
| 2024-25 | 61 | 58 | 52 | 48 | 45 |
- Hospital-onset injuries exclude diagnosis codes T80-T88 Complications of surgical and medical care and Y90-Y98 Sequelae of injuries, of poisoning and of other external causes.
- Analysis excludes care types 7.3, 9, 10, and separations for same day chemotherapy or haemodialysis.
- Socio-economic area of the patient’s usual residence is classified using the Index of Relative Socio-economic Disadvantage (IRSD) from the ABS Socio-economic Indexes for Areas (SEIFA), Australia.
Downloadable data tables are available on Data. See Table S14.
Source:
AIHW analysis of the National Hospital Morbidity Database
|
Data source overview
Remoteness area
Hospital-onset injury rates generally declined with increasing remoteness area of usual residence (Figure 7). The rates were:
- Lowest for residents of Remote and Very remote areas – 42 and 40 per 10,000 separations in 2024–25, respectively.
- Highest for Major cities and Inner regional areas – 52 and 56 per 10,000 separations in 2024–25, respectively.
Figure 7: Hospital-onset injury rates by remoteness area, 2015–16 to 2024–25
Line graph showing hospital-onset injury rates per 10,000 separations from 2015-16 to 2024-25 across five remoteness areas: major cities, inner regional, outer regional, remote, and very remote. Rates generally declined from 2015-16 to 2019-20, with very remote areas showing the lowest rates and a slight increase after 2022-23, while other areas stabilise or slightly rise toward 2024-25.
| Year | Major cities | Inner regional | Outer regional | Remote | Very remote |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015-16 | 63 | 68 | 67 | 57 | 47 |
| 2016-17 | 67 | 71 | 69 | 62 | 50 |
| 2017-18 | 56 | 59 | 60 | 53 | 43 |
| 2018-19 | 56 | 59 | 62 | 49 | 47 |
| 2019-20 | 50 | 51 | 52 | 43 | 33 |
| 2020-21 | 49 | 52 | 50 | 45 | 36 |
| 2021-22 | 51 | 52 | 52 | 45 | 40 |
| 2022-23 | 49 | 52 | 53 | 46 | 32 |
| 2023-24 | 51 | 55 | 53 | 45 | 35 |
| 2024-25 | 52 | 56 | 53 | 42 | 40 |
- Hospital-onset injuries exclude diagnosis codes T80-T88 Complications of surgical and medical care and T90-T98 Sequelae of injuries, of poisoning and of other external causes.
- Analysis excludes care types 7.3, 9, 10, and separations for same day chemotherapy or haemodialysis.
- Remoteness area of usual residence is classified using the ABS 2011 Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS) for years 2015-16 and 2016-17, Edition 2 (2016) for years 2019-20 to 2021-22 and Edition 3 (2021) from 2022-23 onwards.
Downloadable data tables are available on Data. See Table S15.
Source:
AIHW analysis of the National Hospital Morbidity Database
|
Data source overview