Seasonal differences
The following interactive shows how hospitalisations for injuries changed over the year for the most recent three years. It illustrates:
- a seasonal pattern for some categories of injury, and
- the impact of COVID-19 restrictions on injury hospitalisations
Figure 1: The effect of seasons on injury hospitalisations, 2019–20 to 2021–22
Multi-layer interactive displaying injury hospitalisations by bimonthly admission periods over three years. The user can display graphs for each injury cause, type, or place.

After COVID-19 restrictions were introduced, there was a decrease in total hospitalisations for injuries, with 14% fewer admissions between March and May of 2020 compared with the previous year. The decrease was larger for some injury causes, types, and places than others (as illustrated above). A few categories, such as injuries happening at home, saw an increase in hospitalisations. The displacement effect of COVID-19 on hospitalisations appears to be resolving, with case counts reverting to expected patterns during the 2021-22 financial year after a dip in 2019-20 and rise in 2020-21.
AIHW (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare) 2021. The first year of COVID-19 in Australia: direct and indirect health effects. Canberra: AIHW. Viewed 12 April 2022.