Deaths in Australia

Potentially avoidable deaths are deaths of people younger than 75 due to conditions that could have been prevented within the current health care system. They include deaths from conditions that are:

• potentially preventable – through individualised care and/or
• treatable – through existing primary care (e.g. general practitioner) or hospital care.

Potentially avoidable deaths serve as an indicator of the health of Australians and the performance of the healthcare system (Department of Health, Disability and Ageing 2020, AIHW 2024).

In 2024 almost half (49%) of all deaths for people aged less than 75 were potentially avoidable (Table S6.1). Almost 2 in 3 potentially avoidable deaths were male.

The leading causes of potentially avoidable death for males and females are different (Figure 6.1). In 2024:

• 1 in 9 potentially avoidable deaths of males were due to coronary heart disease
• 1 in 14 potentially avoidable deaths of females were due to breast cancer.

Figure 6.1: Potentially avoidable deaths, males and females, 2024

Reduction of potentially avoidable deaths over time

Over the last 25 years, the rate of potentially avoidable deaths fell by over 40% (Table S6.3). Most of the reduction was in the first 15 years, with a 10% decrease in the last decade.

The Trends in deaths section of this report discusses some of the reasons for a reduction in death rates over time. Many of those reasons also relate to the reduction of preventable causes, including:

• Increased road safety measures
• decrease in smoking rates
• improvements in detection and treatment of disease.

An increase in the potentially avoidable death rate occurred in 2022. This increase is in the context of higher overall mortality in that year (see Mortality in the context of a pandemic).

Coronary heart disease and bowel cancer deaths declining for under 75s

There have been changes to specific causes of potentially avoidable deaths over time.

While many causes of potentially avoidable death have remained relatively stable over the last decade, there were reductions in:

• cancer of the colon, sigmoid, rectum and anus (bowel cancer) for both males and females
• coronary heart disease, although a more pronounced reduction for males (Figure 6.2).

During the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a reduction in deaths due to infections (not including COVID-19) for people aged under 75 years. This is likely due to preventative measures put in place to reduce communicable disease transmission, such as social distancing and increased hygiene practices.

2022 was a year of excess mortality (see Mortality in the context of a pandemic), and the impact of higher death rates for some causes are seen in the figure below.

Figure 6.2: Age-standardised rates of potentially avoidable causes of death, sex, 2015–2024