Place of birth
Place of birth refers to the setting that the birth event occurred in. In 2020, 96% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander females gave birth in hospital, and of these 94% gave birth in a public hospital. Between 2005 and 2020 the proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mothers who gave birth in hospital has remained stable between 96% and 98%.
In 2020, a small proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mothers gave birth elsewhere; 2.2% (293) in birth centres, 0.1% (18) at home and 1.4% (186) in other settings (such as born before arrival at hospital).
In comparison, for non-Indigenous females who gave birth:
- 96% gave birth in hospitals
- 74% of hospital births were in public hospitals
- 3.0% gave birth in birth centres
- 0.5% gave birth at home
- 0.7% in other settings.