Sports injury in Australia

When comparing sports injury hospitalisations across sports, it is important to consider the number of people participating in each sport and the frequency with which they are participating. More exposure to the risk of being injured increases the likelihood of being injured.

Eight in ten adults participate in sport or physical activity 

According to the AusPlay survey, about 18.4 million Australians aged 15 and over (84%) played sport or took part in some form of physical activity at least once in 2023–24 (ASC 2024).

In 2023–24: 

• the most popular activity was recreational walking (10.8 million participants), followed by fitness and gym (6.4 million), and bushwalking (3.7 million)
• the most popular team sports were soccer (1.2 million participants), basketball (1.1 million participants) and Australian rules football (562,100) (ASC 2024).

Participation and risk of hospitalisation

When evaluating the risk of hospitalisation for a select group of sports in 2023–24, the reported number of sport injury hospitalisations was compared against the estimated number of participants aged 15 and over from AusPlay (ASC 2024). In 2023–24, rugby (which includes both rugby league and rugby union) had the highest rate of sports injury hospitalisation based on participation (around 1,400 hospitalisations per 100,000 participants), followed by wheeled motor sports (about 1,000 hospitalisations per 100,000 participants) and Australian rules football (780 hospitalisations per 100,000 participants) (Figure 6).

Figure 6: Number of sports injury hospitalisations, participation estimates and rate per 100,000 participants (aged 15 and over) for selected sports, 2023–24

Notes:

'Rugby' includes rugby league, rugby union, and rugby, unspecified. For other sports category inclusions, see technical notes for detail.

For sport categories that include more than one sport, the participation estimate is the sum of the total estimated number of participants for each sport. For example, a person who participates in both rugby union and rugby league will be counted twice in the Rugby category. This provides an estimate of their exposure to risk of injury. See technical notes for detail.

For more detail, see data table 15.

Cycling had the highest number of hospitalisations

Cycling had the highest proportion of sports injury hospitalisations in 2023–24, accounting for 12% (or 7,500 cases) of all sports injury hospitalisations, followed by Australian rules football (8.7% or 5,400 cases), and soccer (8.6% or 5,300 cases) (Figure 7). These sports are popular among Australians, which means more people participate in them, increasing the likelihood of injuries and hospitalisations. Participation estimates for each of these sports can be found in the featured sports section of this report. 

Figure 7: Number and crude rate (per 100,000 population) of sports injury hospitalisations by sport and sex, Australia, 2023–24

For more detail, see data table 4 and technical notes.

Males were 5 times more likely to be hospitalised for a sports injury from cycling than females (47 compared to 9.4 hospitalisations per 100,000 population). While more than one-quarter of sports injury hospitalisations in children aged 0–4 were from cycling. 

The different types of football (Australian rules football, rugby, touch football, and other and unspecified football) collectively contributed to 18% of all sports injury hospitalisations (or 11,100 cases). The highest rate of hospitalisation from football was observed in males aged 15–19 participating in Australian rules football (136 hospitalisations per 100,000).

Equestrian activities accounted for the most sports injury hospitalisations in females (8.9% of injury hospitalisations or 1,600 cases) with females 3.4 times more likely to be hospitalised than males (12 compared to 3.5 hospitalisations per 100,000 population).