Numbers of suicides 2001 to 2016

Each annual release of this report will update previously published numbers of suicides, where updates have been made to the source data. Updates to these numbers may have an impact on the rates and ratios used for comparison to the broader Australian population, which are calculated from the suicide numbers.

For information on interpreting these results, including updates to previously published data, see Box 2 and the Notes.

Numbers of suicides by year (men and women)

From 2001 to 2016 there were 373 certified suicide deaths among men and women with at least one day of Australian Defence Force (ADF) service since 1 January 2001. Of these, 198 (53%) occurred in ex-serving personnel (Table 1).

From 2001 to 2016, the ex-serving population increased each year as more discharged personnel were added to that population. Changes in numbers of suicides over time need to be interpreted in the context of changes in the size of the population (particularly the increases in the size of the ex-serving group over the analysis period).

Table 1. Number of suicide deaths, ADF service status groups, 2001 to 2016

Year

All ADF(a)

Ex-serving(b)

2001

19

n.p.

2002

15

n.p.

2003

18

10

2004

15

n.p.

2005

9

n.p.

2006(c)

13

6

2007(d)

20

9

2008

20

11

2009

25

12

2010

27

14

2011

23

12

2012

24

17

2013

34

22

2014

32

20

2015

41

32

2016

38

23

n.p. Not published because of small numbers, confidentiality or other concerns about the quality of the data.

  1. Consists of suicide deaths in men and women, for all ADF status groups combined (serving, reserve and ex-serving personnel).

  2. Consists of suicide deaths in men and women for ex-serving ADF personnel only.

  3. From 2006 onwards, the ABS implemented a revisions process for coroner-certified deaths (such as suicides). This improved data quality by enabling additional suicide deaths to be identified beyond initial processing (ABS 2017}. For detailed information see Notes.

  4. New ABS coding guidelines were applied for deaths registered from 1 January 2007. The new guidelines improve data quality by enabling deaths to be coded to suicide by ABS mortality coders if evidence indicates the death was from intentional self-harm (ABS 2017). For detailed information see Notes.

Note: The ex-serving population increased each year in the study period (2001–2016), as personnel discharged from the ADF.

Source: AIHW analysis of linked PMKeyS—NDI data 2001–2016.

Number of suicides by service status: 3-year aggregation (men and women)

For confidentiality reasons relating to low numbers, total numbers of suicides are reported in 3-year rolling aggregations from 2001. Aggregation allows for reporting of a greater level of detail than is possible when reporting in single years (Table 2).

From 2001 to 2016, the ex-serving population increased each year as more discharged personnel were added to that population. Changes in numbers of suicides over time need to be interpreted in the context of changes in the size of the population (particularly the increases in the size of the ex-serving group over the analysis period).

Table 2. Number of suicide deaths, ADF service status groups, by 3-year aggregations, 2001–2003 to 2014–2016

 

All ages:
All service groups(a)

All ages:
Serving(a)

All ages:
Reserve(a)

All ages:
Ex-serving(a)

All ages:
Women

Under 30(a):
All service groups

Under 30(a):
Ex-serving

2001–03

52

27

13

12

n.p.

31

8

2002–04

48

22

12

14

n.p.

24

8

2003–05

42

16

8

18

n.p.

25

12

2004–06(b)

37

13

10

14

n.p.

17

7

2005–07(b)(c)

42

10

12

20

n.p.

22

11

2006–08(b)(c)

53

12

15

26

n.p.

23

10

2007–09(c)

65

15

18

32

n.p.

26

11

2008–10

72

17

18

37

n.p.

25

13

2009–11

75

22

15

38

n.p.

28

14

2010–12

74

18

13

43

n.p.

25

14

2011–13

81

16

14

51

8

28

17

2012–14

90

13

18

59

8

31

20

2013–15

107

18

15

74

10

35

24

2014–16

111

21

15

75

10

35

20

n.p.   Not published because of small numbers, confidentiality or other concerns about the quality of the data.

  1. Consists of suicide deaths in men and women.
  2. From 2006 onwards, the ABS implemented a revisions process for coroner-certified deaths (such as suicides). This improved data quality by enabling additional suicide deaths to be identified beyond initial processing (ABS 2017). For detailed information see Notes.
  3. New ABS coding guidelines were applied for deaths registered from 1 January 2007. The new guidelines improve data quality by enabling deaths to be coded to suicide by ABS mortality coders if evidence indicates the death was from intentional self-harm (ABS 2017). For detailed information see Notes.

Notes:

  1. For privacy reasons, numbers of suicides for individual service status groups by year are not published. This table presents suicide deaths by 3-year aggregation, so suicide deaths recorded in any year will contribute to multiple rows in the table. As such, the sum of any column will be greater than the total number of suicide deaths recorded for that service group over the study period 2001 to 2016.
  2. The ex-serving population increased each year in the study period (2001–2016), as personnel discharged from the ADF.

Source: AIHW analysis of linked PMKeyS—NDI data 2001–2016.

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