Suicide and intentional self-harm

Suicide and intentional self-harm are complex and can have multiple contributing factors. Although suicide and intentional self-harm are complex issues, they can be prevented.

What are suicide and intentional self-harm?

Suicide is an action taken to deliberately end one’s own life, while intentional self-harm is deliberately causing physical harm to oneself but not necessarily with the intention of dying.

How common is suicide?

In 2023, there were 3,214 deaths by suicide – an average of about 9 deaths per day. Suicide rates in Australia fluctuate but have decreased overall since the mid-1960s (from a high of 18.4 per 100,000 population in 1963, to 11.8 in 2023). Since 1907, the male age-standardised suicide rate has been consistently higher and more variable than the female rate (Figure 1). Variations in the overall suicide rate in Australia have been largely driven by changes in the male suicide rate (ABS 2024).

For more information, see Suicide deaths.

Trends over time for deaths by suicide

Numbers and rates of deaths by suicide change over time as social, economic and environmental factors influence suicide risk. The data visualisations below provide an overview of the characteristics of people who have died by suicide in Australia since 1907. This analysis may provide useful information on potentially preventable factors, such as restricting access to means of suicide and reducing the risks posed by social or economic factors. Over time, the accuracy and quality of the data collected have been influenced by a number of factors including changes in legislation, technology and a reduction in social stigma.

• Between 1907 and 2023, age-standardised suicide rates in Australia ranged from 8.4 deaths per 100,000 population per year (in 1943 and 1944) to 18.4 in 1963.
• Suicide rates peaked in 1913 (18.0 deaths per 100,000 population), 1915 (18.2), 1930 (17.8), 1963 (18.4) and 1967 (17.7). These peaks tended to coincide with major social and economic events or changes.
• In 2023, the suicide rate was 11.8 deaths per 100,000 population – down from a recent high of 13.2 in 2017 and 2019. It is important to note that deaths registered in 2023, 2022 and 2021 are preliminary and as such, are subject to revision (ABS 2024).

For more information, see Deaths by suicide over time.

Sex and age differences for deaths by suicide

In 2023, there were 2,419 deaths by suicide for males and 795 deaths by suicide for females. 

The age distribution of deaths by suicide is similar for males and females, and the highest proportion of deaths by suicide occur during mid-life. More than half (54.9%) of all deaths by suicide in 2023 occurred in people aged 30–59 (1,765 deaths). A further 23.4% of suicide deaths occurred in people aged 60 and over (752 deaths) and 20.8% occurred in people aged 15–29 (670 deaths). Suicide was the leading cause of death among people aged 15–44 in 2023 (ABS 2024).

Age-specific suicide rates for males are higher than those for females across all reported age groups for all years (Figure 2). The highest suicide rate for males in 2023 occurred in those aged 55–59 (30.9 deaths per 100,000 population). This is followed by males aged 45–49 (27.3), and males aged 40–44 (27.2). The highest suicide rate for females was among those aged 50–54 (10.0 deaths per 100,000 population), and the lowest was for females aged 80–84 (3.8).

For more information, see Deaths by suicide over time.

Geographical variation for deaths by suicide

The number and rate of deaths by suicide differs between states and territories and across different regions of Australia.

Patterns of deaths by suicide between states and territories can reveal insights that may be masked by results for the whole of Australia and may help to highlight different risk factors and assist in better targeting of suicide prevention activities.

In 2023, the age-standardised suicide rate ranged from 7.7 per 100,000 population in the Australian Capital Territory to 17.0 in the Northern Territory. The highest number of deaths by suicide was in New South Wales (847), followed by Queensland (790), Victoria (761), Western Australia (417), South Australia (230) and Tasmania (88) (ABS 2024).

For more information, see Annual deaths over time by states and territories and Suicide and self-harm by geography.

First Nations people

In 2023, 265 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (First Nations) people died by suicide. In the 5 years from 2019 to 2023, the suicide rate for First Nations people was highest for those aged 25–44 at 49.3 per 100,000 population. For young First Nations people, aged 24 and under, the rate was 13.9 per 100,000 population.

During the same period, suicide rates were higher among First Nations males than First Nations females across most states and territories.

The suicide rate for First Nations people in 2023 was over 2.5 times that of non-Indigenous Australians. 

The data above are reported for New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia and the Northern Territory. Data for Tasmania and the Australian Capital Territory are excluded in line with national reporting guidelines (see the Technical note on the Australian Bureau of Statistics website for details). For more information, see Suicide and intentional self-harm hospitalisations among First Nations people and Health and wellbeing of First Nations people.

How common is hospitalisation for intentional self-harm?

In Australia, there were close to 24,100 hospitalisations for intentional self-harm hospitalisations in 2023–24 (AIHW 2025). 

Sex and age differences for intentional self-harm hospitalisations

Rates of hospitalisations for intentional self-harm are higher for females. This is the opposite of what is seen in deaths by suicide, where rates are higher for males. This may, in part, be due to differences between methods used by males and females – with males tending to use more lethal methods than females. Other possible contributing factors include the fact that some self-harm occurs with no suicidal intent and that suicide attempts cannot be easily differentiated from other types of self-harm in the current national hospital morbidity data collection (Figure 3).

In 2023–24:

• Two-thirds of people (64%) hospitalised for intentional self-harm injuries were female (over 15,000 hospitalisations).
• The rate of intentional self-harm hospitalisations was higher for females than males (115 per 100,000 population compared with 65 per 100,000 population).
• The rate of intentional self-harm hospitalisations for females aged 0–14 increased from 41 per 100,000 population in 2019–20 to 71 in 2020–21 and 2021–22, before lowering to 56 in 2023–24 (AIHW 2025).

How do intentional self-harm hospitalisations vary across states and territories?

The rate of intentional self-harm hospitalisations varied between states and territories in 2023–24, with the Northern Territory reporting the highest rate (157 hospitalisations per 100,000 population), which is more than one and a half times as high as the national rate (90 hospitalisations per 100,000 population). The lowest rate was recorded in New South Wales (56 hospitalisations per 100,000 population). Reporting is based on a patient’s usual residence, not necessarily where they received treatment.

For more information, see Intentional self-harm hospitalisations by states and territories and Suicide and self-harm by geography.

Do people in regional and remote areas experience higher rates of intentional self-harm hospitalisations?

Understanding the geographical distribution of hospitalisations due to intentional self-harm based on patients’ area of usual residence can help target suicide prevention activities to areas in need.

In 2023–24:

• Residents of Very remote areas recorded a rate of 144 hospitalisations per 100,000 population, compared with residents of Major cities (84 per 100,000 population).
• The majority (68%) of intentional self-harm hospitalisations were for residents of Major cities.
• Young people aged 15–19 had the highest rates of intentional self-harm hospitalisations in each remoteness area except in Remote areas where both 15–19- and 20–24-year-olds had the same rate (both 342 per 100,000 population).
• The highest rate of intentional self-harm hospitalisations overall was in the 15–19 age group in Very remote areas (437 hospitalisations per 100,000 population) (AIHW 2025).

A similar pattern was seen with deaths by suicide as age-standardised suicide rates tended to increase with remoteness of place of residence. For more information, see Suicide and intentional self-harm hospitalisations among regional and remote communities.

Where do I go for more information?

For more information on suicide and self-harm, see Suicide and self-harm monitoring.

If you, or someone you know, is struggling with thoughts of suicide or suicide-related behaviour, help is available.