3302.0 - Deaths, Australia, 2013 
Quality Declaration
Quality Declaration ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 06/11/2014
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EXPLANATORY NOTES
6 The scope of the statistics excludes:
7 The scope for each reference year of the Death Registrations collection includes:
8 Death records received by the ABS during the March quarter 2014 which were initially registered in 2013 (but not fully completed until 2014) were assigned to the 2013 reference year. Any registrations relating to 2013 which were received by ABS from April 2014 were assigned to the 2014 reference year. 9 Prior to 2007, the scope for the reference year of the Death Registrations collection included:
Coverage of death statistics 10 Ideally, for compiling annual time series, the number of deaths should be recorded as all those occurring within a given reference period such as a calendar year. Due to lags in registration of deaths and the provision of that information to the ABS from state and territory Registrars of Births, Deaths and Marriages, data in this release are presented on a year of registration basis. 11 In effect, there are three dates attributable to each death registration:
CLASSIFICATIONS Marital status 12 Marital status relates to the registered marital status of the deceased at the time of death and refers to formally registered marriages or divorces for which a certificate is held. 13 From 2007 onwards, the categories of separated but not divorced and marital status not stated are also included in total deaths. Geography 14 This issue of Deaths, Australia includes data cubes containing death and mortality statistics on the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS) and the Standard Australian Classification of Countries (SACC), 2011. 15 For further information, refer to the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS): Volume 1 - Main Structure and Greater Capital City Statistical Areas, July 2011 (cat. no. 1270.0.55.001) and the Standard Australian Classification of Countries (SACC), 2011 (cat. no. 1269.0). DATA SOURCES 16 Registration of deaths is the responsibility of state and territory Registrars of Births, Deaths and Marriages. Information about the deceased is acquired from a Death Registration Form (DRF) which is completed by the funeral director, based on information supplied by a relative or other person acquainted with the deceased, or by an official of the institution where the death occurred. As part of the registration process, information on the cause of death is either supplied by the medical practitioner certifying the death on a Medical Certificate of Cause of Death (MCCD), or supplied as a result of a coronial investigation. This information is provided to the ABS by individual Registrars for coding and compilation into aggregate statistics shown in this release. Core data items are collected in all states and territories and therefore statistics at the national level are available for key characteristics. Some states collect additional information. State and territory data 17 As a result of an amendment made in 1992 to section 17(a) of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901-1973 (Cwlth) the Indian Ocean territories of Christmas Island and Cocos (Keeling) Islands have been included as part of geographic Australia, hence another category of the state and territory classification has been created. This category is known as 'Other Territories' and includes Christmas Island, the Cocos (Keeling) Islands and Jervis Bay Territory. 18 Prior to 1993, deaths of persons usually resident in Christmas Island or Cocos (Keeling) Islands were included with Off-Shore Areas and Migratory in Western Australia, while deaths of persons usually resident in Jervis Bay Territory were included with the Australian Capital Territory. In 2013, there were 6 deaths of persons usually resident in Christmas Island, the Cocos (Keeling) Islands or Jervis Bay Territory. 19 Death statistics for states and territories have been compiled and presented according to the state or territory of usual residence of the deceased, regardless of where in Australia the death occurred and was registered, except where otherwise stated. Deaths which took place outside Australia are excluded from the statistics. 20 In the following table, data are presented on both a state or territory of registration and usual residence basis. Deaths which took place outside Australia are excluded from the statistics. Deaths of persons who were usual residents of Australia's Other Territories (Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands and Jervis Bay Territory) cannot be registered in Other Territories but are registered in other Australian states and territories.
21 In 2013, there were 342 deaths registered in Australia of persons who usually lived overseas. These have been included in this release with state or territory of usual residence classified according to the state or territory in which the death was registered.
Sub-state/territory standardised death rates 22 Standardised death rates (SDRs) for sub-state/territory regions (for example, Statistical Area Level 2) presented in accompanying spreadsheets are average rates for three years ending in the reference year. 23 Rates for Australia and the states and territories in all other tables are based on single years of death registration data. DATA QUALITY 24 In compiling death statistics, the ABS employs a variety of measures to improve the quality of the death registrations collection. While every opportunity is taken to ensure that the highest quality of statistics are provided, the following are known issues associated with the statistics included in this release. Interval between occurrence and registration of deaths 25 For the most part, statistics in this release refer to deaths registered during the calendar year shown. There is usually an interval between the occurrence and registration of a death (referred to as a registration 'lag') and as a result, some deaths occurring in one year are not registered until the following year or later. This can be caused by either a delay in the submission of a completed form to the registry, or a delay by the registry in processing the death. Deaths which occur in November and December are also likely to be registered in the following year.
26 Of the 147,678 deaths registered in 2013, 93.6% occurred in 2013, while 6.3% occurred in 2012 and the remainder occurred in 2011 or earlier years. Unknown infant age at death 27 For some infant deaths, only limited information for age at death is known. These deaths are included in the following categories:
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander deaths and mortality rates 28 The ABS Death Registrations collection identifies a death as being Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander where the deceased is recorded as an Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander, or both through the death registration process. 29 While it is considered likely that most deaths of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians are registered, a proportion of these deaths are not reported as such by the family, health worker or funeral director during the death registration process. That is, whilst data are provided to the ABS for the Indigenous status question (99.3% of all deaths registered in 2013), there are concerns regarding the accuracy of the data. The funeral director may not always directly ask the Indigenous status question of the deceased's relatives and friends. 30 This release includes the number of registered deaths of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians for all jurisdictions. However, due to the data quality issues outlined below, detailed disaggregations of deaths of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians are provided only for New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia and the Northern Territory. The 'total' variable in detailed disaggregations is an aggregation of the four states and the Northern Territory. 31 There are several data collection forms on which people are asked to state whether they or the persons for whom they are reporting are an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Australian. Due to a number of factors, the results are not always consistent. The likelihood that a person will report, or be recorded, as an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australian on a specific form is known as the propensity to identify. 32 Propensity to identify and be recorded as an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australian is determined by a range of factors, including:
33 In addition to those deaths recorded as either Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians or non-Indigenous, a number of deaths occur each year where Indigenous status is not stated on the death registration form. In 2013, there were 1,023 deaths registered in Australia for whom Indigenous status was not stated, representing 0.7% of all deaths registered. 34 Data presented in this release may therefore underestimate the level of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander deaths and mortality in Australia. Lags in registrations may also affect reliability of measures of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mortality. Caution should be exercised when interpreting data for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians presented in this release, especially with regard to year-to-year changes. 35 Due to the ongoing concern about the mortality rates of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians relative to the total population, a number of projects have been undertaken to investigate the quality of these data. These include:
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australian life tables 36 Life tables for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population were most recently published in November 2013 in Life Tables for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians, 2010-2012 (cat. no. 3302.0.55.003). 37 Estimates of life expectancy at birth for the total population released in Life Tables, States, Territories and Australia, 2010-2012 (cat. no. 3302.0.55.001) are constructed differently to estimates presented in Life Tables for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians, 2010-2012 (cat. no. 3302.0.55.003). Estimates of life expectancy at birth for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population are derived from abridged life tables with an upper age limit of 85 years and over, using numbers of deaths registered in 2010-2012 and the population as at 30 June 2011. Estimates of life expectancy for the total population are based on complete life tables with an upper age group of 120 years and over, using deaths according to month of occurrence in 2010-2012 and quarterly population estimates. In addition, graduation processes applied to both sets of life tables differ. See paragraphs 42 to 51 for more information on life tables. Principles on the use of direct age-standardisation 38 In the National Indigenous Reform Agreement (NIRA), COAG agreed to a set of targets for closing the gap in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander disadvantage. Mortality rates are one of the performance indicators specified in the NIRA to measure progress against one of these targets. 39 Age-standardised rates, along with infant and child mortality rates, are used to determine whether the mortality of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population is declining over time and whether the gap between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and non-Indigenous populations is narrowing. However, there were some inconsistencies in the way different government agencies calculated age-standardised rates in the past. The ABS hosted a workshop on age-standardisation on 19 April 2011 to discuss the best method (direct or indirect) for reporting on Indigenous mortality and to produce a clear set of guidelines specifically for the analysis and reporting of COAG "Closing the Gap" indicators. Workshop participants agreed that the direct method is the preferred method of age-standardisation as it allows for valid comparisons of mortality rates between different study populations and across time. Prior to 2011 some standardised death rates were calculated using the indirect method. 40 The direct method has also been applied to the dissemination of death rates by country of birth from the release of the 2010 issue of this release, replacing the previous indirect standardised death rates. Standardised death rates for countries with less than a total of 20 deaths, or geographies with less than 30 ERP in any one age group are not available for release. 41 For further information, see Appendix 1: Principles on the use of direct age-standardisation in Deaths, Australia, 2010 (cat. no. 3302.0). LIFE TABLES 42 A life table is a statistical model used to represent mortality of a population. In its simplest form, a life table is generated from age-specific death rates and the resulting values are used to measure mortality, survivorship and life expectancy. 43 Life tables in this release are current, or period, life tables, based on death rates for a short period of time during which mortality has remained much the same. Mortality rates used in the Australian and state and territory life tables are based on the occurrence of deaths and estimated resident population for the period 2011-2013. The life tables do not take into account future assumed improvements in mortality. 44 Life tables are presented separately for males and females. The life table depicts the mortality experience of a hypothetical group of newborn babies throughout their entire lifetime. It is based on the assumption that this group is subject to the age-specific mortality rates of the reference period. Typically this hypothetical group is 100,000 persons in size. 45 To construct a life table, data on population, deaths and births are needed. Mortality rates are smoothed to avoid fluctuations in the data. The mortality rate (qx), is the main function of the life table, all other functions are derived from it. The life tables presented in this release contain four columns of interrelated information. These functions are:
Life tables based on assumed improvements in mortality 46 Life tables based on assumed improvements in mortality are produced by the ABS using assumptions on future life expectancy at birth, based on recent trends in life expectancy. These are not the ABS' official life tables and are only used as inputs to ABS population projections. For further information see Population Projections, Australia, 2012 (base) to 2101 (cat. no. 3222.0). Australian life tables 47 The 2011-2013 national and state/territory life tables have been compiled using the revised ERP based on the 2011 Census data. With the release of the 2010-2012 life tables, a small refinement was made to the method to bring Australia's mortality rates (qx values) into line with other comparable countries. The impact of these changes in life expectancy at birth estimates is minimal, though caution should be applied when interpreting changes to life tables over time. For more information, see:
48 Life tables for the states and territories are produced on the same principles as the Australian life tables with the exception of the crude death rate, m(x). Crude death rates are graduated using the Australian life table through the application of the Hodrick-Prescott (HP) filter. This overcomes problems associated with excessive noise in the single year of age rates. In addition, some smoothing and suppression of outliers is often required to achieve reasonable mortality curves with satisfactory goodness-of-fit statistics. 49 State and territory life tables produced by the ABS are available for:
Statistical Area Level 4 life tables 50 Life expectancy at birth for Statistical Area Level 4s have been calculated with reference to state and territory life tables, using the Brass' Logit System. These small area life tables are based on age-specific death rates for each area, some of which may be zero where no deaths are recorded at these ages. The Brass' Logit technique enables the calculation of smooth abridged life tables for regions which have defective age-specific death rates, by adjusting them with reference to a standard life table. The technique does not alter the overall level of mortality, but the age-specific functions of the life table are smoothed. 51 The Brass' Logit technique essentially compares mortality between the regional and standard life tables across ages, then a line of best fit is calculated to describe that relationship by age. The line of best fit is then used in conjunction with the standard life table to determine death rates for the small area life table. For a more detailed description of the Brass' Logit System, refer to Brass (1975) Methods for Estimating Fertility and Mortality from Limited and Defective data. CAUSES OF DEATH 52 Causes of death information is published under the 3303.0 product family. For more information see Causes of Death, Australia: Doctor Certified Deaths, Summary Tables, 2012 (cat. no. 3303.0.55.001), and Causes of Death, Australia, 2012 (cat. no. 3303.0). CONFIDENTIALITY 53 The Census and Statistics Act 1905 provides the authority for the ABS to collect statistical information, and requires that statistical output shall not be published or disseminated in a manner that is likely to enable the identification of a particular person or organisation. This requirement means that the ABS must take care and make assurances that any statistical information about individual respondents cannot be derived from published data. 54 Where necessary, tables in this release have had small values suppressed or randomised to protect confidentiality. As a result, sums of components may not add exactly to totals. ROUNDING 55 Calculations as shown in the commentary sections of this release are based on unrounded figures. Calculations using rounded figures may differ from those released. Where figures have been rounded in tables, discrepancies may occur between sums of component items and totals. 56 All data are affected by errors in reporting and processing. Death registrations data are also affected by delays in registration. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 57 The ABS' releases draw extensively on information provided freely by individuals, businesses, governments and other organisations. The efforts of each state and territory's Registries of Births, Deaths and Marriages to improve the data quality, coverage and timeliness of death registration information, processes and systems are noted and valued by the ABS. Their continued cooperation is very much appreciated. Information received by the ABS is treated in strict confidence as required by the Census and Statistics Act 1905. RELATED PRODUCTS 58 Other ABS products which may be of interest to users include:
59 ABS products and releases are available free of charge from the ABS website <https://www.abs.gov.au>. Click on Statistics to gain access to the full range of ABS statistical and reference information. ADDITIONAL STATISTICS AVAILABLE 60 More detailed death and mortality statistics can be obtained from data cubes (in Microsoft Excel format) available electronically, from the Downloads tab. 61 Deaths, Australia (cat. no. 3302.0)
62 Life tables, States, Territories and Australia, 2011-2013 (cat. no. 3302.0.55.001) 63 Australian Historical Population Statistics (cat. no. 3105.0.65.001)
64 For further information about these and related statistics, contact the National Information and Referral Service on 1300 135 070, or email client.services@abs.gov.au. The ABS Privacy Policy outlines how the ABS will handle any personal information that you provide to us. 65 The ABS also issues a daily Release Advice on the website which details the products to be released in the week ahead. Document Selection These documents will be presented in a new window.
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