NSW REGISTRY OF BIRTHS, DEATHS AND MARRIAGES, DEATHS COLLECTION
INTRODUCTION
1 The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Deaths collection has been compiled from data made available to the ABS by the Registrars of Births, Deaths and Marriages in each state or territory.
2 The Deaths collection brings together statistics and indicators for deaths in Australia.
3 In NSW, the Births, Deaths & Marriages Act 1995 requires all deaths occurring in NSW to be registered within seven days of burial or cremation.
4 The Deaths collection includes information on the number of deaths classified by age, sex, birthplace, marital status, cause of death and usual residence of deceased by state or territory; also information on infant deaths, deaths of Indigenous persons, age-specific death rates, expectation of life at birth and standardised death rates.
5 In this product, information is presented on death rates and deaths by age. Information is also presented on the number of infant deaths between 2004 and 2006 and the average infant mortality rate for the same period.
6 Populations used to calculate rates are preliminary estimated resident population by age and sex at 30 June for each year, based on results of the 2006 Census of Population and Housing.
SCOPE
7 The ABS Deaths Collection includes all deaths that occurred and were registered in Australia including deaths of persons whose usual residence is overseas. Deaths of Australian residents which occurred outside Australia may be registered but are not included in the ABS statistics.
8 These tables do not include foetal deaths (stillbirths).
REFERENCE PERIOD
9 The reference period is calendar years, with the latest release available for 2006.
KEY DATA ITEMS
10 The following key data items from the Deaths collection relate to data used in this product:
11 Death: The permanent disappearance of all evidence of life after birth has taken place. The definition excludes deaths prior to live birth. For the purposes of the Vitals and Causes of Death collections of the ABS, a death refers to any death which occurs in, or en route to Australia and is registered with a state or territory Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages.
12 Infant death: The death of a live-born child who dies before reaching his/her first birthday.
13 Infant mortality rate: The number of deaths of children under one year of age in one calendar year per 1,000 live births in the same calendar year. In this product the infant mortality rate has been presented as an average for three years. The average rate was calculated by summing the infant mortality rates for the three years and dividing this by three.
14 Local Government Area (LGA) of usual residence: LGA of usual residence of the deceased.
15 Standardised death rate (SDR): SDRs enable the comparison of death rates between populations of different age structures by relating them to a standard population. The ABS standard populations relate to the years ending in 1 (e.g. 2001). The current standard population is all persons in the 2001 Australian population. SDRs are expressed per 1,000 or 100,000 persons. There are two methods of calculating standardised death rates: the direct and indirect methods. Only the indirect method is used in this product. The indirect method is used when the populations under study are small and the age-specific death rates are unreliable or not known. It is an adjustment to the crude death rate of the standard population to account for the variation between the actual number of deaths in the population under study and the number of deaths which would have occurred if the population under study had experienced the age-specific death rates of the standard population.
GEOGRAPHY
16 The Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC) (cat. no. 1216.0) is used in the coding of this collection. Data are available by Statistical Local Area (SLA) of usual residence. SLA data are aggregated to Local Government areas in this product.
17 The registration of deaths is the responsibility of the individual state and territory Registrars. Registrations are based on information supplied by a relative or other person acquainted with the deceased or an official of the institution where the death occurred, and on information supplied by a medical practitioner as to the cause of death. The information is supplied to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) by individual Registrars for compilation into the aggregate statistics in Deaths, Australia (cat. no. 3302.0).
ACCURACY
18 There is usually an interval between a death's occurrence and its registration. Because of delays in registration some deaths occurring in one year are not registered until the following year or even later.
19 For deaths data, cell values of less than three have been suppressed to protect confidentiality. Other cells may be suppressed to provide consequential confidentiality.
20 In compiling deaths statistics the ABS uses a variety of quality control measures to ensure the data are as reliable as possible. These measures include seeking further information, where necessary, to enable accurate classification of the underlying cause of death, detailed computer editing of data and checks on the statistical output, at the individual record and aggregate levels.
21 The ABS provides certification booklets to help certifiers provide accurate and comprehensive information for mortality coding on medical certificates of cause of death.
PUBLISHED DATA
22 The main summary publications of deaths data are Deaths, Australia (cat. no. 3302.0) and Causes of Death, Australia (cat. no. 3303.0).
ABS DATA AVAILABLE ON REQUEST
23 As well as the statistics included in this and related publications, the ABS may have other relevant data available on request. For further information, please contact the National Information and Referral Service on 1300 135 070.
RELATED WEB SITES
24 Further information can be found at the NSW Registry of Births, Deaths & Marriages web site: www.bdm.nsw.gov.au.
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