ABORIGINAL AND TORRES STRAIT ISLANDER DEATHS



There were 2,558 deaths registered in Australia in 2011 where the deceased person was recorded as being an Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander, or both (see table 1.7). For detailed data, see data cube Table 16: Deaths, Indigenous status, Selected states and territories - 1991 to 2011.

1.7 DEATHS, Indigenous status - 2011
	Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander		Non-Indigenous		Not stated		Total
State or territory	no.	%	no.	%	no.	%	no.
NSW	726	1.4	49 642	98.0	293	0.6	50 661
Vic.	128	0.4	36 417	99.6	7	-	36 552
Qld	629	2.3	26 451	96.5	334	1.2	27 414
SA	141	1.1	12 492	98.6	32	0.3	12 665
WA	454	3.6	12 152	95.5	118	0.9	12 724
Tas.	30	0.7	4 215	99.3	-	-	4 245
NT	437	45.3	526	54.6	np	np	964
ACT	12	0.7	1 679	98.8	9	0.5	1 700
Aust.(a)	2 558	1.7	143 580	97.7	794	0.5	146 932
- nil or rounded to zero (including null cells)
np not available for publication but included in totals where applicable, unless otherwise indicated
(a) Includes Other Territories.

Deaths by Year of registration and Year of occurrence

The following table presents deaths of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders by year of registration and year of occurrence separately for those deaths registered up to and including 31 December 2011. While the interval between the occurrence and registration of deaths is often longer among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians than among the non-Indigenous population, there is normally little difference between the number of deaths registered in a given year and the number of deaths that occurred in the same year for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians. This is because for each year, the number of deaths that are not registered in the year that they occur are compensated by deaths that occurred in the previous years but were subsequently registered. The table below illustrates that if data are routinely reported on a year of occurrence basis, deaths data for the latest year (and the year prior to the latest year) will be underestimated.

1.8 ABORIGINAL AND TORRES STRAIT ISLANDER DEATHS(a), States and territories(b)(c) - 1995 to 2011
	NSW	Vic.	Qld(d)	SA	WA(e)	Tas.	NT	ACT	Aust.(e)(f)
YEAR OF REGISTRATION
1995	224	50	np	121	384	np	387	9	1 182
1996	177	49	258	118	370	np	328	np	1 306
1997	88	93	531	132	351	5	458	4	1 662
1998	462	123	593	127	378	13	415	3	2 114
1999	435	130	529	116	350	11	399	6	1 976
2000	473	108	535	144	407	np	450	np	2 127
2001	481	93	565	125	345	np	429	np	2 072
2002	516	64	590	107	371	20	462	4	2 136
2003	485	82	569	137	338	23	435	9	2 079
2004	490	54	579	131	400	20	449	10	2 136
2005	507	71	519	142	406	28	454	11	2 141
2006	530	111	584	124	443	20	452	14	2 279
2007	601	95	594	138	449	24	461	6	2 368
2008	559	97	562	141	486	24	467	16	2 353
2009	591	106	632	160	416	30	431	10	2 377
2010	622	117	948	147	436	37	447	13	2 767
2011	726	128	629	141	454	30	437	12	2 558
YEAR OF OCCURRENCE(g)
1995	234	49	np	117	371	np	370	10	1 180
1996	166	67	350	122	351	np	383	np	1 444
1997	98	106	567	137	382	5	408	3	1 706
1998	465	108	595	129	389	13	414	3	2 116
1999	433	105	540	117	347	12	438	7	1 999
2000	480	115	619	140	384	np	428	np	2 177
2001	487	81	581	122	368	np	430	np	2 100
2002	508	64	613	108	384	22	470	5	2 176
2003	494	83	594	144	323	22	418	12	2 092
2004	481	55	631	134	391	19	437	7	2 157
2005	507	81	541	140	416	32	493	12	2 225
2006	529	117	588	123	460	16	453	12	2 299
2007	599	94	583	139	460	25	461	8	2 369
2008	559	96	553	143	471	23	486	14	2 346
2009	595	109	624	146	400	33	435	12	2 355
2010	639	131	620	149	416	35	425	12	2 428
2011	679	89	578	132	380	29	340	11	2 238
np not available for publication but included in totals where applicable, unless otherwise indicated
(a) From 2007 onwards, Indigenous status for deaths registered in Victoria, South Australia, Western Australia, Tasmania, Northern Territory and Australian Capital Territory is sourced from both the Death Registration Form and Medical Certificate of Cause of Death.
(b) State or territory of usual residence.
(c) Due to differing levels of recording Indigenous status by the states and territories and over time, care should be taken in interpreting change in numbers of deaths. As a result, data for Australia should not be analysed as a time series.
(d) Queensland began to register Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander deaths as such in 1996. Care should be taken when interpreting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander deaths data for Queensland for 2010. See Technical Note: Queensland Retrospective Deaths Project, and paragraph 36 of the Explanatory Notes of Deaths, Australia, 2010 (cat. no. 3302.0).
(e) ABS has finalised investigations into the volatility of Aboriginal Torres Strait Islander deaths in Western Australia in the years 2007 to 2009. As a result relevant details for Western Australia and, as a consequence Australia, have been revised on both year of registration and year of occurrence basis.
(f) Includes Other Territories.
(g) Includes deaths registered up to and including 31 December 2011. The number of deaths presented on a year of occurrence basis are subject to change, as deaths that occurred prior to 31 December 2011 but have not yet been registered are registered in subsequent years. See paragraphs 26 and 27 of the Explanatory Notes for more information.

Median age

Median ages at death data for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians are only included in this publication for New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia and the Northern Territory. Victoria, Tasmania and the Australian Capital Territory are excluded due to small numbers of registered deaths of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians.

In 2011, the median age at death of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians varied across the selected states and territories. New South Wales had the highest median age at death (58.5 years for males and 66.2 years for females) and South Australia had the lowest (50.3 years for both males and females.) For detailed data, see data cube Table 17: Median age at death, Indigenous status, Selected states and territories - 1991 to 2011.


Age-specific death rates

Age-specific death rates (ASDRs) for 2007-2011 for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australian males and females, in all age groups, were higher than rates for non-Indigenous males and females.

For New South Wales and Queensland the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australian rates were more than twice the rates for non-Indigenous Australians in the 25 to 64 years age group. For both males and females, the largest difference was for those aged 35-44 years, where Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australian ASDRs were three or more times higher than those recorded for non-Indigenous males and females.

For South Australia, Western Australia and the Northern Territory, ASDRs for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians in some age groups were five or more times higher than those for non-Indigenous Australians. The largest differences occurred among males aged 35-44 years and females aged 25 to 44 years. For detailed data, see data cube Table 19: Age-specific death rates, Indigenous status, Selected states and territories - 2007-2011.


Infant mortality rates

In 2009-2011, New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia and the Northern Territory recorded a combined infant mortality rate (IMR) for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians that was around twice the rate for non-Indigenous Australians (7.2 and 3.9 per 1,000 live births respectively). In the Northern Territory IMRs for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population fell, from 13.6 deaths in 2006-2008 to 13.0 deaths in 2009-2011. IMRs in the Northern Territory were the highest of all states and territories across the 2006-2008 to 2009-2011 period. Other states had lower IMRs for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population, but rates fluctuated due to the small and variable number of registered infant deaths in these jurisdictions during the period. For detailed data, see data cube Table 18: Infant mortality rates, Indigenous status, Selected states and territories - 1991 to 2011.