Introduction
All Deaths
Doctor Certified Deaths

INTRODUCTION

Deaths in Australia can be categorised as either deaths which are certified by a medical practitioner (doctor certified) or coroner. Doctor certified deaths are predominantly due to natural causes, whilst coroner certified deaths are typically due to external or unknown causes.

This publication contains summary information on causes of death for all doctor certified deaths for Australia.

Doctor certified deaths accounted for 87.9% of all deaths registered in 2010. The remainder were reported to, and certified by, a coroner.

Causes of death for all deaths in 2010, whether doctor or coroner certified, will be published in Causes of Death, Australia, 2010 (cat. no. 3303.0), due for release in 2012.

The proportion of deaths certified by a doctor varies according to cause of death.

• For example, deaths classified to Chapter II Cancer (C00-D48) and Chapter IX Diseases of the circulatory system (I00-I99) have a higher proportion of deaths certified by doctors. In 2010, doctor certified deaths classified to these chapters accounted for 33.9% and 31.2% of total doctor certified deaths, respectively.
• In contrast, deaths classified to Chapter XVIII (Ill-defined causes) and Chapter XX (External causes) have a much lower proportion of deaths certified by doctors. In 2010, doctor certified deaths classified to these chapters accounted for only 0.3% and 1.3% of total doctor certified deaths, respectively (see Table 2). Given the low number of doctor certified deaths for these particular causes, they are not presented in detail in this publication. Information will be available in the 2012 release of Causes of Death, Australia, 2010 (cat. no. 3303.0) which will provide detailed information on causes of death for all deaths in 2010.

ALL DEATHS

There were 143,473 deaths registered in Australia in 2010. This was 2,713 (1.9%) more than the number registered in 2009 (140,760). The standardised death rate (SDR) in 2010 was 5.7 deaths per 1,000 standard population. This continues a steady decline in the standardised death rate over the past decade from 6.8 deaths per 1,000 in 2000, and is slightly lower than the 2009 rate (5.8 deaths per 1,000). See Explanatory Note 42 for further information on standardised death rates.

Males accounted for 73,484 (51.2%) deaths registered in 2010, and females accounted for the remaining 69,989 deaths (48.8%). The sex ratio (male deaths per 100 female deaths) has been gradually declining over the past decade, down from 108.7 in 2000 to 105.0 in 2010.

Further details on numbers of deaths registered can be found in Deaths, Australia, 2010 (cat.no. 3302.0).

DOCTOR CERTIFIED DEATHS

Of all deaths registered in 2010, 126,094 (87.9%) were certified by a doctor. The remainder were reportable deaths, certified by a coroner (12.1%).

Males accounted for 61,832 (49.0%) of all doctor certified deaths registered in 2010, with females accounting for the remaining 64,262 (51.0%). In contrast, males accounted for a higher proportion of coroner certified deaths (11,652 or 67.0%) compared to females (5,727 or 33%). The median age at death for doctor certified deaths registered in 2010 was 82.5 years, whereas the median age at death for coroner certified deaths registered in 2010 was substantially lower at 59.1 years (see Table 4).

State and Territory Doctor Certified Deaths

The proportion of deaths certified by a doctor varies between jurisdictions. In 2010, Northern Territory had the lowest proportion of deaths certified by a doctor at 69.7%. The Australian Capital Territory had the next lowest proportion of deaths certified by a doctor at 83.2%. New South Wales had the highest proportion of deaths certified by a doctor with 90.1%. The proportions for all jurisdictions in 2010 were comparable with the proportions in 2009..

	2010
	Doctor		Coroner		Total
	no.	%	no.	%	no.
NSW	43 192	90.1	4 753	9.9	47 945
Vic.	31 100	87.3	4 523	12.7	35 623
Qld	24 136	88.4	3 153	11.6	27 289
SA	10 912	84.2	2 045	15.8	12 957
WA	10 839	85.2	1 881	14.8	12 720
Tas.	3 827	89.6	442	10.4	4 269
NT	684	69.7	297	30.3	981
ACT	1 397	83.2	282	16.8	1 679
Aust.	126 094	87.9	17 379	12.1	143 473