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YEAR OF OCCURRENCE

Overview

Information contained in the preceding chapters of this publication refers to deaths registered during the 2013 calendar year. In this chapter, death statistics are based on year of occurrence, that is, the year in which the death actually occurred, rather than the year it was registered. The presentation of year of occurrence data in this publication facilitates international comparisons.

There are a proportion of deaths that occur in a given calendar year that are not registered until subsequent years. The international standard for publishing on a year of occurrence basis is to include deaths registered within the relevant occurrence year, and deaths for that same occurrence year that are registered the year immediately following. For example, deaths occurring in 2012 that have been registered in both 2012 and 2013 are presented below.

Analysis of deaths in Australia has shown that the number of deaths registered after the second year is not significant; that is, there is a very small number of deaths registered after the second year of death.

Year of occurrence data allow for seasonal analysis, and data are not distorted by the effects of late registrations or changes in time lags in processing registrations. In those countries where registration systems are complete and timely, there is not a significant difference between the number of deaths derived on a year of registration basis and those on a year of occurrence basis.

In Australia, from 2003-2012 approximately 93% to 96% of deaths registered in a particular year occurred in that same year. However, variations can occur in certain subsets of the population and for particular causes of death. For instance, while 94.9% of the total 147,040 deaths that were registered in 2012 occurred in the same year, only 86.4% of the 2,617 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander deaths, and 90.6% of the 9,299 deaths due to External causes that were registered in 2012, occurred in that same year. More detailed data for specific causes or population groups are available from the ABS on request.

Comparison of Year of Occurrence and Year of Registration data for 2012

The following table shows the number of deaths occurring in 2012 which were registered in 2012 and 2013. Of the deaths of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people that occurred in 2012 (and were registered in either 2012 or 2013), 13.1% were registered late, (i.e. they were registered in 2013). This compared with 6.2% for the total population.

A late registration is defined as a death that is registered after the end of the year in which the death occurred. For example, a death that occurred in 2012, but registered in 2013 or later is classified as a late registration.

8.1 SELECTED CAUSES: 2012 Year of Occurrence(a)(b)
	Registered in 2012	Registered in 2013	Total as at 2013	Late Registrations
Cause of death and ICD-10 code	no.	no.	no.	%
ABORIGINAL AND TORRES STRAIT ISLANDER PEOPLE(c)
All Causes	2 260	342	2 602	13.1
ALL PERSONS(d)
All Causes(e)	139 552	9 272	148 824	6.2
Certain infectious and parasitic diseases (A00-B99)	2 284	152	2 436	6.2
Neoplasms (C00-D48)	41 542	2 595	44 137	5.9
Diseases of the blood and blood-forming organs and certain disorders involving the immune mechanism (D50-D89)	416	19	435	4.4
Endocrine, nutritional and metabolic diseases (E00-E90)	5 738	400	6 138	6.5
Mental and behavioural disorders (F00-F99)	7 763	466	8 229	5.7
Diseases of the nervous system (G00-G99)	6 577	467	7 044	6.6
Diseases of the circulatory system (I00-I99)	41 886	2 687	44 573	6.0
Diseases of the respiratory system (J00-J99)	12 719	715	13 434	5.3
Diseases of the digestive system (K00-K93)	4 961	321	5 282	6.1
Diseases of the skin and subcutaneous tissue (L00-L99)	380	34	414	8.2
Diseases of the musculoskeletal system and connective tissue (M00-M99)	1 103	58	1 161	5.0
Diseases of the genitourinary system (N00-N99)	3 616	178	3 794	4.7
Certain conditions originating in the perinatal period (P00-P96)	443	62	505	12.3
Congenital malformations, deformations and chromosomal abnormalities (Q00-Q99)	505	47	552	8.5
Symptoms, signs and abnormal clinical and laboratory findings, not elsewhere classified (R00-R99)	1 157	174	1 331	13.1
External causes of morbidity and mortality (V01-Y98)	8 429	896	9 325	9.6
(a) All causes of death data from 2006 onward are subject to a revisions process - once data for a reference year are 'final', they are no longer revised. Affected data in this table are 2012 (revised) and 2013 (preliminary). See Explanatory Notes 52-54 and Technical Notes, Causes of Death Revisions, 2011 and 2012 in this publication.
(b) See Explanatory Notes 70-95 for further information on specific issues relating to time series and 2013 data.
(c) See Explanatory Notes 58-67 for further information on interpreting data relating to deaths of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
(d) Includes total deaths for Australia.
(e) Includes deaths due to Diseases of the eye and adnexa (H00-H59), Diseases of the ear and mastoid processes (H60-H95) and Pregnancy, childbirth and the puerperium (O00-O99).