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YEAR OF OCCURRENCE

Overview

Information contained in the preceding chapters of this publication refers to deaths registered during the 2014 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 2013 that were registered in either 2013 or 2014 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 2004-2013 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 93.6% of the total 147,675 deaths that were registered in 2013 occurred in the same year, only 86.8% of the 2,809 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander deaths, and 89.7% of the 9,160 deaths due to External causes that were registered in 2013, 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 2013

The following table shows the number of deaths occurring in Australia in 2013 which were registered in 2013 and 2014. Of the deaths of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people that occurred in 2013 (and were registered in either 2013 or 2014), 12.3% were registered late, (i.e. they were registered in 2014). This compared with 6.7% 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 2013, but registered in 2014 or later is classified as a late registration.

7.1 SELECTED CAUSES: 2013 Year of Occurrence(a)(b)
	Registered in 2013	Registered in 2014	Total as at 2014	Late Registrations
Cause of death and ICD-10 code	no.	no.	no.	%
ABORIGINAL AND TORRES STRAIT ISLANDER PEOPLE(c)(d)
All Causes	2 437	341	2 778	12.3
ALL PERSONS(d)
All Causes(e)	138 233	9 886	148 119	6.7
Certain infectious and parasitic diseases (A00-B99)	2 524	153	2 677	5.7
Neoplasms (C00-D48)	42 052	2 692	44 744	6.0
Diseases of the blood and blood-forming organs and certain disorders involving the immune mechanism (D50-D89)	481	36	517	7.0
Endocrine, nutritional and metabolic diseases (E00-E90)	5 699	388	6 087	6.4
Mental and behavioural disorders (F00-F99)	7 728	501	8 229	6.1
Diseases of the nervous system (G00-G99)	7 047	454	7 501	6.1
Diseases of the circulatory system (I00-I99)	40 889	2 856	43 745	6.5
Diseases of the respiratory system (J00-J99)	11 742	768	12 510	6.1
Diseases of the digestive system (K00-K93)	5 093	365	5 458	6.7
Diseases of the skin and subcutaneous tissue (L00-L99)	401	24	425	5.6
Diseases of the musculoskeletal system and connective tissue (M00-M99)	1 124	62	1 186	5.2
Diseases of the genitourinary system (N00-N99)	2 927	199	3 126	6.4
Certain conditions originating in the perinatal period (P00-P96)	491	63	554	11.4
Congenital malformations, deformations and chromosomal abnormalities (Q00-Q99)	573	68	641	10.6
Symptoms, signs and abnormal clinical and laboratory findings, not elsewhere classified (R00-R99)	1 230	190	1 420	13.4
External causes of morbidity and mortality (V01-Y98)	8 214	1 066	9 280	11.5
(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 2013 (revised) and 2014 (preliminary). See Explanatory Notes 52-54 and the Causes of Death Revisions, 2012 and 2013 Technical Note in this publication.
(b) See Explanatory Notes 68-94 for further information on specific issues relating to time series and 2014 data.
(c) See Explanatory Notes 57-66 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).