Causes of Death, Australia

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Statistics on the number of deaths, by sex, selected age groups, and cause of death classified to the International Classification of Diseases (ICD)

Reference period
2023

Key statistics

  • There were 183,131 deaths in 2023, a 4.1% decline from 2022. 
  • Ischaemic heart disease remained the leading cause of death, but less than 250 deaths separate it from dementia which was the second leading cause. 
  • COVID-19 was the 9th leading cause of death accounting for just over 5,000 deaths. 

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Some of these statistics may cause distress. Services you can contact are detailed in blue boxes throughout this publication and in the Crisis support services section at the end of the publication.

The ABS uses, and supports the use of, the Mindframe guidelines on responsible, accurate and safe reporting on suicide, mental ill-health and alcohol and other drugs. The ABS recommends referring to these guidelines when reporting on statistics in this report.

Mortality rates stabilise as the emergency phase of the COVID-19 pandemic ends

There were 183,131 deaths registered in 2023, a 4.1% decline from 2022 when Australia recorded significant excess mortality. During 2023, the Director-General of the World Health Organization announced an end to the emergency phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. In Australia there were 5,001 deaths registered that were due to COVID-19, decreasing from 9,862 deaths in 2022, with the virus now being the ninth leading cause of death (down from third in 2022). Deaths due to the virus weren't the only cause to decline - with the exception of bowel cancer, all of the top 10 leading causes decreased including ischaemic heart disease, dementia, including Alzheimer's disease and cerebrovascular disease. Decreases in the mortality rate were seen across all age groups for males and females. 

While the age-standardised mortality rate stabilised in 2023 (513.0 per 100,000 people) compared to the 2022 (547.6 per 100,000 people), the rate was still higher than "expected". Previous analysis by the ABS found that there was approximately 5% excess mortality in 2023 (higher than expected mortality). This is because with an increasing and ageing population as well as continued improvements in health care and treatment, the number of deaths should be increasing over time, but there should be a corresponding decrease in the mortality rate. While the rate is lower than 2022, it is still higher than those recorded in 2020 and 2021 which are the two lowest age-standardised death rates on record. For females, the rate is similar to that recorded in 2018. For more information on excess mortality in 2023, see Measuring Australia's excess mortality during the COVID-19 pandemic until December 2023.

The top 5 leading causes of death returned to ischaemic heart disease, dementia, including Alzheimer's disease, cerebrovascular disease, lung cancer and chronic lower respiratory diseases. The first and second leading causes of death in Australia are the closest they have ever been, with less than 250 deaths separating ischaemic heart disease and dementia, including Alzheimer's disease. With an ageing population the number of deaths from dementia has been increasing for a number of years and has been the leading cause of death for women since 2016. In 2023, ischaemic heart disease, accounted for 9.2% of deaths and dementia 9.1%. In its peak in 1968, ischaemic heart disease accounted for 30.5% of deaths. During this year dementia accounted for 0.2% of deaths. Dementia, including Alzheimer's disease is now the leading cause of death in New South Wales for the first time, joining South Australia and the Australian Capital Territory. See Australia's leading causes of death for more information.  

The graph in the next section shows the annual age-standardised death rate over the last 10 years. It demonstrates the reduction in rates over the first two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, the increase in 2022 and the subsequent decrease in 2023. 

Overview of key mortality indicators (sex and age)

All-cause mortality by sex

To show the mortality pattern over the last decade, age-standardised death rates (SDRs) are presented below for males, females and persons.

In 2023:

  • There were 183,131 deaths with a mortality rate of 513.0 deaths per 100,000 people.
  • The mortality rate decreased by 6.3% from 2022, after an increase of 8.0% between 2021 and 2022. The rate in 2023 is lower than pre-pandemic rates, but higher than those recorded in 2020 and 2021. 
  • 52.5% of deaths were male (96,180) and 47.5% were female (86,951).
  • Mortality rates decreased by 6.3% for males and 6.4% for females.
  • The median age at death was 82.0 years (79.6 for males, 84.6 for females).

Age-standardised death rates for all-cause mortality, by sex, 2014-2023 (a)(b)(c)

Age-standardised death rates for all-cause mortality, by sex, 2014-2023 (a)(b)(c)

Line chart with 3 lines.
The chart has 1 X axis displaying Year.
The chart has 1 Y axis displaying Rate(a). Data ranges from 410.3 to 653.3.
End of interactive chart.
  1. Age-standardised death rate. Death rate per 100,000 standard estimated resident population as at 30 June.
  2. Data is by date of registration. 
  3. Refer to the methodology for more information.

All-cause mortality by age

Deaths data is presented in the table below as age-specific death rates (ASDRs) for selected age groups for males, females and persons. 

In 2023:

  • Age-specific death rates decreased across all age groups.
  • The greatest proportionate decrease in the age-specific death rate occurred for females aged less than 25 years (a decrease of 11.4% compared with 2022).
  • Death rates for those aged less than 45 years were the lowest in the 10-year time series. This was also the case for males aged less than 45 years.
  • For females, the death rate for those aged 25-44 years was lower between 2018 and 2021.
  • Over half (55.5%) of all deaths were of people aged 80 years and older.
  • The median age at death was 82.0 years (79.6 for males and 84.6 for females).

Age-specific death rates for all-cause mortality, by sex and age group, 2014-2023 (a)(b)(c)

Age-specific death rates for all-cause mortality, by sex and age group, 2014-2023 (a)(b)(c)
Sex and age group2014201520162017201820192020202120222023
Males
0-2439.341.641.140.740.542.039.340.438.537.9
25-44107.3108.4104.9105.299.2101.397.494.6102.293.8
45-64454.5457.5445.5437.0436.1446.3422.4426.3455.0435.3
65-842,558.62,528.22,478.42,430.12,352.02,359.22,245.72,312.52,531.12,401.0
85+14,482.914,775.814,515.914,535.814,028.814,358.613,449.214,050.515,415.314,186.2
Total673.4688.2685.4684.8672.1689.2664.5701.2774.2727.2
Females
0-2427.526.924.725.924.025.324.025.426.023.1
25-4455.754.956.552.249.950.649.349.151.550.8
45-64272.9271.7265.4262.5265.0261.4250.7256.7275.1260.4
65-841,766.91,748.41,673.11,661.81,587.81,597.41,493.71,558.11,669.21,597.0
85+12,803.313,079.412,636.112,784.812,206.512,629.111,764.712,423.113,700.212,552.4
Total639.2648.7631.0633.5611.0626.1593.7634.4694.9648.3
Persons
0-2433.634.433.133.532.433.931.933.132.530.7
25-4481.581.680.678.674.575.873.271.776.872.3
45-64362.4363.0353.7348.0348.9352.1334.9340.1363.5346.3
65-842,147.62,123.82,061.12,031.81,955.51,963.21,854.31,919.42,081.31,980.4
85+13,409.313,701.213,334.113,442.112,897.113,290.912,415.913,059.214,379.213,204.0
Total656.2668.3658.0658.9641.3657.4628.9667.6734.2687.5
  1. Age-specific death rate. Deaths for an age group per 100,000 of the estimated resident population of the same age group as at 30 June.
  2. Data is by date of registration. 
  3. Refer to the methodology for more information.

     

Potentially avoidable mortality and selected external causes of death

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Completeness of coroner referred deaths in 2023

Deaths that are referred to a coroner can take time to be fully investigated, which subsequently affects the availability of data to the ABS for cause of death coding.

To improve the quality of cause of death coding, coroner certified deaths are subject to a revisions process. Some causes of death are more sensitive to the revisions process than others. These include drug-induced deaths, suicide and assault. Data included in tabulations with these causes of death for deaths registered in 2023 is considered preliminary. It is expected that the number of deaths for these causes will increase when the ABS revisions process is applied. This should be considered when interpreting data for 2023, especially time series analysis. See 'Coroner certified deaths data' in the Data quality section of the methodology for more information.

Potentially avoidable mortality

Potentially avoidable mortality is defined as deaths of people under 75 years of age that arise from conditions that may be avoided through individualised care, or treated through primary care or hospitalisation (METeOR, 2021). Conditions causing potentially avoidable deaths include natural diseases (e.g., specific types of cancer, ischaemic heart disease, diabetes, and infectious diseases) and external causes of death (e.g., accidents, suicides, and assaults). To enable comparisons over time, all rates presented in this section are age-standardised, which takes into account changes in the structure and size of the population over time.

In 2023, there were 28,112 potentially avoidable deaths (17,805 males and 10,307 females). Of these, 39.7% were referred to a coroner (compared to 12.5% of all deaths). Data from 2023 is preliminary and comparisons made with numbers of potentially avoidable deaths from previous years should be interpreted with caution.

In 2023:

  • There was a decrease of potentially avoidable deaths from 2022 when there were 28,935 potentially avoidable deaths (18,357 males and 10,578 females). 
  • The age-standardised death rate for potentially avoidable deaths was 97.2 deaths per 100,000 people. This is similar to the rate in 2021 which was 97.0 and a return to the downward trend after a rate increase in 2022.
  • Overall, 25.3% of potentially avoidable deaths were from external causes of death (18.0% for females; 29.5% for males). 
  • While the age-standardised death rate has decreased for both males and females, the sex ratio has remained relatively constant at 1.8 (male to female).

 

Age-standardised death rates for potentially avoidable mortality, by sex, 2014-2023 (a)(b)(c)(d)(e)

Age-standardised death rates for potentially avoidable mortality, by sex, 2014-2023 (a)(b)(c)(d)(e)

Line chart with 3 lines.
The chart has 1 X axis displaying Year.
The chart has 1 Y axis displaying Rate(a). Data ranges from 69 to 142.9.
End of interactive chart.
  1. Age-standardised death rate. Death rate per 100,000 standard estimated resident population as at 30 June.
  2. Potentially avoidable deaths are according to the National Healthcare Agreement: PI 16- Potentially Avoidable Deaths, 2021 Classification.
  3. Causes of death data for recent years is preliminary and subject to a revisions process.
  4. Data is by date of registration.
  5. Refer to the methodology for more information.

Suicides

Suicide counts for 2023 are expected to change when the data is revised. The preliminary suicide data is important for the insights into the demographic profile and risk factors for those who died by suicide in 2023. The Causes of Death publication includes three articles on deaths due to suicide, see Intentional self-harm deaths (Suicide) in Australia, Risk factors for intentional self-harm deaths (Suicide) in Australia and Intentional self-harm deaths (Suicide) of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

Key statistics for 2023 include:

  • There were 3,214 deaths due to suicide (2,419 males and 795 females). This number is preliminary and is expected to increase as coronial investigations are finalised. 
  • The age-standardised suicide rate was 11.8 deaths per 100,000 people.
  • Suicide was the 16th leading cause of death.
  • The median age at death for people who died by suicide was 45.5 years (45.8 years for males and 44.4 years for females).
  • 83.3% of people who died by suicide had risk factors identified. This proportion is expected to increase. The most commonly recorded suicide risk factors included mood affective disorders (including depression) (F30-F39), suicide ideation (R45.8), problems with spousal relationships (Z63.0, Z63.5) and personal history of self-harm (Z91.5). For more information see Risk factors for intentional self-harm deaths (Suicide) in Australia.
  • For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, the median age of death by suicide was 33.0 years (35.1 years for males and 27.9 years for females).
  • Victoria is included in analysis for deaths due to suicide of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people for the first time. This change occurred due to a methodological change, specifically using additional sources to derive Indigenous status in deaths due to suicide. For more information see Technical Note: The impact of using multiple sources for deriving the Indigenous status of deaths in 2023 – changes for Victoria and coroner referred deaths.

Motor vehicle accidents

  • There were 1,290 deaths from motor vehicle accidents in 2023 (964 males and 326 females). This compares to 1,278 deaths from motor vehicle accidents in 2022 (967 males and 311 females).
  • While there was an increase in the number of deaths due to motor vehicle accidents, when adjusted for age-structure and population structure, death rate decreased by 1.9% from 2022. 
  • The death rate decreased by 2.4% for males from 2022 and by 2.0% for females.
  • Males 10-24 years had the largest numerical increase by age group with 26 more deaths due to motor vehicle accidents than 2022. The largest decrease was seen in those aged 60-74 years with 31 fewer deaths due to motor vehicle accidents than 2022. 
  • For females, the age group with the largest numerical increase was 85 years and older with 16 more deaths due to motor vehicle accidents than 2022. The largest decrease was in those aged 10-24 years with 14 fewer deaths than 2022. 
  • In 2023, 85.0% of motor vehicle accident deaths occurred in those aged under 75 years.

Age-standardised death rates for motor vehicle accidents, by sex, 2014-2023 (a)(b)(c)(d)(e)

Age-standardised death rates for motor vehicle accidents, by sex, 2014-2023 (a)(b)(c)(d)(e)

Line chart with 3 lines.
The chart has 1 X axis displaying Year.
The chart has 1 Y axis displaying Rate(a). Data ranges from 2.1 to 8.3.
End of interactive chart.
  1. Age-standardised death rate. Death rate per 100,000 standard estimated resident population as at 30 June.
  2. Motor vehicle accidents includes ICD-10 codes V00-V79 and V89.2.
  3. Data is by date of registration.
  4. Causes of death data for recent years is preliminary and subject to a revisions process.
  5. Refer to the methodology for more information.

Assaults

Data from 2023 is preliminary and comparisons made with numbers of deaths due to assaults from previous years should be interpreted with caution. Revised data for deaths registered in 2021, 2022 and 2023 will be published in early 2025. 

In 2023:

  • There were 235 deaths due to assault (161 males and 74 females). This is similar to 2022 where 236 deaths due to assault were recorded (164 males and 72 females).
  • The age-standardised death rate for assault remained at 0.9 deaths per 100,000 people from 2022 to 2023. 
  • Those aged 30-34 years had the largest numerical decrease in deaths due to assault for males since 2022, while for females this same age group had the largest increase (7 fewer assault deaths in males, 10 more assault deaths in females).

Age-standardised death rates for assault, by sex, 2014-2023 (a)(b)(c)(d)(e)

Age-standardised death rates for assault, by sex, 2014-2023 (a)(b)(c)(d)(e)

Line chart with 3 lines.
The chart has 1 X axis displaying Year.
The chart has 1 Y axis displaying Rate(a). Data ranges from 0.5 to 1.6.
End of interactive chart.
  1. Age-standardised death rate. Death rate per 100,000 standard estimated resident population as at 30 June.
  2. The data presented for assaults includes ICD-10 codes X85-Y09 and Y87.1.
  3. Data is by date of registration.
  4. Causes of death data for recent years is preliminary and subject to a revisions process.
  5. Refer to the methodology for more information.

Perpetrator of assaults

Some of these statistics may cause distress. Services you can contact are in the Crisis support services section.

In 2023:

  • For females who died by assault, the perpetrator was most likely to be a spouse or partner (48.6%). Over half of these deaths occurred in females aged 25-44 years (58.3%).
  • The sex ratio for deaths due to assault where the perpetrator was a spouse or partner was 9.0 (females to males).
  • For males who died by assault, when the perpetrator relationship is known to the ABS, the perpetrator was most often an acquaintance or friend (30.4%).
  • There were 106 deaths due to assault where the perpetrator is either not reported to the ABS or the deceased is a stranger. This number will likely decrease as coronial investigations progress and more information becomes available to the ABS. 
  • The sex ratio for deaths where the perpetrator was a parent or other family member was 4.0 (males to females).

Perpetrator of deaths due to assault by sex, 2021-2023 (a)(b)(c)(d) 

Perpetrator of deaths due to assault by sex, 2021-2023 (a)(b)(c)(d) 
 202120222023
 MalesFemalesPersonsMalesFemalesPersonsMalesFemalesPersons
 No.%No.%No.%No.%No.%No.%No.%No.%No.%
By spouse or partner (Y07.0)138.42233.83516.084.92940.33715.742.53648.64017.0
By parent or other family member (Y07.1, Y07.8)  2013.01320.03315.12314.0912.53213.62414.968.13012.8
By acquaintance or friend (Y07.2)5535.71218.56730.65936.01419.47330.94930.41013.55925.1
By unspecified person (incl. stranger) (Y07.9)6642.91827.78438.47445.12027.89439.88452.22229.710645.1
Total154..65..219..164..72..236..161..74..235..
  1. The data presented for assaults includes ICD-10 codes X85-Y09 and Y87.1.
  2. Data is by date of registration. 
  3. Causes of death data for recent years is preliminary and subject to a revisions process.
  4. Refer to the methodology for more information.

Drug-induced deaths

Drug-induced deaths are those which are directly attributable to drug use. They include deaths due to acute drug toxicity (e.g., overdose) and chronic drug use (e.g., drug-induced cardiac conditions).

On average, 97% of drug-induced deaths are certified by a coroner. Multiple complex factors must be considered when a death is certified as drug induced. These factors include:

  • The timing between the death and toxicology testing which can influence the levels and types of drugs detected, making it difficult to determine the true level of a drug at the time of death.
  • Individual tolerance levels may vary considerably depending on factors such as sex, body mass and previous drug exposure.
  • Contextual factors such as preexisting natural disease and reports from informants (e.g., friends and families) regarding the circumstances of the death.

For these reasons, it can take a significant amount of time to certify a death as drug-induced, making these deaths particularly sensitive to the revisions process.

Data is presented below for 2023 only. This data is preliminary and a more complete count of deaths for drug-induced deaths is not yet available meaning that comparisons to previous years can be misleading. Time series for drug-induced deaths are included in the data downloads. Revised data for drug-induced deaths registered in 2021, 2022 and 2023 will be published in early 2025. 

The graph below shows the age distribution for drug-induced deaths and the proportion of those deaths that occurred within each age group.

In 2023:

  • There were 1,635 drug-induced deaths (1,060 males and 575 females). This is expected to increase.
  • The sex ratio for drug-induced deaths was 1.8 (male to female). 
  • The median age at death for drug-induced deaths was 47.9 years (46.8 years for males and 50.7 years for females).
  • The highest proportion of deaths for both males and females was for those aged 45-54 years.
  • A higher proportion of drug-induced deaths for females are in the older age groups than for males.
  • Age-standardised death rates for those who resided in greater capital cities was 5.9 deaths per 100,000 people, while the rate for people who resided outside greater capital cities was 6.2. 
  • Opioids were the most common drug class identified in toxicology for drug-induced deaths.

Drug-induced deaths by age and sex as a proportion of total drug-induced deaths, 2023 (a)(b)(c)(d)

Drug-induced deaths by age and sex as a proportion of total drug-induced deaths, 2023 (a)(b)(c)(d)

Bar chart with 2 data series.
The chart has 1 X axis displaying Age (years).
The chart has 1 Y axis displaying Proportion. Data ranges from 5.2 to 27.1.
End of interactive chart.
  1. Drug-induced deaths based on both acute and chronic effects of drugs.
  2. Causes of death data for recent years is preliminary and subject to a revisions process.
  3. Data is by date of registration.
  4. Refer to the methodology for more information.

Alcohol-induced deaths

Alcohol-induced deaths are those where the underlying cause can be directly attributed to alcohol use, including acute conditions such as alcohol poisoning or chronic conditions such as alcoholic liver cirrhosis.

On average, 69% of alcohol-induced deaths are certified by a doctor. These deaths are primarily caused by chronic alcohol-induced conditions. As a result, alcohol-induced deaths data is less likely to be impacted by ABS revisions than causes with a higher proportion of coroner referral such as drug-induced deaths and suicides.

In 2023:

  • There were 1,667 alcohol-induced deaths (1,182 males and 485 females).
  • 90.2% of alcohol-induced deaths were caused by chronic alcohol-induced conditions.
  • The alcohol-induced standardised death rate fell from 6.2 per 100,000 people in 2022 to 5.6 in 2023, the same level as in 2021. Between 2018 and 2022 the death rate increased steadily from 4.7 to 6.2.
  • The alcohol-induced standardised death rate for males fell from 8.9 in 2022 to 8.1 in 2023, slightly above the level in 2020. Between 2018 and 2022 the death rate increased steadily from 7.1 to 8.9.
  • The alcohol-induced standardised death rate for females fell from 3.6 in 2022 to 3.3 in 2023, but remains above the rates prior to 2022. Between 2018 and 2022 the death rate increased from 2.4 to 3.6. 

Age-standardised death rates for alcohol-induced deaths, by sex, 2014-2023 (a)(b)(c)(d)(e)

Age-standardised death rates for alcohol-induced deaths, by sex, 2014-2023 (a)(b)(c)(d)(e)

Line chart with 3 lines.
The chart has 1 X axis displaying Year.
The chart has 1 Y axis displaying Rate(a). Data ranges from 2.4 to 8.9.
End of interactive chart.
  1. Age-standardised death rate. Death rate per 100,000 standard estimated resident population as at 30 June.
  2. Alcohol-induced deaths includes ICD-10 codes; E24.4, G31.2, G62.1, G72.1, I42.6, K29.2, K85.2, K86.0, F10, K70, X45, X65, Y15.
  3. Data is by date of registration. 
  4. Causes of death data for recent years is preliminary and subject to a revisions process.
  5. Refer to the methodology for more information.

Australia's leading causes of death

There were 183,131 deaths registered in Australia in 2023, a decrease of 7,808 deaths from 2022. The age-standardised mortality rate decreased to 513.0 deaths per 100,000 people, down from 547.6 the previous year. Identifying and comparing leading causes of death in populations is useful for tracking changes in patterns of mortality and identifying emerging trends. For more information related to the tabulation of leading causes, see the Methodology section of this publication. Key statistics for the leading causes of death in 2023 are:

  • The leading cause of death was ischaemic heart disease, accounting for 9.2% of deaths. The gap between ischaemic heart disease and dementia (the second leading cause of death) has continued to narrow over time, with only 237 deaths separating the top two leading causes in 2023. For more details, see Ischaemic heart disease and Dementia - understanding change over time.
  • Dementia, including Alzheimer's disease was the second leading cause of death and accounted for 9.1% of deaths. People who died from dementia had a high median age at death of 88.7 years.
  • Cerebrovascular disease, lung cancer and chronic lower respiratory diseases rounded out the top 5 leading causes. 
  • COVID-19 was the ninth leading cause of death in 2023, after ranking third in 2022. 
  • Suicide was the 16th leading cause of death. People who died by suicide had a median age at death of 45.5 years.
  • The top 5 leading causes accounted for approximately one-third of all registered deaths. 

Leading causes of death over the last decade (since 2014): 

  • Deaths due to ischaemic heart disease and cerebrovascular disease decreased by 16.5% and 12.9% respectively.
  • Deaths due to dementia, including Alzheimer's disease increased by 39.1%, resulting in a narrowing with deaths due to ischaemic heart disease. 
  • Deaths from accidental falls increased by 70.3% over the period. Accidental falls are the 11th leading cause of death, compared to the 16th a decade ago. They are the highest ranked external cause of death. Accidental falls have a high median age at death at 87.4 years. Common complications from falls leading to death including hip fractures, immobility and pneumonia. 

Top 20 Leading causes of death, Australia - selected years - 2014, 2018, 2022, 2023 (a)(b)(c)(d)(e)

Top 20 Leading causes of death, Australia - selected years - 2014, 2018, 2022, 2023 (a)(b)(c)(d)(e)
Cause of death and ICD-10 code2014201820222023Median age (2023)
no.Rankno.Rankno.Rankno.Rankyears
Ischaemic heart diseases (I20-I25)20,269118,083118,782116,922183.4
Dementia, including Alzheimer's disease (F01, F03, G30)11,998214,222217,111216,685288.7
Cerebrovascular diseases (I60-I69)10,745310,09939,83849,359385.4
Malignant neoplasm of trachea, bronchus and lung (C33, C34)8,27448,66349,05158,976475.2
Chronic lower respiratory diseases (J40-J47)7,84058,03758,60668,359580.2
Diabetes (E10-E14)4,37874,76376,07475,942681.6
Malignant neoplasm of colon, sigmoid, rectum and anus (C18-C21, C26.0)5,30665,45865,41485,495777.9
Malignant neoplasms of lymphoid, haematopoietic and related tissue (C81-C96)4,28884,69085,16995,121879.1
COVID-19 (U07.1-U07.2, U10.9)nananana9,86235,001986.3
Diseases of the urinary system (N00-N39)3,145103,298104,573104,5331087.0
Accidental falls (W00-W19)2,411163,055144,114114,1051187.4
Heart failure and complications and ill-defined heart disease (I50-I51)3,45793,179123,932124,0221288.8
Malignant neoplasm of prostate (C61)3,109113,31793,800133,7261382.9
Malignant neoplasm of pancreas (C25)2,556153,094133,688143,7241475.6
Malignant neoplasms of breast (C50)2,850143,047153,170163,2591574.3
Intentional self-harm [suicide] (X60-X84, Y87.0)2,937123,205113,288153,2141645.5
Influenza and pneumonia (J09-J18)2,893132,942162,776182,8861788.0
Cardiac arrhythmias (I47-I49)2,142182,479172,784172,7181889.5
Hypertensive diseases (I10-I15)2,236172,206182,650192,6841988.3
Cirrhosis and other diseases of liver (K70-K76)1,764201,982212,613202,5562065.5
All Causes154,040 160,097 190,939 183,131 82.0
  1. Causes listed are based on the WHO recommended tabulation of leading causes. See Mortality tabulations and methodologies for further information. 
  2. Groupings of deaths coded to Chapter XVIII: Symptoms, signs and abnormal clinical and laboratory findings, not elsewhere classified (R00-R99) are not included in analysis, due to the unspecified nature of these causes. Furthermore, many deaths coded to this chapter are likely to be affected by revisions, and are recoded to more specific causes of death as they progress through the revisions process.
  3. Causes of death data for recent years is preliminary and subject to a revisions process. 
  4. Data is by date of registration. 
  5. Refer to the methodology for more information.
     

Age-standardised death rates

Age-standardised death rates enable the comparison of death rates over time as they account for changes in the size and age structure of the population. Refer to Mortality tabulations and methodologies, Age-standardised death rates (SDRs) in the Methodology section of this publication for more information.

For age-standardised death rates between 2014 to 2023:

  • Ischaemic heart disease decreased by 33.6% over the decade. The standardised death rate for ischaemic heart disease in 2023 is the lowest since official cause of death statistics began collection in 1968.  
  • The gap between ischaemic heart disease and dementia has narrowed over time.
  • While the number of dementia deaths has increased over the 10-year period, the age-standardised death rate for dementia has been more stable, reflecting an ageing population.
  • Cerebrovascular disease decreased by 31.2%.
  • Malignant neoplasm of trachea, bronchus and lung (lung cancer) decreased by 16.6%.
  • Chronic lower respiratory diseases decreased by 17.9%. 

Leading causes of death, age-standardised death rates, 2014-2023 (a)(b)(c)(d)(e)

Leading causes of death, age-standardised death rates, 2014-2023 (a)(b)(c)(d)(e)

Line chart with 5 lines.
The chart has 1 X axis displaying Year.
The chart has 1 Y axis displaying Rate(a). Data ranges from 21.7 to 70.
End of interactive chart.
  1. Age-standardised death rate. Death rate per 100,000 standard estimated resident population as at 30 June. 
  2. Causes listed are based on the WHO recommended tabulation of leading causes. See Mortality tabulations and methodologies for further information.
  3. Causes of death data for recent years is preliminary and subject to a revisions process.
  4. Data is by date of registration. 
  5. Refer to the methodology for more information.

Years of potential life lost

Years of potential life lost (YPLL) is a measure of premature mortality which weights age at death to gain an estimate of how many years a person would have lived had they not died prematurely. Causes of death with a median age less than the life expectancy will have a higher number of YPLL. When considered in terms of premature mortality, the leading causes of death have a notably different profile. Refer to Mortality tabulations and methodologies - Years of potential life lost (YPLL) in the Methodology section of this publication for more information.

In 2023:

  • Suicide is a leading cause of premature death accounting for the highest number of potential years of life lost (107,537). People who died by suicide had a median age at death of 45.5 years.
  • Ischaemic heart disease had the highest number of deaths occurring in those aged under 78 but the second highest number of YPLL at 71,028 years. People who died from ischaemic heart disease had a median age at death of 83.4 years.
  • People who died from lung cancer, transport accidents and accidental poisoning had the third, fourth and fifth highest YPLL, with median ages at 75.2, 44.6 and 46.0 years, respectively.

Years of Potential Life Lost (YPLL) for leading causes, 2023 (a)(b)(c)(d)(e)

Years of Potential Life Lost (YPLL) for leading causes, 2023 (a)(b)(c)(d)(e)

Bar chart with 20 bars.
The chart has 1 X axis displaying .
The chart has 1 Y axis displaying values. Data ranges from 9903 to 107537.
End of interactive chart.
  1. For information on YPLL see Mortality tabulations and methodologies for further information.
  2. Causes listed are based on the WHO recommended tabulation of leading causes. See Mortality tabulations and methodologies for further information.
  3. Causes of death data for recent years is preliminary and subject to a revisions process.
  4. Data is by date of registration.
  5. Refer to the methodology for more information.

Leading causes of death by sex - Males

For the 96,180 males who died in 2023:

  • Ischaemic heart disease was the leading cause of death (10,343 deaths). While it remains considerably higher than the second ranked cause (dementia at 6,111 deaths) the rate ratio has narrowed over time. For example, 10 years ago, the rate of ischaemic heart disease was over two and half time higher than that of dementia. In 2023, the mortality rate of ischaemic heart disease is 1.7 times higher than that of dementia. 
  • Prostate cancer was the sixth leading cause of death and second leading cause of cancer death.
  • COVID-19 was the 10th leading cause of death (2,644 deaths), down from third in 2022 (5,485 deaths). 
  • Suicide was the 11th leading cause. Three-quarters (75.3%) of people who died by suicide were male. Deaths due to suicide were the highest ranked external cause of death in males. 

For males from 2014 to 2023:

  • The death rate for ischaemic heart disease decreased by 29.9%.
  • The death rate for dementia, including Alzheimer's disease increased by 7.6%.

Top 20 Leading causes of death, males, Australia - selected years - 2014, 2018, 2022, 2023 (a)(b)(c)(d)(e)

Top 20 Leading causes of death, males, Australia - selected years - 2014, 2018, 2022, 2023 (a)(b)(c)(d)(e)
Cause of death and ICD-10 code2014201820222023Rank (2023)
no.Rateno.Rateno.Rateno.Rate
Ischaemic heart diseases (I20-I25)11,13891.810,66577.711,39972.910,34364.41
Dementia, including Alzheimer's disease (F01, F03, G30)4,11634.85,07637.46,13138.76,11137.42
Malignant neoplasm of trachea, bronchus and lung (C33, C34)4,96240.05,04035.95,14732.35,19431.83
Chronic lower respiratory diseases (J40-J47)4,17934.74,13430.04,45228.04,21525.84
Cerebrovascular diseases (I60-I69)4,27035.84,21830.94,32127.64,09625.35
Malignant neoplasm of prostate (C61)3,10926.03,31724.13,79923.83,72622.76
Diabetes (E10-E14)2,22818.42,60018.93,26120.83,28820.47
Malignant neoplasms of lymphoid, haematopoietic and related tissue (C81-C96)2,42119.82,74619.93,04719.33,02118.68
Malignant neoplasm of colon, sigmoid, rectum and anus (C18-C21, C26.0)2,86123.22,92321.12,79918.02,89018.19
COVID-19 (U07.1-U07.2, U10.9)nananana5,48534.82,64416.210
Intentional self-harm [suicide] (X60-X84, Y87.0)2,22118.92,43819.62,48018.92,41918.011
Accidental falls (W00-W19)1,1439.61,48110.92,06613.12,12213.112
Diseases of the urinary system (N00-N39)1,35011.31,49011.02,07813.22,12013.013
Malignant neoplasm of pancreas (C25)1,29810.41,60411.51,91312.11,94112.014
Heart failure and complications and ill-defined heart disease (I50-I51)1,47712.41,39710.21,77111.31,82711.315
Cirrhosis and other diseases of liver (K70-K76)1,2339.91,2719.31,60110.91,59010.516
Parkinson's disease (G20)1,0058.51,1868.81,5559.81,5699.617
Melanoma and other malignant neoplasms of skin (C43-C44)1,38211.31,42410.31,5609.91,5689.818
Malignant neoplasm of liver and intrahepatic bile ducts (C22)1,1379.01,42510.11,5129.61,5579.619
Influenza and pneumonia (J09-J18)1,31411.01,36510.01,3318.51,3758.620

na not applicable 

  1. For information on WHO leading causes and age-standardised death rates see Mortality tabulations and methodologies for further information.
  2. Causes of death data for recent years is preliminary and subject to a revisions process. 
  3. Age-standardised death rate. Death rate per 100,000 standard estimated resident population as at 30 June.
  4. Data is by date of registration. 
  5. Refer to the methodology for more information.
     

Leading causes of death by sex - Females

For the 86,951 females who died in 2023:

  • Dementia, including Alzheimer's disease was the leading cause of death (10,574 deaths).
  • Ischaemic heart disease was the second leading cause with 6,579 deaths.
  • COVID-19 was the 10th leading cause of death, after ranking fourth in 2022. 
  • Breast cancer was the sixth leading cause overall and second leading cause of cancer deaths with 3,215 deaths.

For females from 2014 to 2023:

  • The death rate for dementia increased by 11.0% over the last decade. Close to two-thirds (63.4%) of people who died from dementia were female.
  • The death rate for ischaemic heart disease decreased by 39.7%. 

Top 20 Leading causes of death, females, Australia - selected years - 2014, 2018, 2022, 2023 (a)(b)(c)(d)(e)

Top 20 Leading causes of death, females, Australia - selected years - 2014, 2018, 2022, 2023 (a)(b)(c)(d)(e)
Cause of death and ICD-10 code2014201820222023Rank (2023)
no.Rateno.Rateno.Rateno.Rate
Dementia, including Alzheimer's disease (F01, F03, G30)7,88242.39,14645.210,98049.610,57446.91
Ischaemic heart diseases (I20-I25)9,13151.27,41838.77,38335.36,57930.92
Cerebrovascular diseases (I60-I69)6,47536.55,88130.95,51726.45,26324.83
Chronic lower respiratory diseases (J40-J47)3,66123.33,90322.44,15421.44,14420.84
Malignant neoplasm of trachea, bronchus and lung (C33, C34)3,31223.03,62322.63,90421.63,78220.25
Malignant neoplasms of breast (C50)2,82019.73,01219.23,14117.83,21517.76
Diabetes (E10-E14)2,15013.12,16312.12,81314.02,65413.17
Malignant neoplasm of colon, sigmoid, rectum and anus (C18-C21, C26.0)2,44516.02,53515.22,61514.12,60513.78
Diseases of the urinary system (N00-N39)1,79510.21,8089.42,49511.72,41311.19
COVID-19 (U07.1-U07.2, U10.9)nananana4,37720.92,35710.910
Heart failure and complications and ill-defined heart disease (I50-I51)1,98010.81,7829.02,1619.92,1959.711
Malignant neoplasms of lymphoid, haematopoietic and related tissue (C81-C96)1,86712.41,94411.62,12211.32,10010.812
Accidental falls (W00-W19)1,2687.01,5748.12,0489.51,9839.013
Malignant neoplasm of pancreas (C25)1,2588.41,4909.01,7759.61,7839.414
Cardiac arrhythmias (I47-I49)1,3217.21,5547.81,6897.61,6907.515
Hypertensive diseases (I10-I15)1,4347.71,3787.01,6477.51,6347.316
Influenza and pneumonia (J09-J18)1,5798.61,5777.91,4456.81,5117.017
Diseases of the musculoskeletal system and connective tissue (M00-M99)8244.98774.91,0655.21,0765.218
Malignant neoplasm of ovary (C56)9786.99726.11,0315.81,0455.819
Cirrhosis and other diseases of liver (K70-K76)5313.97114.71,0126.39665.820

na not applicable 

  1. For information on WHO leading causes and age-standardised death rates see Mortality tabulations and methodologies for further information.
  2. Causes of death data for recent years is preliminary and subject to a revisions process. 
  3. Age-standardised death rate. Death rate per 100,000 standard estimated resident population as at 30 June. 
  4. Data is by date of registration. 
  5. Refer to the methodology for more information.
     

Leading causes of death by state of usual residence

The leading cause of death profile for Australia is not the same across all jurisdictions. The table below shows the top 10 leading causes of death for each state and territory in 2023.

Leading causes of death for states and territories in 2023:

  • Ischaemic heart disease was the top leading cause of death in each jurisdiction, except for New South Wales, South Australia and the Australian Capital Territory.  
  • Dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease is the leading cause of death in New South Wales for the first time. New South Wales is now the third jurisdiction where dementia is the leading cause, joining the Australian Capital Territory and South Australia. 
  • Deaths from external causes contribute to a greater proportion of mortality in the Northern Territory when compared with other jurisdictions. Transport accidents and intentional self-harm were the sixth and ninth ranked leading causes. 
  • Diabetes was the second leading cause of death in the Northern Territory. 7.9% of all deaths in the Northern Territory were due to diabetes, compared to 3.2% nationally. 
  • COVID-19 ranged between the seventh and 10th leading cause of death in most jurisdictions. The only exception was the Northern Territory where the virus was ranked 15th.

Top 10 Leading causes of death, state of usual residence, 2023 (a)(b)(c)(d)

Top 10 Leading causes of death, state of usual residence, 2023 (a)(b)(c)(d)
Cause of death and ICD-10 codeNo. of deathsState/territory leading cause rankingAustralia leading cause ranking
New South Wales
Dementia, including Alzheimer's disease (F01, F03, G30)5,40912
Ischaemic heart diseases (I20-I25)5,19021
Cerebrovascular diseases (I60-I69)3,25633
Malignant neoplasm of trachea, bronchus and lung (C33, C34)2,88344
Chronic lower respiratory diseases (J40-J47)2,78855
Diabetes (E10-E14)1,93166
COVID-19 (U07.1-U07.2, U10.9)1,73379
Malignant neoplasm of colon, sigmoid, rectum and anus (C18-C21, C26.0)1,72587
Malignant neoplasms of lymphoid, haematopoietic and related tissue (C81-C96)1,66398
Diseases of the urinary system (N00-N39)1,4701010
Victoria
Ischaemic heart diseases (I20-I25)4,11411
Dementia, including Alzheimer's disease (F01, F03, G30)3,65822
Cerebrovascular diseases (I60-I69)2,30233
Malignant neoplasm of trachea, bronchus and lung (C33, C34)2,18644
Chronic lower respiratory diseases (J40-J47)1,87755
Accidental falls (W00-W19)1,510611
Diabetes (E10-E14)1,50276
Malignant neoplasm of colon, sigmoid, rectum and anus (C18-C21, C26.0)1,42487
Diseases of the urinary system (N00-N39)1,374910
COVID-19 (U07.1-U07.2, U10.9)1,320109
Queensland
Ischaemic heart diseases (I20-I25)3,58311
Dementia, including Alzheimer's disease (F01, F03, G30)3,48122
Malignant neoplasm of trachea, bronchus and lung (C33, C34)1,99534
Cerebrovascular diseases (I60-I69)1,89943
Chronic lower respiratory diseases (J40-J47)1,74455
Malignant neoplasm of colon, sigmoid, rectum and anus (C18-C21, C26.0)1,20567
Diabetes (E10-E14)1,11976
Malignant neoplasms of lymphoid, haematopoietic and related tissue (C81-C96)1,03088
COVID-19 (U07.1-U07.2, U10.9)81499
Malignant neoplasm of prostate (C61)7961013
South Australia
Dementia, including Alzheimer's disease (F01, F03, G30)1,72812
Ischaemic heart diseases (I20-I25)1,40221
Chronic lower respiratory diseases (J40-J47)72435
Malignant neoplasm of trachea, bronchus and lung (C33, C34)70344
Cerebrovascular diseases (I60-I69)62353
Diabetes (E10-E14)50666
Malignant neoplasm of colon, sigmoid, rectum and anus (C18-C21, C26.0)45077
COVID-19 (U07.1-U07.2, U10.9)44189
Malignant neoplasms of lymphoid, haematopoietic and related tissue (C81-C96)42198
Accidental falls (W00-W19)4121011
Western Australia
Ischaemic heart diseases (I20-I25)1,81211
Dementia, including Alzheimer's disease (F01, F03, G30)1,60822
Cerebrovascular diseases (I60-I69)87533
Malignant neoplasm of trachea, bronchus and lung (C33, C34)81144
Chronic lower respiratory diseases (J40-J47)75755
Accidental falls (W00-W19)570611
Diabetes (E10-E14)54276
Malignant neoplasms of lymphoid, haematopoietic and related tissue (C81-C96)48788
COVID-19 (U07.1-U07.2, U10.9)47799
Malignant neoplasm of colon, sigmoid, rectum and anus (C18-C21, C26.0)432107
Tasmania
Ischaemic heart diseases (I20-I25)53611
Dementia, including Alzheimer's disease (F01, F03, G30)49222
Chronic lower respiratory diseases (J40-J47)29835
Cerebrovascular diseases (I60-I69)26043
Malignant neoplasm of trachea, bronchus and lung (C33, C34)23954
Diabetes (E10-E14)16766
Malignant neoplasm of colon, sigmoid, rectum and anus (C18-C21, C26.0)14977
Accidental falls (W00-W19)144811
COVID-19 (U07.1-U07.2, U10.9)13199
Malignant neoplasms of lymphoid, haematopoietic and related tissue (C81-C96)128108
Northern Territory
Ischaemic heart diseases (I20-I25)11511
Diabetes (E10-E14)9926
Chronic lower respiratory diseases (J40-J47)8135
Malignant neoplasm of trachea, bronchus and lung (C33, C34)6844
Dementia, including Alzheimer's disease (F01, F03, G30)5652
Intentional self-harm [suicide] (X60-X84, Y87.0)44616
Cerebrovascular diseases (I60-I69)3873
Malignant neoplasms of lymphoid, haematopoietic and related tissue (C81-C96)3088
Diseases of the urinary system (N00-N39)28910
Land transport accidents (V01-V89, Y85)28930
Australian Capital Territory
Dementia, including Alzheimer's disease (F01, F03, G30)25212
Ischaemic heart diseases (I20-I25)16821
Cerebrovascular diseases (I60-I69)10533
Malignant neoplasm of trachea, bronchus and lung (C33, C34)9044
Chronic lower respiratory diseases (J40-J47)9045
Malignant neoplasm of colon, sigmoid, rectum and anus (C18-C21, C26.0)8467
Diabetes (E10-E14)7476
Malignant neoplasms of lymphoid, haematopoietic and related tissue (C81-C96)7188
COVID-19 (U07.1-U07.2, U10.9)6399
  1. Causes listed are based on the WHO recommended tabulation of leading causes. See Mortality tabulations and methodologies for further information. 
  2. Causes of death data for recent years is preliminary and subject to a revisions process. 
  3. Data is by date of registration.
  4. Refer to the methodology for more information.
     

Leading causes of death - historical trends

The table below presents a time series of leading causes of death for selected years from 1968 to 2023. 

Leading causes of death between 1968 and 2023: 

  • With the exception of COVID-19 displacing chronic lower respiratory diseases in 2022, the top 5 leading causes of death remained the same between 2006 and 2023, with some variance in rankings. 
  • While deaths due to ischaemic heart disease have been the leading cause of death since 1968, they have decreased by 49.4%. Between 1968 and 1978 ischaemic heart disease accounted for 30% of all deaths. This compares to less than 10% in 2023.
  • In 1968 dementia, including Alzheimer's disease contributed to 0.2% of all deaths, compared to 9.1% in 2023. Dementia, including Alzheimer's disease first appeared in the top 5 leading causes of death in 2006.
  • Cerebrovascular disease was ranked second from 1968 until 2013, when dementia, including Alzheimer's disease became the second leading cause of death. Between 1968 and 2023, deaths due to cerebrovascular disease have decreased by 39.1%.
  • Influenza and pneumonia most recently appeared in the top 5 leading causes of death in 1970. While the number of deaths has remained relatively stable across years, their relative contribution to all deaths has decreased due to our growing population. 
  • Transport accidents consistently ranked in the top 5 leading causes from 1968 until 1978. Between 1968 and 2023, deaths due to transport accidents have decreased by 61.6%, and are now the 30th leading cause of death in 2023. 
  • Since the 1970's, deaths due to lung cancer have consistently accounted for 4-6% of deaths each year. 

Top 5 Leading causes of death, Australia - selected years (a)(b)(c)(d)(e)(f)

Top 5 Leading causes of death, Australia - selected years (a)(b)(c)(d)(e)(f)
Cause of death and ICD codeNo.Rank in 1968Rank in 2023% of all deaths
1968    
Ischaemic heart diseases (410-413)33,4111130.5
Cerebrovascular diseases (430-434, 436-438)15,3632314.0
Chronic lower respiratory diseases (490-493, 518)3,706353.4
Land transport accidents (E800-E827)3,5884303.3
Influenza and pneumonia (470-474, 480-486)3,2755173.0
All causes109,547  100.0
1977    
Ischaemic heart diseases (410-413)32,6751130.0
Cerebrovascular diseases (430-434, 436-438)14,5302313.4
Chronic lower respiratory diseases (490-493, 518)4,369354.0
Malignant neoplasm of trachea, bronchus and lung (162)4,326644.0
Land transport accidents (E800-E827)4,0104303.7
All causes108,790  100.0
1986    
Ischaemic heart disease (410-414)32,0031127.8
Cerebrovascular disease (430-438)12,4912310.9
Malignant neoplasm of trachea, bronchus and lung (162)5,702645.0
Chronic lower respiratory diseases (490-496)5,554354.8
Malignant neoplasm of colon, sigmoid, rectum and anus (153-154)4,132873.6
All causes114,981  100.0
1996    
Ischaemic heart disease (410-414)29,6371123.0
Cerebrovascular disease (430-438)12,806239.9
Chronic lower respiratory diseases (490-496)6,961355.4
Malignant neoplasm of trachea, bronchus and lung (162)6,827645.3
Malignant neoplasm of colon, sigmoid, rectum and anus (153-154)4,618873.6
All causes128,719  100.0
2006    
Ischaemic heart diseases (I20-I25)23,1321117.3
Cerebrovascular diseases (I60-I69)11,480238.6
Malignant neoplasm of trachea, bronchus and lung (C33, C34)7,353645.5
Dementia, including Alzheimer's disease (F01, F03, G30)6,5504024.9
Chronic lower respiratory diseases (J40-J47)5,463354.1
All causes133,755  100.0
2015    
Ischaemic heart diseases (I20-I25)19,9261112.5
Dementia, including Alzheimer's disease (F01, F03, G30)12,6414027.9
Cerebrovascular diseases (I60-I69)10,871236.8
Malignant neoplasm of trachea, bronchus and lung (C33, C34)8,478645.3
Chronic lower respiratory diseases (J40-J47)8,025355.0
All causes159,170  100.0
2022    
Ischaemic heart diseases (I20-I25)18,782119.8
Dementia, including Alzheimer's disease (F01, F03, G30)17,1114029.0
COVID-19 (U07.1-U07.2, U10.9)9,862na95.2
Cerebrovascular diseases (I60-I69)9,838235.2
Malignant neoplasm of trachea, bronchus and lung (C33, C34)9,051644.7
All causes190,939  100.0
2023    
Ischaemic heart diseases (I20-I25)16,922119.2
Dementia, including Alzheimer's disease (F01, F03, G30)16,6854029.1
Cerebrovascular diseases (I60-I69)9,359235.1
Malignant neoplasm of trachea, bronchus and lung (C33, C34)8,976644.9
Chronic lower respiratory diseases (J40-J47)8,359354.6
All causes183,131  100.0

na not applicable

  1. Causes listed are based on the WHO recommended tabulation of leading causes. See Mortality tabulations and methodologies for further information. 
  2. Causes of death data for recent years is preliminary and subject to a revisions process.
  3. Data is by date of registration. 
  4. The International Classification of Diseases (ICD) undergoes periodic revisions by the World Health Organization to reflect changes in medical terminology, medical knowledge and death certification. Although large disease groups can be mapped between different versions of the ICD there may be slight differences in disease groupings between versions.
  5. Registration years 1968-1978 have been coded to ICD-8; Registration years 1979-1996 have been coded to ICD-9; Registration years 1997-2023 have been coded to ICD-10.
  6. Refer to the methodology for more information.
     

Ischaemic heart disease and Dementia – understanding change over time

Deaths due to ischaemic heart disease in Australia have been declining in both number and rate for decades, while over the past two decades deaths due to dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease have increased. In fact, over the past 50 years the mortality rate for ischaemic heart disease has decreased by 87.9% while the rate for dementia has increased by 842.8%. There is an expectation that if mortality continues to follow expected trajectories, dementia will be the leading cause of death in Australia in coming years. This is already the case for females (since 2016) and in New South Wales, South Australia and the Australian Capital Territory. 

The COVID-19 pandemic affected mortality for both ischaemic heart disease and dementia between 2020 and 2022. Mortality for both decreased in 2020 when there was a low rate of transmission of acute respiratory diseases in the community, while both increased in 2022, likely because of high numbers of COVID-19 infections during the Omicron wave of the pandemic. Despite these unexpected movements, the gap between numbers of deaths from ischaemic heart disease and dementia has continued to narrow, with only 237 more deaths from the former recorded in 2023.

The table below shows some of these changes for selected years over the last 50 years.

Ischaemic heart disease (IHD) and dementia, crude rates, age-standardised death rates, median age at death, selected years, Australia(a)(b)(c)(d)(e)(f)

 

Ischaemic heart disease (IHD) and dementia, crude rates, age-standardised death rates, median age at death, selected years, Australia(a)(b)(c)(d)(e)(f)
 NumberCrude rate(d)SDR(e)Median age at death
 IHDDementiaIHDDementiaIHDDementiaIHDDementia
197434,629338252.42.53854.672.780.8
197930,937472213.13.3302.95.672.982.4
198430,951931198.76265.89.374.683.2
198932,6392,184194.113245.218.476.884.3
199430,5763,276171.718.4200.322.97985.5
199927,6103,427146.818.2154.119.580.486.5
200424,5784,607123.323.1117.721.982.487.1
200922,6008,279104.238.291.532.38487.7
201420,26911,99886.351.17039.684.988.4
201918,00115,15471.159.855.143.984.289.1
202316,92216,68563.562.646.543.183.488.7
  1. Causes listed are based on the WHO recommended tabulation of leading causes. See Mortality tabulations and methodologies for further information. 
  2. Causes of death data for recent years is preliminary and subject to a revisions process. 
  3. Data is by date of registration. 
  4. Crude death rate. Death rate per 100,000 estimated resident population as at 30 June.
  5. Age-standardised death rate (SDR). Death rate per 100,000 standard estimated resident population as at 30 June.
  6. Refer to the methodology for more information.
     

The change in these leading causes of death is due to a number of factors. These likely include: 

  • Improved health care and medical interventions for ischaemic heart disease, such as coronary artery bypass grafts and treatment of risk factors such as hypertension and high cholesterol have contributed to reduced mortality. 
  • Dementia is most common in people aged over 65 years – with an increasing ageing population in Australia, this has meant that there are more deaths due to dementia over time. It is important to note that dementia is not an inevitable or expected part of ageing and it can occur in people of all ages.
  • With an ageing population, people are more likely to have multiple comorbidities and present with complex pathways to death. Many of these conditions may be certified on a medical certificate of cause of death (MCCD). 9.4% of people who die from dementia also have ischaemic heart disease certified as a comorbidity. While the ABS leading causes of death are tabulated based on the underlying cause, all conditions listed on the MCCD are coded and included in multiple cause outputs. 
  • There has been some change in how deaths are certified – dementia is now more likely to be certified by a doctor as having caused death (pneumonia, aspiration pneumonia and urinary tract infections are the most common terminal causes leading to death which are a result of dementia). This means that dementia is more likely to be tabulated by the ABS as an underlying cause of death. Some of the change in certification may be related to enhanced knowledge of the disease and diagnosis in the community. 

The graph below shows ischaemic heart disease and dementia as both an underlying cause of death and a contributory cause of death (also known as associated cause of death) from 1997. This is when the ABS started recording information on all conditions certified on the MCCD. It shows: 

  • Ischaemic heart disease is still a significant burden on mortality. While it is decreasing as an underlying cause of death, it has been increasing as an associated cause of death.
  • In total in 2023, ischaemic heart disease was listed as a factor for 35,106 deaths. Of these, it was the underlying cause for 16,922 deaths and was a contributing factor in a further 18,184 deaths. 
  • In 1997, when dementia was certified on the MCCD it was tabulated as the underlying cause in just over 30% of deaths. Since 2015, dementia was the underlying cause in over 50% of cases where it is certified on the MCCD.
  • The opposite is true for ischaemic heart disease. In 1997, it was an underlying cause in approximately three quarters of deaths where it was certified. Since 2020, it was the underlying cause in less than 50% of deaths where it is certified as a factor contributing to death. 

Ischaemic heart disease and dementia: Underlying and associated causes of death, 1997 to 2023 (a)(b)(c)(d)

Ischaemic heart disease and dementia: Underlying and associated causes of death, 1997 to 2023 (a)(b)(c)(d)

Line chart with 4 lines.
The chart has 1 X axis displaying Year.
The chart has 1 Y axis displaying Number. Data ranges from 3244 to 29457.
End of interactive chart.
  1. Causes listed are based on the WHO recommended tabulation of leading causes. See Mortality tabulations and methodologies for further information. 
  2. Causes of death data for recent years is preliminary and subject to a revisions process. 
  3. Data is by date of registration. 
  4. Refer to the methodology for more information.

Leading causes of death in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people

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Changes to derivation of Indigenous status for deaths in ABS mortality datasets

Over the last two years the ABS have introduced a number of enhancements to the derivation of Indigenous status. This has led to an increased number of deaths of both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and non-Indigenous people and a corresponding decrease in the number of deaths where the Indigenous status is unknown or not stated. These changes have introduced a break in time series in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander death statistics in New South Wales (from 2022) and Victoria (from 2023) with a corresponding effect on national data. Caution should be used when interpreting time series data. For more information on this change and the impacts refer to Technical Note: The impact of using two sources for deriving the Indigenous status of deaths in NSW in 2022 and Technical Note: The impact of using multiple sources for deriving the Indigenous status of deaths in 2023 – changes for Victoria and coroner referred deaths

New South Wales: In 2022, information from the cause of death process including the Medical Certificate of Cause of Death (MCCD) and coronial information was made available to the ABS by the NSW Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages as a secondary source for determining the Indigenous status of the deceased. 

Victoria: In 2023, information from the Medical Certificate of Cause of Death was used by the ABS as a secondary source for determining the Indigenous status of the deceased. 

Coroner referred deaths: In 2023, the ABS gained approval from the National Coronial Information System to use the Indigenous status recorded as part of the coronial investigation as a secondary source for determining the Indigenous status of the deceased.

Across Australia in 2023, there were 5,256 deaths registered of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people (2,890 males and 2,366 females). The table below presents for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people: numbers of deaths, crude death rates and age-standardised mortality rates for each jurisdiction in 2023. Age-standardised rates enable the comparison of populations with different age structures. 

For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people:

  • Ischaemic heart disease was the leading cause of death (553 deaths). 
  • Intentional self-harm remains the fifth leading cause of death (275 deaths).
  • The Northern Territory has the highest mortality rate (both crude rates and age-standardised). 

Deaths of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, all jurisdictions, 2023 (a)(b)(c)(d)(e)(f)


Deaths of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, all jurisdictions, 2023 (a)(b)(c)(d)(e)(f)
 MalesFemalesPersons
 No.Crude rate(b)SDR(c)No.Crude rate(b)SDR(c)No.Crude rate(b)SDR(c)
NSW1,004568.61081.0775442.1807.91,779505.6938.0
Vic225543.61031.8187460.1863.4412502.3945.8
Qld702492.0960.1546380.7707.11,248436.2825.4
SA172636.61256.6147549.51096.4319593.31175.9
WA393618.11274.2344564.51087.2737591.91180.2
Tas81npnp61npnp142npnp
NT295765.31443.7286731.11228.9581748.11327.6
ACT18npnp19npnp37npnp
Australia2,890564.21089.92,366465.1853.35,256514.8965.80

np not available for publication

  1. Causes of death data for recent years is preliminary and subject to a revisions process.
  2. Crude death rate. Death rate per 100,000 estimated resident population as at 30 June.
  3. Age-standardised death rate (SDR). Death rate per 100,000 standard estimated resident population as at 30 June.
  4. 2023 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander deaths is influenced by the use of additional sources of information for deriving the Indigenous status of deaths. For more detail, refer to the Technical Note: The impact of using multiple sources for deriving the Indigenous status of deaths in 2023 – changes for Victoria and coroner referred deaths.
  5. Rates use Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population estimates and projections based on the 2021 Census. These rates may differ from those previously published.
  6. Refer to the methodology for more information.

Leading causes of death for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people by five jurisdictions: NSW, Qld, WA, SA, NT

Measures of mortality relating to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are key inputs into the Closing the Gap strategy. This strategy aims to enable Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to overcome inequality and achieve life outcomes equal to all Australians across areas such as life expectancy, education and employment. In July 2020 all Australian governments committed to 17 targets under the National Agreement on Closing the Gap (Australian Government, 2020). Mortality data is a key indicator to measure progress against these targets, one of which is to reduce the suicide rate. 

Methods for reporting on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander deaths

Data reported in the remainder of this article are compiled by jurisdiction of usual residence for New South Wales, Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia and the Northern Territory only. These jurisdictions have been found to have a higher quality of identification of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander origin allowing more robust analysis of data. Data for Victoria, Tasmania and the Australian Capital Territory is unsuitable for comparisons of changes over time and have been excluded in the remainder of article. Data presented in this release may underestimate the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who died.

Improvements in the derivation of Indigenous status over the last two years have resulted in improved identification of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander deaths in the National Mortality dataset, most notably in New South Wales (from 2022) and Victoria (from 2023). In order to facilitate time series analysis the ABS have maintained reporting of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander deaths for five jurisdictions only. The exception to this is the reporting of deaths from suicide, which has a direct impact on Target 14 of the National Agreement on Closing the Gap (significant and sustained reduction in suicide of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people towards zero).

For more information on this change and the impacts refer to Technical Note: The impact of using two sources for deriving the Indigenous status of deaths in NSW in 2022 and Technical Note: The impact of using multiple sources for deriving the Indigenous status of deaths in 2023 – changes for Victoria and coroner referred deaths.

In 2023 there were 4,664 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who died across the five jurisdictions (NSW, Qld, SA, WA and NT). 

  • The median age at death was 63.7 years. This has increased by more than 8 years over the last two decades (55.0 years in 2004) and is the highest recorded for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
  • Ischaemic heart disease was the leading cause of death for males. Intentional self-harm was the second leading cause of death.
  • Diabetes was the leading cause of death for females.

Age-standardised death rates over time

To measure changes over time for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, age-standardised death rates for males, females and all persons are presented in the graph below.

For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who died between 2014 and 2023: 

  • The overall mortality rate in 2023 (983.0 per 100,000 people) remained similar when compared to 2022 (1,006.0).
  • During this time improvements have been made to identification of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander deaths in the ABS mortality dataset (see graph). These changes mean that a higher number of deaths of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are identified in the dataset, with a subsequent increase in mortality rates. This should be considered when interpreting time series as increases may represent improved representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the mortality data. 
  • The rate is consistently higher for males compared to females.
  • The rate ratio ranged between 1.2 to 1.3 male deaths for every female death.

All causes of death, age-standardised death rates, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, 2014-2023 (a)(b)(c)(d)(e)(f)

All causes of death, age-standardised death rates, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, 2014-2023 (a)(b)(c)(d)(e)(f)

Line chart with 3 lines.
The chart has 1 X axis displaying Year.
The chart has 1 Y axis displaying Rate(a). Data ranges from 712.3 to 1113.1.
Chart annotations summary
  • Introduction of MCCD inderivation of Indigenousstatus in QLD
  • Time series break withintroduction of MCCD inderivation of Indigenousstatus in NSW
  • Introduction ofcoroner referredinformation inderivation ofIndigenous status
End of interactive chart.
  1. Age-standardised death rate. Death rate per 100,000 standard estimated resident population as at 30 June.
  2. Causes of death data for recent years is preliminary and subject to a revisions process. 
  3. Data is by date of registration.
  4. Data is reported by usual residence for NSW, Qld, WA, SA and NT only. Data for Vic, Tas and ACT is excluded in line with national reporting guidelines.
  5. Rates use Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population estimates and projections based on the 2021 Census. These rates may differ from those previously published. 
  6. Refer to the methodology for more information.

Top 5 leading causes of death of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people

For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander males and females who died in 2023: 

  • Four of the top 5 leading causes of death for males were the same compared to females. They were ischaemic heart disease, diabetes, lung cancer and chronic lower respiratory diseases.
  • Intentional self-harm was the second leading cause of death for males in 2023, compared to eighth for females. 
  • Dementia, including Alzheimer's disease was the fifth leading cause of death for females and the 10th leading cause for males.

For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who died between 2014 and 2023:

  • The top 5 leading causes remained the same across the period (ischaemic heart disease, diabetes, chronic lower respiratory diseases, lung cancer and intentional self-harm) and accounted for over one-third of all deaths. 
  • Intentional self-harm remains the fifth leading cause of death in 2023. 
  • The median age at death increased from 58.3 years in 2014 to 63.7 years in 2023.
  • There was a decrease in median age for chronic lower respiratory diseases for males, and dementia for females. Increases were recorded for all other causes.
  • The rate for deaths due to ischaemic heart disease decreased over the ten-year period for total persons and females. 

Top 5 leading causes of death, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, 2014-2023 (a)(b)(c)(d)(e)(f)(g)(h)(i)

Top 5 leading causes of death, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, 2014-2023 (a)(b)(c)(d)(e)(f)(g)(h)(i)
 2014201820232014-20182019-2023
Cause of death and ICD codeNo.Crude rate(e)(g)SDR(f)(g)No.Crude rate(e)(g)SDR(f)(g)No.Crude rate(e)(g)SDR(f)(g)SDR(f)(g)SDR(f)(g)
Persons           
Ischaemic heart diseases (I20-I25)35747.2107.540449.4105.748854.6103.5105.6104.6
Chronic lower respiratory diseases (J40-J47)17723.469.723028.169.834238.377.767.271.6
Diabetes (E10-E14)21628.573.523729.065.633036.973.469.669.1
Malignant neoplasm of trachea, bronchus and lung (C33, C34)15320.245.620625.252.126429.557.349.956.6
Intentional self-harm [suicide] (X60-X84, Y87.0)14819.620.217421.322.723926.730.221.626.6
All Causes2730360.7803.03218393.4816.14664521.7983.0810.3904.3
Males           
Ischaemic heart diseases (I20-I25)23461.7143.126564.6140.732772.9145.5136.1137.6
Intentional self-harm [suicide] (X60-X84, Y87.0)10427.429.413132.034.817939.948.132.840.4
Chronic lower respiratory diseases (J40-J47)8722.982.410525.676.117338.686.072.976.5
Diabetes (E10-E14)9525.169.112229.870.613630.359.967.063.6
Malignant neoplasm of trachea, bronchus and lung (C33, C34)7620.050.211628.364.013229.463.860.664.3
All Causes1473388.5863.31780434.1919.42566572.31113.1896.11011.0
Females           
Diabetes (E10-E14)12132.077.011528.260.419443.584.171.373.4
Chronic lower respiratory diseases (J40-J47)9023.860.912530.666.016937.970.863.067.4
Ischaemic heart diseases (I20-I25)12332.676.913934.175.416136.167.179.076.2
Malignant neoplasm of trachea, bronchus and lung (C33, C34)7720.441.99022.142.313229.652.041.050.3
Dementia, including Alzheimer's disease (F01, F03, G30)4411.648.37217.760.710122.763.450.460.1
All Causes1257332.8743.71438352.5722.22098470.9866.0731.2808.0
  1. Causes listed are based on the WHO recommended tabulation of leading causes.
  2. Causes of death data for recent years is preliminary and subject to a revisions process. 
  3. Data is by date of registration.
  4. Data is reported by usual residence for NSW, Qld, WA, SA and NT only. Data for Vic, Tas and ACT is excluded in line with national reporting guidelines.
  5. Crude death rate. Death rate per 100,000 estimated resident population as at 30 June. 
  6. Age-standardised death rate (SDR). Death rate per 100,000 standard estimated resident population as at 30 June.
  7. Rates use Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population estimates and projections based on the 2021 Census. These rates may differ from those previously published.
  8. Interpret intentional self-harm data with caution (refer to the methodology for more detail). 
  9. Refer to the methodology for more information.

Leading causes of death by Indigenous status

Mortality data can provide important insights into population health concerns relevant to different groups within the Australian population. Patterns of death among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people differ to those of non-Indigenous people. Mortality rates for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are generally higher than those for non-Indigenous people. 

In 2023, the median age at death for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people was 63.7 years and 82.2 years for non-Indigenous people, a difference of close to 20 years. Over time, the gap in median age between the two populations has decreased. In 2014 the difference in median age was 23.7 years, when the median age of death for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people was 58.3 years and 82.0 years for non-Indigenous people.

Median age at death by Indigenous status, 1997-2023 (a)(b)(c)(d)

Median age at death by Indigenous status, 1997-2023 (a)(b)(c)(d)

Line chart with 2 lines.
The chart has 1 X axis displaying Year.
The chart has 1 Y axis displaying Median age. Data ranges from 51 to 82.4.
End of interactive chart.
  1. Data is reported by usual residence for NSW, Qld, WA, SA and NT only. Data for Vic, Tas and ACT is excluded in line with national reporting guidelines.
  2. Causes of death data for recent years is preliminary and subject to a revisions process.
  3. Data is by date of registration. 
  4. Refer to the methodology for more information.

The top 20 leading causes of death in 2023 by Indigenous status show:

  • Overall, the age-standardised mortality rate for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people was 1.9 times the rate of death for non-Indigenous people. 
  • Age-standardised mortality rates are higher in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people for all 20 leading causes of death.
  • The top 5 leading causes of death also had the largest rate differences, with the largest being for deaths due to diabetes (rate difference of 57.7). 
  • Deaths due to diabetes also have the largest rate ratio, with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people recording a rate almost 5 times higher than that of non-Indigenous people. 
  • The second highest rate ratio is for deaths due to accidental drug-induced deaths, with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people recording a rate almost 4 times higher than that of non-Indigenous people. 
  • COVID-19 is not in the top 10 leading causes of death for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people (12th) but is ninth for non-Indigenous people.

Top 20 leading causes of death, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and non-Indigenous people, 2023 (a)(b)(c)(d)(e)(f)(g)(h)(i)(j)(k)

Top 20 leading causes of death, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and non-Indigenous people, 2023 (a)(b)(c)(d)(e)(f)(g)(h)(i)(j)(k)
 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peopleNon-IndigenousRate ratio(g)(i) Rate difference(h)(i)
Cause of Death and ICD CodeNo.SDR(e)(f)No.SDR(e)(f)
Ischaemic heart diseases (I20-I25)488103.51158247.22.256.3
Chronic lower respiratory diseases (J40-J47)34277.7573123.03.454.7
Diabetes (E10-E14)33073.4385715.74.757.7
Malignant neoplasm of trachea, bronchus and lung (C33, C34)26457.3618625.32.332.0
Intentional self-harm [suicide] (X60-X84, Y87.0)23930.22,08511.32.719.0
Dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease (F01, F03, G30)16155.312,10247.81.27.5
Cerebrovascular diseases (I60-I69)16139.16,51826.31.512.9
Cirrhosis and other diseases of liver (K70-K76)14322.91,6707.63.015.4
Land transport accidents (V01-V89, Y85)10712.68784.62.78.0
Diseases of the urinary system (N00-N39)9925.62,90811.62.214.0
Accidental poisoning (X40-X49)9413.56223.53.910.0
COVID-19 (U07.1-U07.2, U10.9)8924.73,39713.51.811.1
Malignant neoplasm of liver and intrahepatic bile ducts (C22)8417.31,5946.62.610.7
Influenza and pneumonia (J09-J18)8417.61,8687.62.310.0
Malignant neoplasm of pancreas (C25)8116.82,51610.41.66.4
Malignant neoplasm of colon, sigmoid, rectum and anus (C18-C21, C26.0)8016.93,75215.81.11.2
Certain conditions originating in the perinatal period (P00-P96)704.83092.12.32.7
Malignant neoplasms of lymphoid, haematopoietic and related tissue (C81-C96)6615.93,55914.51.11.3
Heart failure and complications and ill-defined heart disease (I50-I51)6216.32,52810.11.66.1
Malignant neoplasms of breast (C50)5111.42,2399.61.21.8
All causes4,664983.0125,382519.21.9463.9
  1. Causes listed are based on the WHO recommended tabulation of leading causes.
  2. Causes of death data for recent years is preliminary and subject to a revisions process. 
  3. Data is by date of registration.
  4. Data is reported by usual residence for NSW, Qld, WA, SA and NT only. Data for Vic, Tas and ACT is excluded in line with national reporting guidelines.
  5. Age-standardised death rate (SDR). Death rate per 100,000 standard estimated resident population as at 30 June.
  6. Rates by Indigenous status use population estimates and projections based on the 2021 Census. Previous publications have used rates based on 2016 Census estimates and projections for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and 2021 Census for other populations. Rates are not comparable with those previously published. 
  7. Rate ratio is the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander death rate divided by the non-Indigenous rate.
  8. Rate difference is the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander death rate less the non-Indigenous rate.
  9. Rate ratio and rate difference is calculated on unrounded data.
  10. Interpret intentional self-harm data with caution (refer to the methodology for more detail). 
  11. Refer to the methodology for more information.

Intentional self-harm deaths (Suicide) in Australia

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The ABS uses, and supports the use of, the Mindframe guidelines on responsible, accurate and safe reporting on suicide, mental ill-health and alcohol and other drugs. The ABS recommends referring to these guidelines when reporting on statistics in this report.

In 2023:

  • 3,214 deaths have been initially classified as being due to suicide. This number is preliminary with an expectation that there will be an increase in some jurisdictions as more coronial information becomes available to the ABS.
  • The crude suicide rate was 12.1 per 100,000 people.
  • The age-standardised suicide rate was 11.8 per 100,000 people.
  • Suicide was the 16th leading cause of death.

How should preliminary ABS data on suicide be interpreted?

When the ABS first releases causes of death data for a reference year, the information is considered to be preliminary. This is because some deaths (such as those from suicide) that are referred to a coroner can take time to be fully investigated, which can influence what information is available to assign a cause of death code during the ABS coding process. This can impact on data quality as less specific ICD-10 codes may need to be applied. 

As the ABS receives further updates on a coronial case, the death is re-analysed by the mortality coding team and if necessary, updated ICD-10 codes are applied. This is referred to as the revisions process and is conducted three times by the ABS – a preliminary revision, a secondary revision and a final revision. See Technical note: Causes of death revisions methodology for more information on the revisions process. In this current publication, suicide data for 2023 is preliminary, 2022 data has undergone a preliminary revision, 2021 data a secondary revision and data for 2020 and earlier is considered final.

The following impacts of the revisions process should be considered when interpreting preliminary suicide data:

  1. The number of deaths due to suicide typically increase over the revisions period. For the years 2014-2020, suicide counts increased by an average of 2.2% from preliminary to final. The impact of revisions on suicide counts differs by jurisdiction:
    • For deaths registered in New South Wales, there was a 3.9% average increase in the suicide count from preliminary to final (2014-2020).
    • For deaths registered in Victoria, there was a 2.5% increase.
    • For deaths registered in Queensland, there was a 2.1% increase.
    • Suicide counts for other jurisdictions increased by less than 1.0% on average.
  2. Time series analysis for data that is not final (preliminary, preliminary revised and revised) should be undertaken with caution. For example, when comparing 2023 data with that for 2022 or 2021, the revisions process and its impact on data should be noted. Highlighting increases or decreases for data that is still subject to revisions may not be appropriate in some circumstances.  
  3. When deaths are reassigned to a suicide as part of the revisions cycle they are most likely to have been coded to an external cause where the intent is not known when initially coded (it is not clear if the death was due to an accident or suicide) or an external cause of unknown mechanism (the injury is available for coding, but there is no indication with initial reports that this is a death due to suicide). A small number of deaths (between 5 and 25 on average) are reassigned to suicide from an unspecified cause of mortality (there is no information available on intent or mechanism during initial coding). The number of cases coded to these causes (ICD-10 codes Y10-Y34, X59.9 and R99) should be looked at to gain an understanding of how much change may be anticipated to occur over the revisions process.
  4. Completeness differs across jurisdictions. The number of deaths coded to ICD-10 codes Y10-Y34, X59.9 and R99 should be looked at by jurisdiction to gain an understanding of data quality and completeness for each jurisdiction in 2023.

The table below shows the number of deaths coded to Y10-Y34, X59.9 and R99 by jurisdiction for 2021-2023. The data for 2021 has undergone two revisions processes and for 2022 one revision process. For 2023, New South Wales has a high number of deaths coded to less defined codes. While it is not known what additional information will be available for these cases, it is likely that the number of deaths due to suicide in New South Wales will increase when the first revision is applied to the 2023 data (due early 2025). The New South Wales Suicide Monitoring System also collects and publishes data on suicides and suspected suicides, sourced from the NSW Department of Communities and Justice's information system. Monthly reports can be found at the following page: NSW Suicide Monitoring System - Towards Zero Suicides.

Number of deaths coded to Y10-Y34, X59.9 and R99 by jurisdiction, 2021-2023 (a)(b)(c)(d)

Number of deaths coded to Y10-Y34, X59.9 and R99 by jurisdiction, 2021-2023 (a)(b)(c)(d)
 Event of undetermined intent (Y10-Y34)Exposure to unspecified factor causing other and unspecified injury (X59.9)Other ill-defined and unspecified causes of mortality (R99)
 202120222023202120222023202120222023
NSW22471167493134494505709
Vic274475141823636812532
Qld433264455051132130170
SA2211137113374537589
WA2611397111595150340
Tas814010142021
NT51300091613
ACT433135141822
Australia1541523151501782411,7682,1902,398
  1. Causes of death data for recent years is preliminary and subject to a revisions process.
  2. Data is by state of registration. Data may not match that published by state of usual residence.
  3. Data is by date of registration. 
  4. Refer to the methodology for more information.

Despite expected changes in 2023 suicide counts, the publication of preliminary suicide data for 2023 still provides important insights into the demographic profile and risk factors for those who died by suicide in 2023. This includes information on age, country of birth and remoteness areas. Demographic analyses of preliminary suicide data for 2023 can be found below. For information on risk factors for suicide in 2023, see Risk factors for intentional self-harm deaths (Suicide) in Australia.

Suicide by sex 

In order to measure changes over time, age-standardised suicide rates for males, females and all persons are presented in the graph below. Upper and lower bounds (confidence intervals) are included to show the potential variability of the annual suicide rates and can be used in measuring statistical significance of the annual rate change.

For males in 2023:

  • 2,419 deaths have been initially identified as being due to suicide. This preliminary number is expected to increase.
  • Suicide was the 11th leading cause of death.
  • The median age at death for those who died by suicide was 45.8 years. 
  • Over three-quarters (75.3%) of people who died by suicide were male.
  • Whilst the suicide rate for males appears to have decreased since 2022, it should not be reported as such. Further revisions of the 2023 dataset will provide more accurate data for time series comparisons.

For females in 2023:

  • There were 795 deaths due to suicide.
  • Suicide was the 26th leading cause of death. 
  • The median age at death for those who died by suicide was 44.4 years. 
  • Whilst the suicide rate for females appears to have decreased since 2022, it should not be reported as such. Further revisions of the 2023 dataset will provide more accurate data for time series comparisons.

Age-standardised suicide rates (with confidence intervals), 2014-2023 (a)(b)(c)(d)(e)(f)(g)

Age-standardised suicide rates (with confidence intervals), 2014-2023 (a)(b)(c)(d)(e)(f)(g)

Combination chart with 6 data series.
The chart has 1 X axis displaying Year.
The chart has 1 Y axis displaying Rate(b). Data ranges from 5.4 to 20.9.
Chart annotations summary
  • Revised
  • Preliminaryrevised
  • Preliminary
End of interactive chart.
  1. Intentional self-harm includes ICD-10 codes X60-X84 and Y87.0.
  2. Age-standardised death rate. Death rate per 100,000 standard estimated resident population as at 30 June.
  3. Interpret intentional self-harm data with caution (refer to the methodology for more detail).
  4. Interpret data related to deaths registered in Victoria with caution. Refer to Historical considerations in the Data Quality section of the Methodology for more detail.
  5. Causes of death data for recent years is preliminary and subject to a revisions process.
  6. Data is by date of registration. 
  7. Refer to the methodology for more information.

Suicide by state and territory of usual residence

In 2023:

  • Three-quarters of people who died by suicide had a usual residence in New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland.
  • Those living in the Northern Territory had the highest suicide rate at 17.0 per 100,000 people.
  • New South Wales was more heavily impacted by administrative factors than other jurisdictions. This has prevented an accurate preliminary suicide count from being presented for New South Wales.
    • At the time of 2023 preliminary coding, New South Wales had a larger number of open coronial cases than any other jurisdiction (i.e., a larger number of cases where a coronial finding was yet to be made).
    • Time series analyses and commentary for New South Wales should consider administrative factors until further causes of death revisions are conducted. See 'How should preliminary ABS data on suicide be interpreted?' above for more information. 

Between 2022 and 2023:

  • The suicide rate increased in Western Australia and Tasmania.
  • For Victoria and Queensland, the suicide rate is similar to that recorded in 2022. 
  • For South Australia and the Northern Territory, suicide rates appeared to decrease in 2023, but the number of suicides remained similar to 2022. 
  • The number of suicides and the suicide rate for the Australian Capital Territory appeared to decrease in 2023. As the smallest jurisdiction, any impact of administrative factors such as registration delays may be more pronounced for the Australian Capital Territory .
  • Interpretation of time series data should be made with caution given suicide counts may change with revisions to causes of death for 2023.

Number of suicides by state or territory of usual residence, 2014-2023 (a)(b)(c)(d)(e)(f)

Number of suicides by state or territory of usual residence, 2014-2023 (a)(b)(c)(d)(e)(f)
 2014201520162017201820192020202120222023
NSW832839822929940963913923928847
Vic672686667713691735683676755761
Qld658761688816805803779790784790
SA244233221226209250229228242230
WA367402373418384416382390385417
Tas698493797810788798988
NT56484651475051474944
ACT38462859505359645537
Australia2,9373,1002,9393,2923,2053,3773,1843,1973,2883,214
  1. Intentional self-harm includes ICD-10 codes X60-X84 and Y87.0.
  2. Interpret intentional self-harm data with caution (refer to the methodology for more detail).
  3. Interpret data related to deaths registered in Victoria with caution. Refer to Historical considerations in the Data Quality section of the Methodology for more detail.
  4. Causes of death data for recent years is preliminary and subject to a revisions process.
  5. Data is by date of registration. 
  6. Refer to the methodology for more information.

 

Age-standardised suicide rates by state or territory of usual residence, 2014-2023 (a)(b)(c)(d)(e)(f)(g)

Age-standardised suicide rates by state or territory of usual residence, 2014-2023 (a)(b)(c)(d)(e)(f)(g)
 2014201520162017201820192020202120222023
NSW10.810.910.511.611.611.811.011.111.09.9
Vic11.111.210.511.110.611.110.010.111.110.9
Qld14.016.014.216.616.215.815.115.014.614.2
SA14.513.213.012.911.813.812.812.413.312.1
WA14.515.614.516.114.515.614.114.013.714.3
Tas12.816.217.115.114.218.815.213.214.614.9
NT21.820.319.220.219.520.820.219.020.517.0
ACT9.811.47.214.211.612.113.113.711.77.7
Australia12.312.912.013.212.713.212.212.212.411.8
  1. Intentional self-harm includes ICD-10 codes X60-X84 and Y87.0.
  2. Age-standardised death rate. Death rate per 100,000 standard estimated resident population as at 30 June.
  3. Interpret intentional self-harm data with caution (refer to the methodology for more detail).
  4. Interpret data related to deaths registered in Victoria with caution. Refer to Historical considerations in the Data Quality section of the Methodology for more detail.
  5. Causes of death data for recent years is preliminary and subject to a revisions process.
  6. Data is by date of registration. 
  7. Refer to the methodology for more information.

Suicide by age

Understanding how suicide manifests across key demographics is important in helping to target policies and prevention activities. The graph below shows the age distribution for those who died by suicide and the proportion of those deaths that occurred within each age cohort.

In 2023:

  • Young and middle-aged people were more likely to die by suicide than those in older age cohorts.
  • 82.5 percent of people who died by suicide were aged under 65 years.
  • People who died by suicide had a median age of 45.5 years compared to 82.0 years for all deaths.
  • The proportional distribution of those aged under 20 years who died by suicide differed for males and females:
    • For females, 8.2% of suicides occurred in those aged under 20 years.
    • For males 4.3% of suicides occurred in those aged under 20 years.

Suicide by age and sex as a proportion of total suicides, 2023 (a)(b)(c)(d)(e)

Suicide by age and sex as a proportion of total suicides, 2023 (a)(b)(c)(d)(e)

Bar chart with 2 data series.
The chart has 1 X axis displaying Age (years).
The chart has 1 Y axis displaying Proportion. Data ranges from 0.5 to 10.7.
End of interactive chart.
  1. Intentional self-harm includes ICD-10 codes X60-X84 and Y87.0.
  2. Interpret intentional self-harm data with caution (refer to the methodology for more detail).
  3. Causes of death data for recent years is preliminary and subject to a revisions process.
  4. Data is by date of registration. 
  5. Refer to the methodology for more information.

Suicide of males: age-specific death rates

Age-specific death rates show how suicide manifests across age cohorts by relating the number of deaths to the size and structure of the underlying population.

In 2023: 

  • Males aged between 55-59 years had the highest age-specific suicide rate (30.9 per 100,000 people).
  • Males aged between 40-44 years accounted for the highest proportion of deaths due to suicide (9.9%).

Between 2022 and 2023:

  • Males aged between 55-59 years had the largest increase in their age-specific suicide rate (up 5.7 deaths per 100,000)
  • Males aged under 20 years, had an increase in their age-specific suicide rate. 
  • Males aged 85 years and over had the largest decrease in their age-specific suicide rate (down 6.3 deaths per 100,000).

Male age-specific suicide rates, 2022-2023 (a)(b)(c)(d)(e)(f)

Male age-specific suicide rates, 2022-2023 (a)(b)(c)(d)(e)(f)

Bar chart with 2 data series.
The chart has 1 X axis displaying Age (years).
The chart has 1 Y axis displaying Rate(b). Data ranges from 0.3 to 32.9.
End of interactive chart.
  1. Intentional self-harm includes ICD-10 codes X60-X84 and Y87.0.
  2. Age-specific death rate. Deaths for an age group per 100,000 of the estimated resident population of the same age group as at 30 June.
  3. Interpret intentional self-harm data with caution (refer to the methodology for more detail).
  4. Causes of death data for recent years is preliminary and subject to a revisions process.
  5. Data is by date of registration. 
  6. Refer to the methodology for more information.

Suicide of females: age-specific death rates

In 2023, females aged between 50-54 years:

  • Had the highest age-specific suicide rate (10.0 per 100,000 people).
  • Had the largest increase in their age-specific suicide rate from 2022 (up 1.4 deaths per 100,000).
  • Accounted for the highest proportion of deaths due to suicide (10.7%).

Females aged over 85 years:

  • Had the largest decrease in their age-specific suicide rate from 2022 (down 2.9 deaths per 100,000).
  • This marks a return to historical trends, with 2022 seeing the highest suicide rate in this age group since the beginning of the time series in 1968.

Female age-specific suicide rates, 2022-2023 (a)(b)(c)(d)(e)(f)

Female age-specific suicide rates, 2022-2023 (a)(b)(c)(d)(e)(f)

Bar chart with 2 data series.
The chart has 1 X axis displaying Age (years).
The chart has 1 Y axis displaying Rate(b). Data ranges from 0.2 to 10.6.
End of interactive chart.
  1. Intentional self-harm includes ICD-10 codes X60-X84 and Y87.0.
  2. Age-specific death rate. Deaths for an age group per 100,000 of the estimated resident population of the same age group as at 30 June.
  3. Interpret intentional self-harm data with caution (refer to the methodology for more detail).
  4. Causes of death data for recent years is preliminary and subject to a revisions process.
  5. Data is by date of registration. 
  6. Refer to the methodology for more information.

Suicide and premature mortality

Years of potential life lost (YPLL) is a measure of 'premature' mortality, which weights age at death to gain an estimate of how many years a person would have lived had they not died prematurely. YPLL aids in assessing the significance of specific diseases or trauma as a cause of premature death. For this analysis, any death between the ages of 1-78 years inclusive is considered a premature death. See Mortality tabulations and methodologies in the methodology for further information.

Suicide accounted for the highest number of years of potential life lost among leading cause groups of conditions for both males and females. This is due to the high proportion of suicides that occur within younger age groups. Conditions such as coronary heart disease account for more premature deaths than suicide, but fewer years of potential life lost.

In 2023:

  • Suicide was the leading cause of death for those aged between 15-44 years. 
  • Suicide was the leading cause of premature mortality with 107,537 years of life lost.
  • A person who died by suicide lost on average 35.5 years of life. 

For males who died in 2023:

  • Suicide was the leading cause of premature mortality with 79,772 years of life lost.
  • Those who died by suicide lost on average 35.1 years of life.

For females who died in 2023:

  • Suicide was the leading cause of premature mortality with 27,775 years of life lost.
  • Those who died by suicide lost on average 36.9 years of life.

Suicide of children

Deaths of children by suicide is an extremely sensitive issue. The number of deaths of children attributed to suicide can be influenced by coronial reporting practices. Reporting practices may lead to differences in counts across jurisdictions and this should be considered when interpreting tabulations and analysis of suicides in children presented below. For more information on issues associated with the compilation and interpretation of suicide data, see Deaths due to intentional self-harm (suicide) section of the methodology in this publication. For the purposes of the following analysis, children are defined as those aged between 5 and 17 years of age. The ABS are not aware of any recorded suicides of children under the age of 5 years. The tabulation below shows the number and age-specific death rate for children who died by suicide over the last 5 years.

In 2023: 

  • Suicide was the leading cause of child death in Australia.  
  • There were 94 children who died by suicide, accounting for 18.5% of child deaths.
  • Males had a suicide rate of 2.4 per 100,000 children (53 deaths).
  • Females had a suicide rate of 2.0 per 100,000 children (41 deaths).
  • Over 87% of children who died by suicide were aged 14-17 years (82 deaths).
  • Whilst the suicide rate for children has increased since 2022, it remains lower than rates in 2019-2021.

Suicide of children aged 5-17 years, 2019-2023 (a)(b)(c)(d)(e)(f)(g)

Suicide of children aged 5-17 years, 2019-2023 (a)(b)(c)(d)(e)(f)(g)
 20192020202120222023
No.Rate(b)No.Rate(b)No.Rate(b)No.Rate(b)No.Rate(b)
MalesSuicide643.1633.0663.1472.2532.4
All causes26812.928613.631814.930714.332014.7
FemalesSuicide341.7381.9482.4301.5412.0
All causes1839.31768.81929.61909.41899.2
PersonsSuicide982.41012.51142.8771.8942.2
All causes45111.246211.351012.349711.950912.0
  1. Intentional self-harm includes ICD-10 codes X60-X84 and Y87.0.
  2. Age-specific death rate. Deaths for an age group per 100,000 of the estimated resident population of the same age group as at 30 June.
  3. Interpret intentional self-harm data with caution (refer to the methodology for more detail).
  4. Interpret data related to deaths registered in Victoria with caution. Refer to Historical considerations in the Data Quality section of the Methodology for more detail.
  5. Causes of death data for recent years is preliminary and subject to a revisions process.
  6. Data is by date of registration. 
  7. Refer to the methodology for more information.

Suicide of children: Sex ratio

  • The sex ratio for children aged 5-17 years was 1.3 males per female death. This compared to a sex ratio of 3.0 for people of all ages who died by suicide.
  • The sex ratio for children has remained consistent over the last 10 years.

Sex ratios for suicide of children (5-17 years) and suicide of all persons, 2014-2023 (a)(b)(c)(d)(e)(f)(g)

Sex ratios for suicide of children (5-17 years) and suicide of all persons, 2014-2023 (a)(b)(c)(d)(e)(f)(g)
 5-17 yearsAll ages
20141.33.1
20151.23.1
20162.32.9
20171.92.9
20181.63.2
20191.93.1
20201.73.1
20211.43.0
20221.63.1
20231.33.0
  1. Intentional self-harm includes ICD-10 codes X60-X84 and Y87.0.
  2. Sex ratios for suicide, defined as the number of male suicides per female suicide.
  3. Interpret intentional self-harm data with caution (refer to the methodology for more detail).
  4. Interpret data related to deaths registered in Victoria with caution. Refer to Historical considerations in the Data Quality section of the Methodology for more detail.
  5. Causes of death data for recent years is preliminary and subject to a revisions process.
  6. Data is by date of registration. 
  7. Refer to the methodology for more information.

Suicide by country of birth

People from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds (CaLD) may have unique experiences in relation to mental health and suicide, including cultural and family views and how health services are accessed. Death registrations do not directly collect information on whether a person was part of a CaLD community. Data items from the death registration which can provide some indication of cultural and linguistic diversity are country of birth and years of residence in Australia. While these two variables do not provide complete information on suicide for people of CaLD backgrounds, they do provide some additional insights into suicide in Australia.

Suicide by region of birth

For the 5-year period 2019 to 2023:

  • Those who were born in Australia had a suicide rate of 14.7 deaths per 100,000 people, which was the highest suicide rate by region of birth and 1.7 times higher than the suicide rate for those born overseas (8.4 per 100,000).

For those born overseas:

  • Those with a country of birth in the region of Oceania and Antarctica (excluding Australia) had the highest suicide rate, at 14.3 per 100,000 people.
  • Those with a country of birth in the region of Southern and Central Asia had the lowest suicide rate, at 4.4 per 100,000 people. Those born in this region also had the lowest median age at death at 34.9 years.
  • The regions of North Africa and the Middle East, South-East Asia, and Southern and Central Asia all had a lower median age at death due to suicide than those born in Australia.

Suicide by Country of birth region, 2019-2023 (a)(b)(c)(d)(e)(f)(g)(h)(i)

Suicide by Country of birth region, 2019-2023 (a)(b)(c)(d)(e)(f)(g)(h)(i)
Country of birth region (g)no.Rate(b)Median age at deathMedian age of population
Australia12,37814.743.034.3
Overseas3,8088.451.744.1
Oceania and Antarctica62914.343.745.3
North-West Europe1,22312.060.058.2
 United Kingdom and Ireland97112.158.457.7
 Other North-West Europe25211.570.361.5
Southern and Eastern Europe4558.768.766.2
 Southern Europe1306.473.871.0
 South Eastern Europe1968.267.665.7
 Eastern Europe12912.458.653.8
North Africa and the Middle East1364.942.542.5
South-East Asia3125.042.342.1
North-East Asia3306.346.038.6
Southern and Central Asia2974.434.934.5
Americas1838.847.639.2
Sub-Saharan Africa24310.445.442.4
  1. Intentional self-harm includes ICD-10 codes X60-X84 and Y87.0.
  2. Age-standardised death rate. Death rate per 100,000 standard estimated resident population as at 30 June.
  3. Interpret intentional self-harm data with caution (refer to the methodology for more detail).
  4. Interpret data related to deaths registered in Victoria with caution. Refer to Historical considerations in the Data Quality section of the Methodology for more detail.
  5. Causes of death data for recent years is preliminary and subject to a revisions process.
  6. Data is by date of registration.
  7. Country of birth uses the Standard Australian Classification of Countries (SACC).
  8. Deaths without a recorded country of birth are excluded from this table.
  9. Refer to the methodology for more information.

Suicide by country of birth

The table below shows the 20 most common countries of birth for those who died by suicide in Australia in 2019-2023. For the 5-year period 2019 to 2023. Excluding Australia, England was the most common country of birth for those who died by suicide (740 deaths). When adjusted for population size and age-structure, those with a country of birth in England did not have the highest suicide rate of those born overseas.

Age-standardised suicide rates by Country of birth, 2019-2023 (a)(b)(c)(d)(e)(f)(g)(h)(i)

Age-standardised suicide rates by Country of birth, 2019-2023 (a)(b)(c)(d)(e)(f)(g)(h)(i)
Country of Birth (g)no.Rate(b)
Australia12,37814.7
England74011.7
New Zealand53816.1
China (excludes SARs and Taiwan)1945.5
India1544.1
South Africa12610.5
Scotland9114.2
Germany919.9
Italy795.2
Philippines714.2
Vietnam704.6
United States of America6711.4
Korea, Republic of (South)6411.7
Netherlands6314.0
Malaysia585.4
Ireland549.1
Sri Lanka516.2
Croatia4719.9
Canada4513.6
Poland4210.3
  1. Intentional self-harm includes ICD-10 codes X60-X84 and Y87.0.
  2. Age-standardised death rate (SDR). Death rate per 100,000 standard estimated resident population as at 30 June.
  3. Interpret intentional self-harm data with caution (refer to the methodology for more detail).
  4. Interpret data related to deaths registered in Victoria with caution. Refer to Historical considerations in the Data Quality section of the Methodology for more detail.
  5. Causes of death data for recent years is preliminary and subject to a revisions process.
  6. Data is by date of registration.
  7. Country of birth uses the Standard Australian Classification of Countries (SACC).
  8. Deaths without a recorded country of birth are excluded.
  9. Refer to the methodology for more information.

The graph below shows age-standardised suicide rates by country of birth for those who died by suicide in Australia in 2019-2023. For the 5-year period 2019 to 2023, those born in Northern Ireland, Croatia, Kenya and New Zealand had a higher suicide rate than those born in Australia.

Age-standardised suicide rates by country of birth, 2019-2023 (a)(b)(c)(d)(e)(f)(g)(h)(i)(j)

Age-standardised suicide rates by country of birth, 2019-2023 (a)(b)(c)(d)(e)(f)(g)(h)(i)(j)

Bar chart with 21 bars.
The chart has 1 X axis displaying Country of birth(h).
The chart has 1 Y axis displaying values. Data ranges from 10.3 to 20.9.
End of interactive chart.
  1. Intentional self-harm includes ICD-10 codes X60-X84 and Y87.0.
  2. Age-standardised death rate (SDR). Death rate per 100,000 standard estimated resident population as at 30 June.
  3. SDRs based on small numbers are volatile and unreliable. SDRs based on less than 20 deaths have not been published.
  4. Interpret intentional self-harm data with caution (refer to the methodology for more detail).
  5. Interpret data related to deaths registered in Victoria with caution. Refer to Historical considerations in the Data Quality section of the Methodology for more detail.
  6. Causes of death data for recent years is preliminary and subject to a revisions process.
  7. Data is by date of registration.
  8. Country of birth uses the Standard Australian Classification of Countries (SACC).
  9. Deaths without a recorded country of birth are excluded.
  10. Refer to the methodology for more information.

Suicide by remoteness

The table below shows the number of suicides and age-standardised suicide rates for those living in Major Cities of Australia, Inner Regional Australia, Outer Regional Australia, and Remote and Very Remote Australia from 2019-2023. Classes of remoteness are characterised by a measure of relative geographic access to services (for more information, see Remoteness Areas).

In the five-year period 2019-2023:

  • When controlling for population size and age structure, the suicide rate in remote and very remote Australia was between 20.5 and 24.0 deaths per 100,000 people. This is consistently higher than suicide rates in both regional areas and major cities.
  • Major cities of Australia had the lowest suicide rate across all years (between 10.0 and 11.2 deaths per 100,000 people).
  • The suicide rate for males living in remote and very remote Australia in 2021-2023 was more than double the rate for males living in major cities.
  • Though 2023 suicide data is considered preliminary, suicide rates for males and persons living in remote and very remote Australia were higher than 2020 (final) rates.

Suicide by remoteness areas, 2019-2023 (a)(b)(c)(d)(e)(f)(g)(h)(i)(j)

Suicide by remoteness areas, 2019-2023 (a)(b)(c)(d)(e)(f)(g)(h)(i)(j)
 2019202020212022202320192020202120222023
 no.no.no.no.no.Rate(b)Rate(b)Rate(b)Rate(b)Rate(b)
Males          
 Major Cities of Australia1,5461,4751,4211,5091,46116.815.915.216.014.9
 Inner Regional Australia57152556157956427.024.225.625.824.6
 Outer Regional Australia32331930827528331.730.828.925.826.9
 Remote and Very Remote Australia746985908229.526.933.836.632.9
Females          
 Major Cities of Australia5455125215455245.75.35.45.65.2
 Inner Regional Australia1621441741651667.46.47.57.27.4
 Outer Regional Australia85727768798.67.38.26.68.1
 Remote and Very Remote Australia293122231813.313.39.710.5np
Persons          
 Major Cities of Australia2,0911,9871,9422,0541,98511.210.510.210.610.0
 Inner Regional Australia73366973574473017.115.216.416.415.9
 Outer Regional Australia40839138534336220.119.118.616.317.6
 Remote and Very Remote Australia10310010711310021.820.522.224.020.6

np not available for publication

  1. Intentional self-harm includes ICD-10 codes X60-X84 and Y87.0.
  2. Age-standardised death rate (SDR). Death rate per 100,000 standard estimated resident population as at 30 June.
  3. SDRs based on small numbers are volatile and unreliable. SDRs based on less than 20 deaths have not been published.
  4. Remoteness classification is based on area of usual residence.
  5. This table combines data for Remote and Very Remote Australia.
  6. Interpret intentional self-harm data with caution (refer to the methodology for more detail).
  7. Interpret data related to deaths registered in Victoria with caution. Refer to Historical considerations in the Data Quality section of the Methodology for more detail.
  8. Causes of death data for recent years is preliminary and subject to a revisions process.
  9. Data is by date of registration. 
  10. Refer to the methodology for more information.

 

Risk factors for intentional self-harm deaths (Suicide) in Australia

Support services, 24 hours, 7 days

  • Lifeline: 13 11 14 
  • National Alcohol and Other Drugs Hotline: 1800 250 015 

For further information see Crisis support services.

Circumstances relating to a suicide are complex and multifaceted. Often, it is the combination of multiple factors rather than a single reason that contribute to a person dying by suicide. Risk factors should not be considered in isolation.

The ABS codes causes of death from information contained on the National Coronial Information System (NCIS), including police, pathology, toxicology and coroners reports. These reports provide a breadth of information relating to these deaths, much of which is highly important from a public health perspective. As part of the investigative process for a suicide, risk factors are often mentioned in these reports. For suicide, a risk factor could be one of many factors including mental health conditions, lifestyle factors, or chronic diseases that can interact and increase the 'risk' of suicide. While a risk factor may have been present in the life of a person who died by suicide it may not have been a direct cause. Risk factors provide important insights that can help guide prevention and intervention activities.

The risk factors mentioned in the reports on the NCIS are captured as part of the ABS coding process and assigned codes within the framework of the International Classification of Diseases, 10th revision. For more information on psychosocial risk factor codes and definitions used by the ABS, see Listing of psychosocial risk factor ICD-10 codes with inclusions and exclusions. The capture of information on associated causes of death is reliant on the documentation available for any given death. This in turn can be affected by the length of the coronial process, the type of information available across different jurisdictions and administrative processes affecting report availability. As such, the information presented in this section reflects information contained within reports available on NCIS at the time of coding and does not necessarily reflect all causes associated with all suicides that have occurred. Risk factors are included and made available as part of the associated causes in the National Mortality dataset.

In 2023: 

  • 83.3% of people who died by suicide had at least one risk factor reported at the time of preliminary coding. This proportion is likely to increase as coronial investigations are finalised.
  • Psychosocial risk factors were the most commonly reported risk factor, present in 67.4% of deaths of people who died by suicide. 
  • People who died by suicide had an average of 4 risk factors mentioned.

Suicide risk factor prevalence, 2019-2023 (a)(b)(c)(d)(e)(f)(g)(h)(i)

Suicide risk factor prevalence, 2019-2023 (a)(b)(c)(d)(e)(f)(g)(h)(i)
 20192020202120222023
 no.%no.%no.%no.%no.%
Total suicides3,377100.03,184100.03,197100.03,288100.03,214100.0
Total suicides with reported psychosocial risk factor/s (a)2,45872.82,52379.22,45076.62,25668.62,16667.4
Total suicides with reported mental and behavioural disorder/s (b)2,35669.82,35974.12,32672.82,07163.02,05664.0
Total suicides with reported natural disease/s (c)2,02860.12,09865.92,06664.61,75553.41,82956.9
Total suicides with any risk factor reported (d)3,14893.23,04395.62,99893.82,82786.02,67883.3
  1. Psychosocial risk factors include ICD-10 codes Z00-Z99.
  2. Mental and behavioural disorders include ICD-10 codes F00-F99.
  3. Natural diseases include all disease and health related conditions with the exclusion of mental and behavioural disorders, injuries, external causes and some terminal conditions (G93, I46, I49, J96). Includes ICD-10 codes A00-E90, G00-R99, U07.1-U07.2, U08-U10.9.
  4. Includes psychosocial risk factors, mental and behavioural disorders, natural diseases and external causes with the exclusion of intentional self-harm (ICD-10 codes V01-Y98 excl. X60-X84, Y87.0).
  5. Interpret intentional self-harm data with caution (refer to the methodology for more detail).
  6. Interpret data related to deaths registered in Victoria with caution. Refer to Historical considerations in the Data Quality section of the Methodology for more detail.
  7. Causes of death data for recent years is preliminary and subject to a revisions process.
  8. Data is by date of registration. 
  9. Refer to the methodology for more information.
     

Suicide risk factors by age

The types of risk factors experienced by a person can vary across their life. Risk factors more commonly seen in persons in older age groups, such as pain and limitation of activities due to chronic health conditions, are not as common in younger age groups. Similarly, problems related to employment and unemployment are most common in those included in the working age population (defined as 15-64 years). 

For those who died by suicide in 2023:

  • Mood disorders (including depression) were the most common risk factor overall, and in those aged between 25-84 years.
  • Suicide ideation was the most common risk factor for those aged under 25 years and was mentioned as a risk factor in over a quarter of suicides across all age groups. Suicide ideation can include thoughts or contemplation of suicide, and both direct and indirect discussions or comments surrounding a person’s intention or wish to end their life.
  • Limitation of activities due to illness and disability continues to be the most common risk factor for those aged 85 years and over.
  • Those aged 25-64 years were most likely to have problems related to employment, relationships, and legal circumstances mentioned as risk factors.
  • The highest median age at death was seen for those with problems related to care provider dependency (79.6 years). High median ages at death were also seen for those who had chronic health conditions (malignant neoplasms, ischaemic heart disease, hypertensive diseases and musculoskeletal disorders) and pain. These risk factors are more likely to impact quality of life for those in older age cohorts.

Acute alcohol use was recorded as a factor in 17.8% of suicides, and directly contributed to death in a further 1.9% (i.e., deaths due to intentional alcohol toxicity or mixed drug and alcohol toxicity (X60-X65)). Acute alcohol use can affect a death due to suicide in a number of ways including causing respiratory depression (especially when used in combination with other drugs) or affecting judgement and decision-making processes.

In 2023:

  • Those aged between 25-44 years were the most likely age group to have acute alcohol use and intoxication mentioned as a risk factor (present in 21.0% of suicides in this age group).
  • Those aged between 45-64 years were the most likely age group to have chronic alcohol abuse disorders mentioned as a risk factor (present in 18.5% of suicides in this age group).
    Acute psychoactive substance use was recorded as a factor in 16.7% of suicides, and directly contributed to death in a further 12.3% (i.e., deaths due to intentional drug toxicity or mixed drug and alcohol toxicity (X60-X65)). Like alcohol, acute use of psychoactive substances can affect a death due to suicide in several ways, including by impairing cognition, perception or moods, or by causing toxicity.

In 2023:

  • Those aged 25-44 years were most likely to have issues with psychoactive substance use mentioned as a risk factor (present in 24.5% of suicides as acute use and intoxication and in 28.2% as chronic use).
  • For those aged 25-44 years, acute and chronic psychoactive substance use were both more common risk factors than acute or chronic alcohol use.
  • The lowest median age at death due to suicide was in those with acute psychoactive substance use (37.0 years) and chronic psychoactive substance use (38.4 years). This is lower than the overall median age at death due to suicide which is 45.5 years.

Top risk factors by age, proportion of total suicides per age group, Persons, 2023 (a)(b)(c)(d)(e)(f)(g)(h)

Top risk factors by age, proportion of total suicides per age group, Persons, 2023 (a)(b)(c)(d)(e)(f)(g)(h)
 5-24 Years (%)25-44 Years (%)45-64 Years (%)65-84 Years (%)85 years and over (%)All ages (%)Median age at death (d)
Mood [affective] disorders (F30-F39)30.439.539.237.223.537.546.0
 Depressive episode (F32)29.136.136.936.622.435.246.4
Suicide ideation (R45.8)31.130.828.726.929.429.544.4
Problems in spousal relationship circumstances (Z63.0, Z63.5)20.431.223.911.6np23.741.7
Personal history of self-harm (Z91.5)29.122.720.016.69.421.341.9
Anxiety and stress related disorders (Z73.3, F40-F48 excl. F41.8, F45.4)19.419.920.217.69.419.344.8
 Other anxiety disorders (F41)15.816.215.214.97.115.444.3
Acute alcohol use and intoxication (F10.0, R78.0, [T51 excl. UCOD X60-X65])18.921.019.38.0np17.842.1
Chronic psychoactive substance abuse disorders (see Methodology for tabulation)16.828.212.62.717.137.0
 Stimulant use disorders (F15.1-F15.9)5.415.55.3np8.236.0
 Cannabinoid use disorders (F12.1-F12.9)6.97.73.21.14.935.0
 Other and unspecified drug use disorders (F19.1-F19.9)5.97.13.5np4.637.8
Acute psychoactive substance use and intoxication (F1[1-6,8-9].0, R78.1-R78.9, [T36-T50 excl. UCOD X60-X65])16.624.515.52.7np16.738.4
Chronic alcohol abuse disorders (see Methodology for tabulation)8.214.818.58.813.946.4
 Harmful use of alcohol (F10.1)7.19.311.95.09.045.6
 Alcohol dependence syndrome (F10.2)np4.25.82.94.048.7
Problems related to legal circumstances (Z65.0-Z65.4)12.018.312.97.6np13.841.8
Problems in relationships with family and friends (Z63.1-Z63.3, Z63.6-Z63.9)12.012.912.711.69.412.444.9
Risk factors related to employment, unemployment and occupational exposure (Z56-Z57)6.112.814.84.611.145.3
Death of a family member or person in primary support network (Z63.4, Z81.8)7.77.69.712.422.49.451.1
Pain (see Methodology for tabulation)4.68.017.023.57.559.0
Limitation of activities due to disability (Z73.6)np2.36.223.138.87.568.8
Musculoskeletal disorders (M00-M99 excl. codes in pain and chronic drug use categories)1.83.59.917.63.765.3
Ischaemic heart diseases (I20-I25)npnp4.010.523.53.767.5
Malignant neoplasms (C00-C97, D45-D46, D47.1, D47.3-D47.5)np2.99.518.82.970.3
Hypertensive diseases (I10-I15)0.72.45.918.82.466.7
Problems related to care-provider dependency (Z74)np0.65.015.31.479.6

np not available for publication
—  nil or rounded to zero (including null cells)

  1. Intentional self-harm includes ICD-10 codes X60-X84 and Y87.0.
  2. This table includes the top 10 risk factors captured for each age group, combined into one list.
  3. Data in this table indicates the percentage of deaths with each specified risk factor recorded. Risk factors may not be mutually exclusive, and therefore people with multiple psychosocial factors recorded will be counted in more than one category.
  4. Median age at death for those who died by suicide with each specified risk factor recorded. Risk factors may not be mutually exclusive.
  5. Interpret intentional self-harm data with caution (refer to the methodology for more detail).
  6. Causes of death data for recent years is preliminary and subject to a revisions process.
  7. Data is by date of registration. 
  8. Refer to the methodology for more information.
     

Suicide risk factors for males

For males who died by suicide in 2023: 

  • Those aged under 25 years were most likely to have a personal history of self-harm or suicide ideation mentioned as a risk factor.
  • Substance abuse was a more common risk factor for males than for females.
  • Males aged 25-44 years were the most likely age group to have substance abuse mentioned as a risk factor, including:
    • Chronic psychoactive substance abuse disorders (29.3%)
    • Acute psychoactive substance use and intoxication (25.4%)
    • Acute alcohol use and intoxication (22.2%)
  • Those with acute and chronic alcohol use mentioned as a risk factor had higher median ages than those with acute and chronic psychoactive substance use.
  • The most common psychosocial risk factor was problems in spousal relationships circumstances, present in 24.8% of suicides overall and most commonly mentioned as a risk factor for those aged between 25-44 years (31.7%). Problems in spousal relationships can include separation and divorce as well as arguments and domestic violence situations.
  • Problems in spousal relationships was the third most common risk factor mentioned for males who died by suicide. This compares to the fifth most common for females.

Top risk factors by age, proportion of total suicides per age group, Males, 2023 (a)(b)(c)(d)(e)(f)(g)(h)

Top risk factors by age, proportion of total suicides per age group, Males, 2023 (a)(b)(c)(d)(e)(f)(g)(h)
 5-24 Years (%)25-44 Years (%)45-64 Years (%)65-84 Years (%)85 years and over (%)All ages (%)Median age at death (d)
Mood [affective] disorders (F30-F39)26.138.236.333.622.035.145.9
 Depressive episode (F32)25.435.234.633.322.033.346.4
Suicide ideation (R45.8)30.929.627.023.328.827.944.4
Problems in spousal relationship circumstances (Z63.0, Z63.5)19.531.726.013.324.842.9
Acute alcohol use and intoxication (F10.0, R78.0, [T51 excl. UCOD X60-X65])21.722.221.99.8np19.643.3
Chronic psychoactive substance abuse disorders (see Methodology for tabulation)18.429.312.63.017.736.8
 Stimulant use disorders (F15.1-F15.9)4.015.85.4np8.236.3
 Cannabinoid use disorders (F12.1-F12.9)7.78.83.41.45.535.3
 Other and unspecified drug use disorders (F19.1-F19.9)7.07.13.4np4.737.3
Personal history of self-harm (Z91.5)22.420.015.813.810.217.742.1
Acute psychoactive substance use and intoxication (F1[1-6,8-9].0, R78.1-R78.9, [T36-T50 excl. UCOD X60-X65])15.825.416.93.017.439.4
Anxiety and stress related disorders (Z73.3, F40-F48 excl. F41.8, F45.4)16.217.216.615.410.216.545.0
 Other anxiety disorders (F41)14.314.812.113.38.513.443.5
Problems related to legal circumstances (Z65.0-Z65.4)14.319.814.88.7np15.442.4
Chronic alcohol abuse disorders (see Methodology for tabulation)10.315.518.98.714.746.1
 Harmful use of alcohol (F10.1)8.89.712.15.49.545.5
 Alcohol dependence syndrome (F10.2)np4.46.22.24.247.9
Problems in relationships with family and friends (Z63.1-Z63.3, Z63.6-Z63.9)9.212.312.510.6np11.646.0
Risk factors related to employment, unemployment and occupational exposure (Z56-Z57)6.612.216.15.411.646.7
Death of a family member or person in primary support network (Z63.4, Z81.8)7.76.88.712.722.08.851.5
Limitation of activities due to disability (Z73.6)1.51.95.622.839.07.269.2
Pain (see Methodology for tabulation)3.97.113.023.76.458.6
Ischaemic heart diseases (I20-I25)npnp4.411.427.14.168.3
Malignant neoplasms (C00-C97, D45-D46, D47.1, D47.3-D47.5)np3.210.616.93.169.6
Diabetes mellitus (E10-E14)1.03.38.713.63.166.0
Musculoskeletal disorders (M00-M99 excl. codes in pain and chronic drug use categories)1.22.66.813.62.765.1
Hypertensive diseases (I10-I15)0.62.45.716.92.366.0
Problems related to care-provider dependency (Z74)np0.75.116.91.579.6

np not available for publication
—  nil or rounded to zero (including null cells)

  1. Intentional self-harm includes ICD-10 codes X60-X84 and Y87.0.
  2. This table includes the top 10 risk factors captured for each age group, combined into one list.
  3. Data in this table indicates the percentage of deaths with each specified risk factor recorded. Risk factors may not be mutually exclusive, and therefore people with multiple psychosocial factors recorded will be counted in more than one category.
  4. Median age at death for those who died by suicide with each specified risk factor recorded. Risk factors may not be mutually exclusive.
  5. Interpret intentional self-harm data with caution (refer to the methodology for more detail).
  6. Causes of death data for recent years is preliminary and subject to a revisions process.
  7. Data is by date of registration. 
  8. Refer to the methodology for more information.
     

Suicide risk factors for females

For females who died by suicide in 2023:

  • Mood disorders (including depression) were the most common risk factor, being captured in 44.9% of all suicides of females. Mood disorders were the most commonly mentioned risk factor for those aged 65-84 years.
  • Mood disorders and anxiety disorders were more common risk factors for females than for males.
  • Suicide ideation was mentioned as a risk factor in over 30% of suicides in every age group.
  • The most common psychosocial risk factor was personal history of self-harm, present in 32.5% of female suicides. 
  • Personal history of self-harm was the most common risk factor for those aged under 25 years. It was more commonly mentioned as a risk factor in this group than in any other age group.
  • Females aged 25-44 years were the most likely age group to have substance abuse (both acute and chronic use) mentioned as a risk factor.
  • Behavioural syndromes (F50, F52-F59) were a leading risk factor in females aged under 25. Within this group, eating disorders were most commonly mentioned.

Top risk factors by age, proportion of total suicides per age group, Females, 2023 (a)(b)(c)(d)(e)(f)(g)(h)

Top risk factors by age, proportion of total suicides per age group, Females, 2023 (a)(b)(c)(d)(e)(f)(g)(h)
 5-24 Years (%)25-44 Years (%)45-64 Years (%)65-84 Years (%)85 years and over (%)All ages (%)Median age at death (d)
Mood [affective] disorders (F30-F39)40.043.648.649.526.944.946.1
 Depressive episode (F32)37.538.844.347.723.141.046.3
Suicide ideation (R45.8)31.734.334.039.330.834.344.9
Personal history of self-harm (Z91.5)44.231.133.626.2np32.541.5
Anxiety and stress related disorders (Z73.3, F40-F48 excl. F41.8, F45.4)26.728.431.625.2np28.144.5
 Other anxiety disorders (F41)19.220.825.320.6np21.446.3
Problems in spousal relationship circumstances (Z63.0, Z63.5)22.529.417.05.6np20.436.0
Chronic psychoactive substance abuse disorders (see Methodology for tabulation)13.324.612.6np15.238.6
 Stimulant use disorders (F15.1-F15.9)8.314.55.18.235.4
 Other and unspecified drug use disorders (F19.1-F19.9)np7.33.6np4.440.5
 Cannabinoid use disorders (F12.1-F12.9)5.04.52.43.134.3
Problems in relationships with family and friends (Z63.1-Z63.3, Z63.6-Z63.9)18.314.513.415.019.215.043.2
Acute psychoactive substance use and intoxication (F1[1-6,8-9].0, R78.1-R78.9, [T36-T50 excl. UCOD X60-X65])18.321.511.1npnp14.534.9
Acute alcohol use and intoxication (F10.0, R78.0, [T51 excl. UCOD X60-X65])12.517.311.1npnp12.137.0
Chronic alcohol abuse disorders (see Methodology for tabulation)np12.517.09.311.747.2
 Harmful use of alcohol (F10.1)np8.311.1np7.546.0
 Harmful use of alcohol (F10.1)3.54.35.63.452.3
Death of a family member or person in primary support network (Z63.4, Z81.8)7.510.013.011.223.111.249.9
Pain (see Methodology for tabulation)6.911.130.823.110.963.8
Risk factors related to employment, unemployment and occupational exposure (Z56-Z57)5.014.510.3np9.639.3
Limitation of activities due to disability (Z73.6)3.57.924.338.58.367.0
Musculoskeletal disorders (M00-M99 excl. codes in pain and chronic drug use categories)3.56.320.626.96.965.8
Problems related to economic circumstances (Z59.4-Z59.8)np6.211.1np6.348.7
Problems with sleep (F51, G47, Z91.3)np3.87.511.25.554.3
Problems related to negative life events in childhood and upbringing (Z61-Z62)12.54.52.4np4.530.5
Behavioural syndromes associated with physiological disturbances and physical factors (F50, F52-F59)15.03.12.41.94.424.8
Eating disorders (F50)11.71.71.61.93.123.5
Chronic lower respiratory diseases (J40-J47)2.13.610.323.14.066.3
Hypertensive diseases (I10-I15)np2.46.523.12.874.0
Malignant neoplasms (C00-C97, D45-D46, D47.1, D47.3-D47.5)2.05.623.12.176.5

np not available for publication
—  nil or rounded to zero (including null cells)

  1. Intentional self-harm includes ICD-10 codes X60-X84 and Y87.0.
  2. This table includes the top 10 risk factors captured for each age group, combined into one list.
  3. Data in this table indicates the percentage of deaths with each specified risk factor recorded. Risk factors may not be mutually exclusive, and therefore people with multiple psychosocial factors recorded will be counted in more than one category.
  4. Median age at death for those who died by suicide with each specified risk factor recorded. Risk factors may not be mutually exclusive.
  5. Interpret intentional self-harm data with caution (refer to the methodology for more detail).
  6. Causes of death data for recent years is preliminary and subject to a revisions process.
  7. Data is by date of registration. 
  8. Refer to the methodology for more information.
     

Suicide risk factors by year

Psychosocial risk factors have been coded by the ABS since 2017. The addition of psychosocial factors to the national mortality dataset added to information on risk factors that were already captured such as mental health disorders and chronic diseases. As many coronial investigations in 2019 and 2020 are now closed, data for those years is considered "final" (see Revisions process in the methodology for more information). Information on risk factors across the past 5 years is presented below.

For suicides across 2019-2023:

  • Mood disorders were the most common risk factor for each year. 
  • Suicide ideation has been the second most common risk factor since 2020.
  • Acute alcohol use has been more commonly mentioned as a risk factor than acute psychoactive substance use since 2021.
  • Chronic psychoactive substance abuse disorders continue to be more commonly mentioned risk factors than chronic alcohol abuse disorders.
  • Problems in spousal relationships and personal history of self-harm are the two most common psychosocial risk factors recorded across these years. 
  • Problems related to legal circumstances has returned to the top 10 risk factors in 2023.

Ranking of risk factors, number and proportion of suicides, 2019-2023 (a)(b)(c)(d)(e)(f)(g)

Ranking of risk factors, number and proportion of suicides, 2019-2023 (a)(b)(c)(d)(e)(f)(g)
 2019 (no.)2019 (%)2019 (rank)2020 (no.)2020 (%)2020 (rank)2021 (no.)2021 (%)2021 (rank)2022 (no.)2022 (%)2022 (rank)2023 (no.)2023 (%)2023 (rank)
Mood [affective] disorders (F30-F39)1,52145.011,55348.811,48346.411,22537.311,20637.51
Suicide ideation (R45.8)89726.631,04232.721,03932.5285125.9294829.52
Problems in spousal relationship circumstances (Z63.0, Z63.5)97829.0289628.1492629.0382625.1376323.73
Personal history of self-harm (Z91.5)83724.8490328.4382925.9471821.8468521.34
Anxiety and stress related disorders (Z73.3, F40-F48 excl. F41.8, F45.4)74622.1576724.1579224.8558617.8562119.35
Acute alcohol use and intoxication (F10.0, R78.0, [T51 excl. UCOD X60-X65])67520.0770622.2770322.0652616.0657117.86
Chronic psychoactive substance abuse disorders (see Methodology for tabulation)58317.3862719.7856417.6843813.3854917.17
Acute psychoactive substance use and intoxication (F1[1-6,8-9].0, R78.1-R78.9, [T36-T50 excl. UCOD X60-X65])69120.5672722.8664220.1746414.1753616.78
Chronic alcohol abuse disorders (see Methodology for tabulation)45213.4951416.1953216.6941812.7944813.99
Problems related to legal circumstances (Z65.0-Z65.4)39611.71047114.81139312.31238611.71144213.810
  1. Intentional self-harm includes ICD-10 codes X60-X84 and Y87.0.
  2. Data in this table indicates the percentage of deaths with each specified risk factor recorded. Risk factors may not be mutually exclusive, and therefore people with multiple psychosocial factors recorded will be counted in more than one category.
  3. Interpret intentional self-harm data with caution (refer to the methodology for more detail).
  4. Interpret data related to deaths registered in Victoria with caution. Refer to Historical considerations in the Data Quality section of the Methodology for more detail.
  5. Causes of death data for recent years is preliminary and subject to a revisions process.
  6. Data is by date of registration. 
  7. Refer to the methodology for more information.
     

Suicide in the COVID-19 pandemic

While we are no longer in the emergency phase of the pandemic, the impact of COVID-19 on mortality may take a long time to manifest and continues to remain of high importance. Impacts of the pandemic may include deaths from the virus itself as well as non-COVID-19 diseases, suicides, accidents and assaults. For some individuals the effects of COVID-19 on the economy (e.g., changes in employment), the health system (e.g., changes in access to the health system and temporary cessation of elective surgery) and social contact (e.g., social isolation) could lead to an increase in risk factors for ill health (including suicide). Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, there have been 504 people who died by suicide, who had the pandemic mentioned in either a police, pathology or coronial finding report. For most people who died by suicide and had the COVID-19 pandemic mentioned as a risk factor, it did not appear as an isolated risk.

When COVID-19 was mentioned as a risk factor it manifested in different ways for individuals. For some people direct impacts from the pandemic such as job loss, lack of financial security, family and relationship pressures and not feeling comfortable with accessing health care were noted. For others, a general concern or anxiety about the pandemic and societal changes were stated or anxiety about contracting the virus itself. The ICD-10 codes assigned by the ABS were dependent on how the risk factor was described as part of the coronial investigation. The table below outlines the three ICD-10 codes used by the ABS to capture different scenarios where the COVID-19 pandemic was stated to be a risk factor for an individual.

ICD-10 codes for capture of COVID-19 pandemic as a risk factor

ICD-10 codes for capture of COVID-19 pandemic as a risk factor
ICD-10 codeICD-10 code name descriptionDescription of use and inclusion terms
F41.8Other specified anxiety disorders

Pandemic related anxiety and stress.

Includes:  Pandemic and COVID-19 related anxieties, worries, fixations and other psychological manifestations.

Z29.0Isolation

The individual was in isolation or quarantine (hotel or home).

Excl: Social isolation (Z60.4)

Z29.9Prophylactic measure, unspecified

Measures put in place through health directives. 

Includes: closure of business, stay at home measures. 

Note: Where other circumstances or risk factors were as a result of the health directive, both codes are captured and should be considered in combination e.g., Job loss due to closure of workplace as a result of lockdown, both Z56.2 (Threatened or actual job loss) and Z29.9 Prophylactic (measure, unspecified) are captured.

Capture of lockdown only where information in reports explicitly states the lockdown contributed to the death, or as above where lockdown resulted in other risk factors (e.g., job loss or other work-related issues). Deaths where the region was in lockdown at the time of death, but the lockdown has not been stated in reports as contributing to the death, do not capture this code.

Those who died by suicide between 2020-2023 with issues relating to the COVID-19 pandemic as a risk factor: 

  • Represented 3.9% of all suicides during this period.
  • Had an average of 7.4 risk factors mentioned.
  • Had an average of 3.7 psychosocial risk factors mentioned.
  • Were more likely to have had a co-occurring mood disorder (including depression) than those who did not have the pandemic mentioned as a risk factor.

Despite a decrease in the number of suicides in 2022 and 2023 with the pandemic as a risk factor, employment related factors have been the most commonly mentioned psychosocial risk factor in this group across all years of the pandemic.

The table below shows the most common co-occurring risk factors for suicides with the COVID-19 pandemic identified as a risk factor. Risk factors are not mutually exclusive, and an individual may appear in multiple categories.

Co-occurring risk factors for suicides with the COVID-19 pandemic identified as a risk factor, 2021-2023 (a)(b)(c)(d)(e)(f)(g)

Co-occurring risk factors for suicides with the COVID-19 pandemic identified as a risk factor, 2021-2023 (a)(b)(c)(d)(e)(f)(g)
 2020 (no.)2020 (%)(b)2021 (no.)2021 (%)(b)2022 (no.)2022 (%)(b)2023 (no.)2023 (%)(b)
Suicides with COVID-19 identified as a risk factor (F41.8, Z29.0, Z29.9)187100.0202100.086100.029100.0
Mood [affective] disorders (F30-F39)12164.713265.34046.51241.4
Risk factors related to employment, unemployment and occupational exposure (Z56-Z57)8545.58039.64147.71344.8
Suicide ideation (R45.8)7138.07838.63034.9931.0
Anxiety and stress related disorders (Z73.3, F40-F48 excl. F41.8, F45.4)6434.28585.02326.71137.9
Problems related to social environment (Z60)6635.36532.21719.81034.5
Problems in spousal relationship circumstances (Z63.0, Z63.5)5026.76632.72124.4827.6
Personal history of self-harm (Z91.5)5026.75426.71618.6413.8
Problems in relationships with family and friends (Z63.1-Z63.3, Z63.6-Z63.9)5026.74924.31719.8724.1
Acute alcohol use and intoxication (F10.0, R78.0, [T51 excl. UCOD X60-X65])4725.14924.31416.3517.2
Chronic alcohol abuse disorders (see Methodology for tabulation)2815.04220.82124.4517.2
Problems related to economic circumstances (Z59.4-Z59.8)3719.83718.31112.8724.1
Death of a family member or person in primary support network (Z63.4, Z81.8)2915.53718.31618.6827.6
Chronic psychoactive substance abuse disorders (see Methodology for tabulation)2613.93818.81820.9413.8
Acute psychoactive substance use and intoxication (F1[1-6,8-9].0, R78.1-R78.9, [T36-T50 excl. UCOD X60-X65])3116.63718.378.1310.3
Problems related to legal circumstances (Z65.0-Z65.4)1910.22210.9910.526.9
Schizophrenia, schizotypal and delusional disorders (F20-F29)137.02210.9910.5310.3
Pain (see Methodology for tabulation)179.1188.978.1310.3

np not available for publication

  1. Intentional self-harm includes ICD-10 codes X60-X84 and Y87.0.
  2. Proportion of total number of suicides with COVID-19 identified as a risk factor. This includes suicides with an associated cause of F41.8, Z29.0, Z29.9.
  3. Data in this table indicates the percentage of deaths with each specified risk factor recorded. Risk factors may not be mutually exclusive, and therefore people with multiple psychosocial factors recorded will be counted in more than one category.
  4. Interpret intentional self-harm data with caution (refer to the methodology for more detail).
  5. Causes of death data for recent years is preliminary and subject to a revisions process.
  6. Data is by date of registration. 
  7. Refer to the methodology for more information.
     

Suicide risk factors by remoteness

Over 28% of Australia’s population live in regional and remote areas, where suicide rates are higher than rates observed in Australia’s major cities. Factors contributing to elevated suicide rates in regional and remote Australia are multifaceted and may be influenced by social, economic, health and environmental conditions specific to these regions.

The table below shows the most common risk factors for those who died by suicide between 2019-2023, grouped by remoteness areas (Major Cities of Australia, Inner Regional Australia, Outer Regional Australia, Remote and Very Remote Australia). Classes of remoteness are characterised by a measure of relative geographic access to services (for more information, see Remoteness Areas).

For those who died by suicide in the five-year period 2019-2023:

  • Those living in major cities were more likely to have a specific mental health condition mentioned than those who lived in regional or remote Australia. These included mood disorders (including depression), anxiety disorders, schizophrenia, and personality disorders. Increased remoteness correlated with lower likelihood of a specific mental health condition being mentioned.
  • Substance abuse was most commonly mentioned as a risk factor for those living in remote and very remote Australia. This included:
    • Acute alcohol use and intoxication (mentioned in 36.3% of suicides of those living in remote and very remote areas)
    • Acute psychoactive substance use and intoxication (mentioned in 28.9%)
    • Chronic psychoactive substance abuse disorders (mentioned in 21.4%)
    • Chronic alcohol abuse disorders (mentioned in 18.7%).
  • Acute substance use and intoxication were over 10% more likely to be mentioned for those living in remote and very remote areas, compared with those living in major cities and regional areas.
  • Problems related to employment and housing were more common in major cities and inner regional areas.
  • Problems related to a person’s primary support network, including death of a loved one and problems in spousal relationships, were more common in outer regional and remote areas.
  • Problems relating to legal circumstances were more common in those living in remote and very remote Australia. 

Top risk factors by remoteness, proportion of total suicides per remoteness area, 2019-2023 (a)(b)(c)(d)(e)(f)(g)(h)(i)

Top risk factors by remoteness, proportion of total suicides per remoteness area, 2019-2023 (a)(b)(c)(d)(e)(f)(g)(h)(i)
 Major Cities of Australia (%)Inner Regional Australia (%)Outer Regional Australia (%)Remote and Very Remote Australia (%)
Mood [affective] disorders (F30-F39)45.242.137.830.8
Suicide ideation (R45.8)29.528.730.328.3
Problems in spousal relationship circumstances (Z63.0, Z63.5)25.927.929.633.5
Personal history of self-harm (Z91.5)25.523.221.922.2
Anxiety and stress related disorders (Z73.3, F40-F48 excl. F41.8, F45.4)23.819.516.115.1
Acute alcohol use and intoxication (F10.0, R78.0, [T51 excl. UCOD X60-X65])17.719.924.236.3
Acute psychoactive substance use and intoxication (F1[1-6,8-9].0, R78.1-R78.9, [T36-T50 excl. UCOD X60-X65])18.418.917.928.9
Chronic psychoactive substance abuse disorders (see Methodology for tabulation)17.614.915.421.4
Chronic alcohol abuse disorders (see Methodology for tabulation)14.214.315.318.7
Problems related to legal circumstances (Z65.0-Z65.4)12.113.314.615.7
Risk factors related to employment, unemployment and occupational exposure (Z56-Z57)12.810.910.27.5
Death of a family member or person in primary support network (Z63.4, Z81.8)9.710.712.015.9
Pain (see Methodology for tabulation)7.68.18.64.8
Limitation of activities due to disability (Z73.6)7.19.18.43.4
Problems related to economic circumstances (Z59.4-Z59.8)7.96.78.24.8
Schizophrenia, schizotypal and delusional disorders (F20-F29)7.06.55.84.2
Problems related to social environment (Z60)6.36.05.53.4
Unspecified mental disorder (F99)5.35.65.73.8
Problems related to housing (Z59.0-Z59.3, Z59.9)4.24.23.54.0
Disorders of adult personality and behaviour (F60-F69 excl. F63.0)4.22.82.01.3
Malignant neoplasms (C00-C97, D45-D46, D47.1, D47.3-D47.5)3.14.34.61.1
Problems related to negative life events in childhood and upbringing (Z61-Z62)3.33.34.04.4
Symptoms and signs involving emotional state (R45.0-R45.7)1.91.92.83.6
  1. Intentional self-harm includes ICD-10 codes X60-X84 and Y87.0.
  2. Remoteness classification is based on area of usual residence.
  3. This table combines data for Remote and Very Remote Australia.
  4. This table includes the top 20 risk factors captured for each remoteness area, combined into one list.
  5. Data in this table indicates the percentage of deaths with each specified risk factor recorded. Risk factors may not be mutually exclusive, and therefore people with multiple psychosocial factors recorded will be counted in more than one category.
  6. Interpret intentional self-harm data with caution (refer to the methodology for more detail).
  7. Causes of death data for recent years is preliminary and subject to a revisions process.
  8. Data is by date of registration. 
  9. Refer to the methodology for more information.
     

Intentional self-harm deaths (Suicide) of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people

Support services, 24 hours, 7 days

For further information see Crisis support services.

Since 2009, Australian Governments have worked together through the Closing the Gap strategy to overcome inequality across areas such as life expectancy, mortality, education and employment. Targets set in 2008 were revised in July 2021, with a reduction in the suicide rate among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as a specific target area.

Methods for reporting on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander suicides

Over the last two years the ABS have introduced a number of enhancements to the derivation of Indigenous status. This has led to an increased number of deaths of both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and non-Indigenous people and a corresponding decrease in the number of deaths where the Indigenous status is unknown or not stated. Caution should be used when interpreting time series data. For more detail, refer to Technical Note: The impact of using multiple sources for deriving the Indigenous status of deaths in 2023 – changes for Victoria and coroner referred deaths.  

In 2023, there were 275 registered deaths of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who died by suicide. 

  • Over 30% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who died by suicide had a usual residence in New South Wales.
  • The median age at death was 33.0 years (35.1 years for males and 27.9 years for females).
  • The number of suicides of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people increased across all jurisdictions, except Western Australia, when comparing 2014-18 with 2019-23. 
  • Since 2015 improvements have been made to the identification of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander deaths in the ABS mortality dataset. These changes have resulted in a higher number of deaths (including due to suicide) of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people identified in the dataset, with a subsequent increase in mortality rates. This should be considered when interpreting time series as increases may represent improved representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the mortality data. 

Suicide of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, number of deaths by state or territory of usual residence, 2014-2023 (a)(b)(c)(d)(e)(f)(g)(h)

Suicide of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, number of deaths by state or territory of usual residence, 2014-2023 (a)(b)(c)(d)(e)(f)(g)(h)
 20142015201620172018201920202021202220232014-20182019-2023
NSW23414044485255566685196314
Vic779622232222252651118
Qld40535153647272575969261329
SA107314112101314233772
WA46404727392937474637199196
Tas0141022448322
NT29131827213027252825108135
ACT3243113411710
Australia(b)1571641711741982252282252432758641196
  1. Small values are randomly assigned to protect the confidentiality of individuals. Zero values have not been affected. Some totals will not equal the sum of their components.
  2. Australia includes "other territories".
  3. Intentional self-harm includes ICD-10 codes X60-X84 and Y87.0.
  4. Interpret intentional self-harm data with caution (refer to the methodology for more detail).
  5. 2023 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander deaths is influenced by the use of additional sources of information for deriving the Indigenous status of deaths. For more detail, refer to the Technical Note: The impact of using multiple sources for deriving the Indigenous status of deaths in 2023 – changes for Victoria and coroner referred deaths.
  6. Causes of death data for recent years is preliminary and subject to a revisions process.
  7. Data is by date of registration. 
  8. Refer to the methodology for more information.

Suicide of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people by six jurisdictions: NSW, Vic, Qld, WA, SA, NT

Methods for reporting on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander suicides

Over the last two years the ABS have introduced a number of enhancements to the derivation of Indigenous status. This has led to an increased number of deaths of both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and non-Indigenous people and a corresponding decrease in the number of deaths where the Indigenous status is unknown or not stated. This improvement has led to the inclusion of Victoria in the reporting of deaths due to suicide of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people for the first time. Suicides of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with a usual residence of Tasmania and the Australian Capital Territory are not included in line with national reporting guidelines. Data in the article is presented for six jurisdictions (including Victoria) and five jurisdictions (excluding Victoria) to enable measurement of change in reporting. For more detail, refer to Technical Note: The impact of using multiple sources for deriving the Indigenous status of deaths in 2023 – changes for Victoria and coroner referred deaths.  

In 2023, 265 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people died by suicide across the six jurisdictions. 

  • Their median age was 32.8 years (34.9 years for males and 27.8 years for females).
  • Suicide was the fifth leading cause of death.
  • The highest number of deaths were of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in New South Wales and the lowest number in South Australia. 
  • When adjusted for population size and age-structure, South Australia had the highest rate of death from suicide (crude and age-standardised). The age-standardised mortality rate in South Australia was 1.9 times higher than that of New South Wales and Queensland. 
  • Victoria had the second highest age-standardised rate (36.4), whereas the Northern Territory recorded the second highest crude rate (32.2).

Change from five jurisdictions to six jurisdictions: 

  • The median age at death by suicide was 32.8 with Victoria both included and excluded. 
  • There was a slight increase in both the crude death rate and the age-standardised death rate when Victoria is included in rate calculations. 

Suicide of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, by state or territory of usual residence, 2023 (a)(b)(c)(d)(e)(f)(g)(h)(i)(j)(k)

Suicide of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, by state or territory of usual residence, 2023 (a)(b)(c)(d)(e)(f)(g)(h)(i)(j)(k)
 NumberCrude rate(b)SDR(c)Median age
NSW8524.228.234.5
Vic2631.736.433.0
Qld6924.127.732.8
SA2342.852.735.2
WA3729.733.432.2
NT2532.230.230.3
Total (6J)26527.230.832.8
Total (5J)23926.730.232.8
  1. Additional sources for identifying Indigenous status have improved reporting for Victoria for 2018-2023. Two national totals (one including Victoria) with NSW, Qld, WA, SA and NT are provided for comparison. Tas and ACT remain excluded in line with usual national reporting guidelines. For more detail, refer to the Technical Note: The impact of using multiple sources for deriving the Indigenous status of deaths in 2023 – changes for Victoria and coroner referred deaths.  
  2. Crude death rate. Death rate per 100,000 estimated resident population as at 30 June.
  3. Age-standardised death rate. Death rate per 100,000 standard estimated resident population as at 30 June.
  4. Rates use Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population estimates and projections based on the 2021 Census.
  5. Intentional self-harm includes ICD-10 codes X60-X84 and Y87.0.
  6. Interpret intentional self-harm data with caution (refer to the methodology for more detail).
  7. Causes of death data for recent years is preliminary and subject to a revisions process.
  8. Data is by date of registration. 
  9. 6J represents a total including NSW, Vic, Qld, SA, WA, NT.
  10. 5J represents a total including NSW, Qld, SA, WA, NT.
  11. Refer to the methodology for more information.

To enable comparison of suicide rates over time for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, age-standardised death rates for males, females and all persons are presented in the graph below. Upper and lower bounds (confidence intervals) are included to show the potential variability of the annual suicide rates and can be used in measuring statistical significance in annual rate change.

Between 2018 and 2023:

  • The suicide rate increased by 30.5% over the period. The steepest increase occurred between 2021 and 2022, with another increase between 2022 and 2023. This corresponds with a change in methodology for deriving Indigenous status leading to more deaths of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. The suicide rate of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people was more constant between 2018-2021. 
  • Changes to methodologies had a larger effect on the male population. Rate increases recorded between 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 were 5.7 and 6.0 deaths per 100,000 people. This compares to females where the rate differences recorded were -0.9 and 0.5 deaths per 100,000.
  • The rate of death for males increased by over 30% and is the highest rate recorded in the time series. 
  • The suicide rate for females increased from 10.8 to 13.8 deaths per 100,000. 

Age-standardised suicide rates (with confidence intervals) for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, 2018-2023 (a)(b)(c)(d)(e)(f)(g)(h)

Age-standardised suicide rates (with confidence intervals) for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, 2018-2023 (a)(b)(c)(d)(e)(f)(g)(h)

Combination chart with 6 data series.
The chart has 1 X axis displaying Year.
The chart has 1 Y axis displaying Rate(b). Data ranges from 7.5 to 55.7.
Chart annotations summary
  • Time series break withintroduction of MCCD inderivation of Indigenousstatus in NSW
  • Introduction of coronerreferred information inderivation ofIndigenous status
End of interactive chart.
  1. In 2023, intentional self-harm (suicide) deaths by Indigenous status were coded for Victoria from 2018-2023 using additional sources of identification. Treat comparisons to earlier years with caution. For more detail, refer to the Technical Note: The impact of using multiple sources for deriving the Indigenous status of deaths in 2023 – changes for Victoria and coroner referred deaths.
  2. Age-standardised death rate. Death rate per 100,000 standard estimated resident population as at 30 June.
  3. Rates use Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population estimates and projections based on the 2021 Census.
  4. Intentional self-harm includes ICD-10 codes X60-X84 and Y87.0.
  5. Interpret intentional self-harm data with caution (refer to the methodology for more detail).
  6. Causes of death data for recent years is preliminary and subject to a revisions process.
  7. Data is by date of registration. 
  8. Refer to the methodology for more information.

Suicide of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people by sex

In 2023 there were 197 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander males who died by suicide. 

  • Suicide was the second leading cause of death. 
  • The median age at death was 34.9 years.
  • Three quarters of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who died by suicide were male.

In 2023 there were 68 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander females who died by suicide.

  • Suicide was the eighth leading cause of death.
  • The median age at death was 27.8 years.

Change from five jurisdictions to six jurisdictions: 

  • Crude death rates increased marginally with the addition of Victorian data.
  •  The effect was similar for both males and females.

Suicide of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, by sex, 2014-2023 (a)(b)(c)(d)(e)(f)(g)(h)(i)(j)

Suicide of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, by sex, 2014-2023 (a)(b)(c)(d)(e)(f)(g)(h)(i)(j)
 20142015201620172018201920202021202220232014-20182019-2023
Number            
Total (6J)            
     Malesnananana149152164154178197na845
     Femalesnananana476659666068na319
     Personsnananana196218223220238265na1164
Total (5J)            
     Males104111117125131137150137160179588763
     Females44434340435851615360213283
     Persons1481541601651741952011982132398011046
Crude death rate (b)            
Total (6J)            
     Malesnananana33.333.435.432.737.040.2na35.8
     Femalesnananana10.614.612.814.112.614.0na13.6
     Personsnananana22.024.024.123.424.827.2na24.8
Total (5J)            
     Males27.428.729.631.132.032.835.331.736.439.929.835.3
     Females11.611.210.910.010.514.012.114.212.113.510.813.2
     Persons19.619.920.320.521.323.423.723.024.326.720.324.3

na not applicable

  1. Additional sources for identifying Indigenous status have improved reporting for Victoria for 2018-2023. Two national totals (one including Victoria) with NSW, Qld, WA, SA and NT are provided for comparison. Tas and ACT remain excluded in line with usual national reporting guidelines. For more detail, refer to the Technical Note: The impact of using multiple sources for deriving the Indigenous status of deaths in 2023 – changes for Victoria and coroner referred deaths.  
  2. Crude death rate. Death rate per 100,000 estimated resident population as at 30 June.
  3. Rates use Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population estimates and projections based on the 2021 Census.
  4. Intentional self-harm includes ICD-10 codes X60-X84 and Y87.0.
  5. Interpret intentional self-harm data with caution (refer to the methodology for more detail).
  6. Causes of death data for recent years is preliminary and subject to a revisions process.
  7. Data is by date of registration. 
  8. 6J represents a total including NSW, Vic, Qld, SA, WA, NT.
  9. 5J represents a total including NSW, Qld, SA, WA, NT.
  10. Refer to the methodology for more information.

Suicide of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people by state and territory of usual residence over time

To enable comparison of suicide rates over time for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, age-standardised death rates for Australian states and territories are presented in the graph below. Analysis of year to year changes in this population should be treated with caution due to annual fluctuations in jurisdictions with small numbers of deaths. As such, the analysis below focuses on the period 2018-2023. 

For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who died by suicide between 2018 and 2023:

  • The suicide rate increased by 7.2 deaths per 100,000 people between 2018 and 2023.
  • The highest rate of death for 2019-2023 occurred in those with a usual residence of Western Australia, followed by Victoria. 
  • The number of deaths from suicide in South Australia increased by over 60% from 2022 to 2023. 
  • The highest number of deaths occurred in people with a usual residence of Queensland between 2019 and 2023 and the second lowest rate of death during the period.

 

Age-standardised suicide rates for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, by state or territory of usual residence, 2014-2023 (a)(b)(c)(d)(e)(f)(g)(h)(i)(j)(k)

Age-standardised suicide rates for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, by state or territory of usual residence, 2014-2023 (a)(b)(c)(d)(e)(f)(g)(h)(i)(j)(k)
 20142015201620172018201920202021202220232014-20182019-2023
NSW8.117.115.715.818.018.618.719.423.028.215.021.7
Vicnananana34.134.331.731.033.636.4na33.6
Qld18.622.620.222.525.329.129.520.923.427.721.926.1
SAnpnpnpnpnpnpnpnpnp52.718.630.7
WA40.837.140.824.433.624.032.545.040.733.435.335.2
NT36.3npnp32.725.435.233.232.535.430.226.633.4
Total (6J)nananana23.625.426.225.327.830.8na27.2
Total (5J)20.221.821.321.922.724.625.724.827.230.221.626.6

na not applicable

np not available for publication

  1. Additional sources for identifying Indigenous status have improved reporting for Victoria for 2018-2023. Two national totals (one including Victoria) with NSW, Qld, WA, SA and NT are provided for comparison. Tas and ACT remain excluded in line with usual national reporting guidelines. For more detail, refer to the Technical Note: The impact of using multiple sources for deriving the Indigenous status of deaths in 2023 – changes for Victoria and coroner referred deaths.
  2. Age-standardised death rate (SDRs). Death rate per 100,000 standard estimated resident population as at 30 June.
  3. SDRs based on small numbers are volatile and unreliable. SDRs based on less than 20 deaths have not been published and appear as 'np'.
  4. Rates use Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population estimates and projections based on the 2021 Census.
  5. Intentional self-harm includes ICD-10 codes X60-X84 and Y87.0.
  6. Interpret intentional self-harm data with caution (refer to the methodology for more detail).
  7. Causes of death data for recent years is preliminary and subject to a revisions process.
  8. Data is by date of registration. 
  9. 6J represents a total including NSW, Vic, Qld, SA, WA, NT.
  10. 5J represents a total including NSW, Qld, SA, WA, NT.
  11. Refer to the methodology for more information.

Suicide of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people by age

Age-specific death rates provide insights into how suicide manifests across age cohorts by relating the number of deaths to the size and structure of the underlying population.

For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who died by suicide between 2019 and 2023:

  • Almost 80% were aged between 15-44 years.
  • For males, the highest suicide rate was for those aged 35-44 years at 76.5 deaths per 100,000 people. 
  • For females, the highest suicide rate was for those aged 15-24 years at 26.1 deaths per 100,000 people.
  • Across all age groups, males had a suicide rate over 2.6 times that of females.

Age-specific suicide rates for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, by sex, 2019-2023 (a)(b)(c)(d)(e)(f)(g)(h)(i)

Age-specific suicide rates for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, by sex, 2019-2023 (a)(b)(c)(d)(e)(f)(g)(h)(i)

Bar chart with 2 data series.
The chart has 1 X axis displaying Age (years).
The chart has 1 Y axis displaying Rate(b). Data ranges from 3.5 to 76.5.
End of interactive chart.
  1. In 2023, intentional self-harm (suicide) deaths by Indigenous status were coded for Victoria from 2018-2023 using additional sources of identification. Treat comparisons to earlier years with caution. For more detail, refer to the Technical Note: The impact of using multiple sources for deriving the Indigenous status of deaths in 2023 – changes for Victoria and coroner referred deaths.
  2. Age-specific death rate. Deaths for an age group per 100,000 of the estimated resident population of the same age group as at 30 June. 
  3. Rates use Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population estimates and projections based on the 2021 Census.
  4. Suicides in the 0–14 years age group have been excluded because of the small number of deaths that occur within this age group.
  5. Intentional self-harm includes ICD-10 codes X60-X84 and Y87.0.
  6. Interpret intentional self-harm data with caution (refer to the methodology for more detail).
  7. Causes of death data for recent years is preliminary and subject to a revisions process.
  8. Data is by date of registration. 
  9. Refer to the methodology for more information.

Suicide of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children

Deaths of children by suicide is an extremely sensitive issue. The number of deaths of children attributed to suicide can be influenced by coronial reporting practices. Reporting practices may lead to differences in counts across jurisdictions and this should be considered when interpreting analysis of suicides in children. For more information on issues associated with the compilation and interpretation of suicide data, see Deaths due to intentional self-harm (suicide) and Deaths of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the methodology in this publication. For the purposes of the following analysis, children are defined as those aged between 5 and 17 years of age. The ABS is not aware of any recorded suicides of children under the age of 5 years.

During the five-year period 2019-2023:

  • There were 81 suicides in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children. The suicide rate was 6.1 deaths per 100,000 children.
  • Suicide was the leading cause of death for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children.
  • Almost a quarter of deaths of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children were due to suicide. 
  • Over three quarters (75.3%) of Aboriginal and Torres strait islander children who died by suicide were aged 15-17 years. 
  • Over half (55.6%) of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children who died by suicide were female.
  • For more information on suicide of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children see Table 11.12 in Data Cube 11 in this publication.

Suicide by Indigenous status

Mortality data can provide important insights into population health concerns relevant to different groups within the Australian population. Patterns of death among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people differ considerably to those of non-Indigenous people, as is the case with suicide.

For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who died by suicide between 2019 and 2023:

  • When adjusted for population size and age-structure, the suicide rate was more than double that of non-Indigenous males and females.
  • Suicide was the fifth leading cause of death for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people compared to the 16th for non-Indigenous people.
  • The median age for suicides was 31.5 years for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people compared to 46.0 years for non-Indigenous people.

Change from five jurisdictions to six jurisdictions: 

  • There was a slight increase in the standardised suicide rate for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with a decrease in the non-Indigenous rate. 
  • The corresponding rate ratios increased marginally. 

Age-standardised suicide rates by Indigenous status and sex, 2014-2023 (a)(b)(c)(d)(e)(f)(g)(h)(i)(j)(k)(l)

Age-standardised suicide rates by Indigenous status and sex, 2014-2023 (a)(b)(c)(d)(e)(f)(g)(h)(i)(j)(k)(l)
 IndigenousNon-IndigenousRate ratioRate difference
Total (6J)    
2019-2023    
Males41.017.92.323.1
Females13.85.62.58.2
Persons27.211.72.315.5
Total (5J)    
2019-2023    
Males40.418.62.221.8
Females13.35.82.37.5
Persons26.612.12.214.5
2014-2018    
Males32.819.21.713.6
Females10.86.01.84.8
Persons21.612.51.79.1
  1. Additional sources for identifying Indigenous status have improved reporting for Victoria for 2018-2023. Two national totals (one including Victoria) with NSW, Qld, WA, SA and NT are provided for comparison. Tas and ACT remain excluded in line with usual national reporting guidelines. For more detail, refer to the Technical Note: The impact of using multiple sources for deriving the Indigenous status of deaths in 2023 – changes for Victoria and coroner referred deaths.  
  2. Age-standardised death rate. Death rate per 100,000 standard estimated resident population as at 30 June.
  3. Rates use Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population estimates and projections based on the 2021 Census. 
  4. Rate ratio is the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander rate divided by the non-Indigenous rate. Due to the effect of rounding, rates presented will not multiply exactly to ratio presented.
  5. Rate difference is the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander rate less the non-Indigenous rate.
  6. Intentional self-harm includes ICD-10 codes X60-X84 and Y87.0.
  7. Interpret intentional self-harm data with caution (refer to the methodology for more detail).
  8. Causes of death data for recent years is preliminary and subject to a revisions process.
  9. Data is by date of registration. 
  10. 6J represents a total including NSW, Vic, Qld, SA, WA, NT.
  11. 5J represents a total including NSW, Qld, SA, WA, NT.
  12. Refer to the methodology for more information.

Crisis support services

Crisis support services, available 24 hours, 7 days

Crisis support services, available 24 hours, 7 days
OrganisationAboutTelephone numberWebsite
LifelineProvides access to crisis support and suicide prevention services.13 11 14lifeline.org.au
Suicide Call Back ServiceProvides immediate telephone counselling and support in a crisis.1300 659 467suicidecallbackservice.org.au
Beyond BlueSupporting people affected by anxiety, depression and suicide.1300 224 636beyondblue.org.au
MensLine AustraliaTelephone and online support, information and referral service for men with concerns about family and relationships, mental health, anger management, family violence (using and experiencing), substance abuse and wellbeing. The service is available from anywhere in Australia and is staffed by professional counsellors, experienced in men's issues.1300 789 978mensline.org.au
Kids HelplineTelephone and online counselling service for young people aged 5 to 25.1800 551 800kidshelpline.com.au
ReachOutOnline mental health service for under-25s and their parents. au.reachout.com
National Alcohol and Other Drugs HotlineHotline for anyone affected by alcohol or other drugs. Support includes counselling, advice and referral to local services.1800 250 015 
Family Drug SupportHelp for individuals and families dealing with drug and alcohol use. Also provide support groups, education programs, counselling and bereavement services for families.1300 368 186fds.org.au
1800RESPECTNational domestic, family and sexual violence counselling, information and support service.1800 737 7321800respect.org.au
13YARNAboriginal & Torres Strait Islander crisis support line for people feeling overwhelmed or having difficulty coping.13 92 7613yarn.org.au
StandBy - Support After SuicideAustralia's leading suicide postvention program dedicated to assisting people and communities bereaved or impacted by suicide, including individuals, families, friends, witnesses, first responders and service providers.1300 727 247standbysupport.com.au

Data downloads

Causes of death, Australia, 2023 data cubes

Data files

Previous catalogue number

This release previously used catalogue number 3303.0