ABORIGINAL AND TORRES STRAIT ISLANDER DEATHS
There were 2,620 deaths registered in Australia in 2012 where the deceased person was recorded as being an Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander, or both (see table 1.2). For detailed data, see data cube Table 16: Deaths, Indigenous status, Selected states and territories - 1991 to 2012.
1.2 DEATHS, Indigenous status - 2012 |
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| Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander | Non-Indigenous | Not stated | Total |
![](/icons/ecblank.gif) | no. | % of Total | no. | % of Total | no. | % of Total | no. |
|
NSW | 635 | 1.3 | 48 240 | 97.8 | 439 | 0.9 | 49 314 |
Vic. | 100 | 0.3 | 35 644 | 99.7 | 16 | - | 35 760 |
Qld | 678 | 2.4 | 27 057 | 95.6 | 565 | 2.0 | 28 300 |
SA | 151 | 1.1 | 12 996 | 98.6 | 31 | 0.2 | 13 178 |
WA | 466 | 3.5 | 12 765 | 95.7 | 108 | 0.8 | 13 339 |
Tas. | 45 | 1.0 | 4 413 | 99.0 | np | np | 4 459 |
NT | 539 | 51.9 | 497 | 47.9 | np | np | 1 038 |
ACT | 6 | 0.4 | 1 693 | 99.2 | 7 | 0.4 | 1 706 |
Aust.(a) | 2 620 | 1.8 | 143 309 | 97.4 | 1 169 | 0.8 | 147 098 |
|
- nil or rounded to zero (including null cells) |
np not available for publication but included in totals where applicable, unless otherwise indicated |
(a) Includes Other Territories. |
Deaths by Year of registration and Year of occurrence
The following table presents deaths of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders by year of registration and year of occurrence separately for those deaths registered up to and including 31 December 2012. While the interval between the occurrence and registration of deaths is often longer among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians than among the non-Indigenous population, there is normally little difference between the number of deaths registered in a given year and the number of deaths that occurred in the same year for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians. This is because for each year, the number of deaths that are not registered in the year that they occur are compensated by deaths that occurred in the previous years but were subsequently registered. The table below illustrates that if data are routinely reported on a year of occurrence basis, deaths data for the latest year will be underestimated.
1.3 ABORIGINAL AND TORRES STRAIT ISLANDER DEATHS(a), States and territories(b)(c) - 1996 to 2012 |
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![](/icons/ecblank.gif) | NSW | Vic. | Qld(d) | SA | WA(e) | Tas. | NT | ACT | Aust.(e)(f) |
YEAR OF REGISTRATION |
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1996 | 177 | 49 | 258 | 118 | 370 | np | 328 | np | 1 306 |
1997 | 88 | 93 | 531 | 132 | 351 | 5 | 458 | 4 | 1 662 |
1998 | 462 | 123 | 593 | 127 | 378 | 13 | 415 | 3 | 2 114 |
1999 | 435 | 130 | 529 | 116 | 350 | 11 | 399 | 6 | 1 976 |
2000 | 473 | 108 | 535 | 144 | 407 | np | 450 | np | 2 127 |
2001 | 481 | 93 | 565 | 125 | 345 | np | 429 | np | 2 072 |
2002 | 516 | 64 | 590 | 107 | 371 | 20 | 462 | 4 | 2 136 |
2003 | 485 | 82 | 569 | 137 | 338 | 23 | 435 | 9 | 2 079 |
2004 | 490 | 54 | 579 | 131 | 400 | 20 | 449 | 10 | 2 136 |
2005 | 507 | 71 | 519 | 142 | 406 | 28 | 454 | 11 | 2 141 |
2006 | 530 | 111 | 584 | 124 | 443 | 20 | 452 | 14 | 2 279 |
2007 | 601 | 95 | 594 | 138 | 449 | 24 | 461 | 6 | 2 368 |
2008 | 559 | 97 | 562 | 141 | 486 | 24 | 467 | 16 | 2 353 |
2009 | 591 | 106 | 632 | 160 | 416 | 30 | 431 | 10 | 2 377 |
2010 | 622 | 117 | 948 | 147 | 436 | 37 | 447 | 13 | 2 767 |
2011 | 726 | 128 | 629 | 141 | 454 | 30 | 437 | 12 | 2 558 |
2012 | 635 | 100 | 678 | 151 | 466 | 45 | 539 | 6 | 2 620 |
YEAR OF OCCURRENCE(g) |
|
1996 | 166 | 67 | 350 | 122 | 351 | np | 383 | np | 1 444 |
1997 | 98 | 106 | 567 | 137 | 382 | 5 | 408 | 3 | 1 706 |
1998 | 465 | 108 | 595 | 129 | 389 | 13 | 414 | 3 | 2 116 |
1999 | 433 | 105 | 540 | 117 | 347 | 12 | 438 | 7 | 1 999 |
2000 | 480 | 115 | 619 | 140 | 384 | np | 428 | np | 2 177 |
2001 | 487 | 81 | 581 | 122 | 368 | np | 430 | np | 2 100 |
2002 | 508 | 64 | 613 | 108 | 384 | 22 | 470 | 5 | 2 176 |
2003 | 494 | 83 | 594 | 144 | 323 | 22 | 418 | 12 | 2 092 |
2004 | 481 | 55 | 632 | 134 | 391 | 19 | 437 | 7 | 2 158 |
2005 | 507 | 81 | 541 | 140 | 416 | 32 | 493 | 12 | 2 225 |
2006 | 529 | 117 | 590 | 123 | 460 | 16 | 453 | 12 | 2 301 |
2007 | 599 | 94 | 588 | 140 | 460 | 25 | 461 | 8 | 2 375 |
2008 | 559 | 96 | 553 | 144 | 472 | 23 | 488 | 14 | 2 350 |
2009 | 596 | 109 | 626 | 146 | 405 | 33 | 436 | 12 | 2 364 |
2010 | 639 | 131 | 628 | 149 | 420 | 35 | 428 | 12 | 2 443 |
2011 | 709 | 102 | 646 | 145 | 441 | 32 | 475 | 11 | 2 561 |
2012 | 604 | 87 | 592 | 136 | 395 | 42 | 398 | 6 | 2 260 |
|
np not available for publication but included in totals where applicable, unless otherwise indicated |
(a) From 2007, Indigenous status for deaths registered in South Australia, Western Australia, Tasmania, the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory is also derived from the Medical Certificate of Cause of Death (MCCD). If the Indigenous status reported in DRF does not agree with that in MCCD an identification from either source that the deceased was an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander person is given preference over non-Indigenous. |
(b) State or territory of usual residence. |
(c) Due to differing levels of recording Indigenous status by the states and territories and over time, care should be taken in interpreting change in numbers of deaths. As a result, data for Australia should not be analysed as a time series. |
(d) Queensland began to register Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander deaths as such in 1996. Care should be taken when interpreting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander deaths data for Queensland for 2010. See Technical Note: Queensland Retrospective Deaths Project, and paragraph 35 of the Explanatory Notes of Deaths, Australia, 2010 (cat. no. 3302.0). |
(e) ABS has finalised investigations into the volatility of Aboriginal Torres Strait Islander deaths in Western Australia in the years 2007 to 2009. As a result relevant details for Western Australia and, as a consequence Australia, were revised on both year of registration and year of occurrence basis in Deaths, Australia, 2010 (cat. no. 3302.0). |
(f) Includes Other Territories. |
(g) Includes deaths registered up to and including 31 December 2012. The numbers of deaths presented on a year of occurrence basis are subject to change, as deaths that occurred prior to 31 December 2012 but have not yet been registered are registered in subsequent years. See paragraphs 25 and 26 of the Explanatory Notes for more information. |
Median age
Median ages at death data for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians are only included in this release for New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia and the Northern Territory. Victoria, Tasmania and the Australian Capital Territory are excluded due to small numbers of registered deaths of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians.
In 2012, the median age at death of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians varied across the selected states and territories. For males New South Wales had the highest median age at death (60.6 years) and the Northern Territory had the lowest (49.9 years). New South Wales and Queensland had the highest median ages at death for females (each 63.9 years) and the Northern Territory had the lowest (52.8 years). For detailed data, see data cube
Table 17: Median age at death, Indigenous status, Selected states and territories - 1991 to 2012.
Age-specific death rates
Age-specific death rates (ASDR) for 2008-2012 for total Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australian males and females, in all age groups, were higher than the rates for non-Indigenous males and females.
For New South Wales and Queensland the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australian ASDRs were more than twice the rates for non-Indigenous Australians in the 25-64 years age group. For both males and females, the largest difference was for those aged 35-44 years, where Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australian ASDRs were three or more times higher than those recorded for non-Indigenous males and females.
For South Australia, Western Australia and the Northern Territory, ASDRs for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians in some age groups were five or more times higher than those for non-Indigenous Australians. The largest differences occurred among males and females aged 35-44 years. For detailed data, see data cube
Table 19: Age-specific death rates, Indigenous status, Selected states and territories - 2008-2012.
Infant mortality rates
In 2010-2012, New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia and the Northern Territory recorded a combined infant mortality rate (IMR) for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians that was around twice the rate for non-Indigenous Australians (6.4 and 3.6 per 1,000 live births respectively). In the Northern Territory IMRs for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population increased marginally, from 13.6 deaths in 2006-2008 to 13.7 deaths in 2010-2012. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander IMRs in the Northern Territory were the highest of all states and territories across the 2006-2008 to 2010-2012 period. Other states had lower IMRs for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population, but rates fluctuated due to the small and variable number of registered infant deaths in these jurisdictions during the period. For detailed data, see data cube
Table 18: Infant mortality rates, Indigenous status, Selected states and territories - 1991 to 2012.