Australian Bureau of Statistics

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) provides independent and reliable data that can be used to inform suicide prevention efforts in Australia. Important data sets for suicide prevention include the annual release of the Causes of Death data and the National Study of Mental Health and Wellbeing.

Causes of Death

The Causes of Death data include the number of deaths by suicide, at national and state and territory levels, by sex, selected age groups, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander status. Data on risk factors and comorbid conditions co-occurring with suicide deaths are also provided.

The Causes of Death data is sourced from the eight state and territory Registrars of Births, Deaths and Marriages and supplemented with information from the National Coronial Information System (NCIS), including police, pathology, toxicology and coroners reports. These data are coded by the ABS according to the International Classification of Diseases (ICD) and compiled into aggregate statistics.

The latest data release includes preliminary suicide death data for the year prior and revised suicide data for the two years before.

Yearly Causes of Death data are released 9-10 months following the end of the reference year, e.g. deaths data up to the end of 2022 were available in September 2023. This is due to the time taken to undergo coronial processes and investigations to classify suicide deaths. Please note that some deaths occurring in preceding years may be registered at a later time period due to coronial processes, and are included in the data for the registration year. This may impact correct interpretation of the data.

Life in Mind provides translated summaries of the Causes of Death data that includes infographics of key findings.

National Study of Mental Health and Wellbeing

The National Study of Mental Health and Wellbeing contains summary statistics on key mental health concerns including the prevalence of mental disorders and the use of services. Other statistics particularly relevant to suicide prevention include the data on lived experience of suicide and self-harm.

Life in Mind provides translated summaries of the National Study of Mental Health and Wellbeing that include infographics of key findings.