Causes of Death, 2023
Released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), Thursday, 10 October 2024
The following summary is based on data released by the ABS: Intentional self-harm deaths (Suicide) in Australia.
When exploring suicide data, it is important to remember that behind the numbers are people, families and communities impacted by suicide in Australia. The reasons people take their own lives are complex, and often there is no single reason why a person attempts or dies by suicide. By increasing our understanding of data alongside the lived experience of distress, we will increase the opportunities to prevent suicide.
For guidance on reporting on suicide and self-harm data, please refer to the Mindframe quick reference guide.
What is included in the release?
The data released by the ABS includes preliminary data for deaths by suicide in 2023, preliminary revised data for 2022, revised data for 2021 and final data for 2020 and earlier. The release includes information on:
- Suicides by sex
- Suicides by age
- Suicides by state or territory
- Suicides by country of birth
- Suicides and risk factors by remoteness
- Risk factors associated with suicides.
The Causes of Death methodology provides more detailed information about the release, including data collection, data coding, the revisions process, and technical notes relating to quality improvement processes that impact how data is interpreted over time.
What are the key findings?
- In 2023, there were 3,214 deaths by suicide. The age-standardised suicide rate was 11.8 per 100,000.
- Three-quarters of people who died by suicide were male.
- Men had a higher age-standardised suicide rate (18.0 per 100,000) than women (5.8 per 100,000).
- Males aged 55-59 years had the highest age-specific suicide rate. Males aged 45-49 years accounted for the largest proportion of deaths due to suicide (10%).
- Females aged 50-54 years had the highest age-specific suicide rate (10.0 deaths per 100,000). They accounted for the largest proportion of female suicide deaths (11%).
- In 2023, 275 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people died by suicide.
- Since 2020, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people had a suicide rate more than double that of non-Indigenous people.
- Three-quarters of people who died by suicide had a usual residence in New South Wales (846), Queensland (790) or Victoria (761).
- Northern Territory recorded the highest age-standardised suicide rate (17.0 per 100,000 people). Australian Capital Territory recorded the lowest (7.7 per 100,000).
- Overall, suicide rates were lower in greater capital cities than in the rest of the state or territory (except for Tasmania).
- More than 28% of Australia’s population live in regional and remote areas where suicide rates are consistently higher than rates in Australia’s major cities.
- At least one psychosocial risk factor was reported in 67% of suicide deaths.
- Between 2019 and 2023, people born in Australia had a higher age-standardised suicide rate (14.7 per 100,000), compared to those born overseas (8.4 per 100,000).
- People born in Northern Ireland, Croatia, Kenya and New Zealand had a higher suicide rate than those born in Australia.
Data summaries
Download National suicide data summary
Download State and territory suicide data summary
Download Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities suicide data summary
What does this mean for policy and practice?
The release of the 2023 Causes of Death data by the ABS is a significant event for the suicide prevention sector. However, it is important to remember that data on suicide deaths is only one piece of the puzzle. It needs to be interpreted alongside other data sources and lived experience expertise to understand and prevent suicide.
Suicide deaths are investigated by a coroner which can be a time-intensive process. Data can be subject to revisions for several years before being considered ‘final’. The data for 2023 is ‘preliminary’ and may change in the coming years. Therefore, it should be interpreted with caution.
The 2023 Causes of Death data release does give key insights that can shape evidence-based policy and practice. These insights can help to guide suicide prevention efforts, including:
- Identifying and monitoring suicide trends in Australia.
- Understanding which populations are disproportionately impacted by suicide – such as men, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and people living in regional, rural and remote areas of Australia.
- Understanding the risk factors commonly associated with suicide – such as certain mental health concerns, a history of self-harm, relationship problems, legal problems, alcohol use, or the death of a loved one.
- Identifying places and opportunities to respond to early distress, such as schools, workplaces, legal and justice settings and social services.
- Evaluating the impact of suicide prevention approaches over time.