- National suicide data
- Australian Institute of Health and Welfare
- National Suicide and Self-harm Monitoring System
Suicide among people who used disability services
The following summary is based on data released by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) from the National Suicide and Self-Harm Monitoring System (the System): Deaths by suicide among people who used disability services.
The System was established as part of the national effort to address suicide and self-harm in Australia by improving the quality, accessibility and timeliness of data on deaths by suicide and on self-harming and suicidal behaviours.
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 life 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 opportunity to save lives.
For guidance on reporting on suicide and self-harm data, please refer to the Mindframe quick reference guide.
Released by AIHW on Wednesday, 6 April 2023
The National Suicide and Self-harm Monitoring System has been updated to include information about deaths by suicide among people using disability services, sourced from a previously published AIHW report. People living with a disability are considered a priority population for suicide prevention due to increased rates of suicide.
This data includes details about deaths for people aged under 65 years who accessed disability specific support services, funded under the National Disability Agreement (NDA), from 1 July 2013 to 30 June 2018. It should be noted that this data is not representative of all deaths of people with disability, but rather those who had access to NDA-funded support services during the five-year study period.
‘Primary disability’ is the type of disability which most clearly reflects a person’s experience of disability and causes them the most difficulty in everyday life. It is important to note that people who live with disability can experience multiple types of disability at any point in time.
People using disability services whose primary disability was ‘psychosocial disability’ had substantially higher rates of death by suicide (100.6 per 100,000 population) compared to disability service users with all other primary disabilities and compared to the general population.
Psychosocial disability is a disability that arises from the interaction between a person's mental health condition and their social environment, impacting their ability to function and creating inequity. Not everybody with a mental health condition experiences psychosocial disability.
The impacts of psychosocial disability are different for everyone and can change over time. It may affect a person's ability to complete daily tasks, think clearly, experience full physical health or manage the social aspects of life.
For people who accessed disability services between 1 July 2013 to 30 June 2018:
- The rate of suicide was three times greater than the general population of the same age (33.5 per 100,000 population compared to 11.4 per 100,000).
- Suicide accounted for 5.2% of all deaths and was the fourth leading cause of death for this population. Among the general population, death by suicide accounted for 8.9% of deaths and was the number one leading cause of death.
