- National suicide data
- Australian Institute of Health and Welfare
- National Suicide and Self-harm Monitoring System
Intentional self-harm hospitalisations
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, 28 September 2023
Intentional self-harm data are sourced from the National Hospital Morbidity Database (NHMD), which provides information on patients admitted to hospital after self-harm with or without the intention of dying. Self-harm and suicide can be considered distinct and separate acts although some people who self-harm are at an increased risk of suicide.1 Therefore, monitoring intentional self-harm is key to suicide prevention.
Updated data now available for 2021-22, with updates to the Intentional self-harm hospitalisations data by states and territories, age groups, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and geography pages of the National Suicide and Self-Harm Monitoring System. Key statistics and trends are described below.
National, state, gender and age groups
- There were almost 26,900 hospitalisations for intentional self-harm in Australia in 2021–22 (105 hospitalisations per 100,000 population).
- The highest rate of hospitalisation for intentional self-harm was reported in the Northern Territory (238 hospitalisations per 100,000), which is more than double the national rate.
- The majority of hospitalisations were for females (67% or over 18,000 hospitalisations) which has been a consistent finding since 2008-09.
- The rate of intentional self-harm hospitalisations was higher for females (139 per 100,000 population) than males (69 per 100,000 population).
- Young people continue to have the highest age-specific rates of self-harm hospitalisations, with young females aged 15-19 years and 20-24 years having the highest rates overall:
- The rate for females aged 15-19 years was 637 per 100,000, and 342 per 100,000 for females aged 20-24 years.
- Males aged 15-19 years and 20-24 years had the highest age-specific rates of all male age groups. However, the rate for males aged 15-19 years (153 per 100,000) was less than a quarter than for females of the same age group, and the rate for males 20-24 years (144 per 100,000) less than half that for females in the same age group.
Young people
- The age-specific hospitalisation rates for young people under 25 years are shown on the graph below.
- The rate for females aged 0–14 years increased from 41 hospitalisations per 100,000 population in 2019–20 to 72 per 100,000 in 2021–22 (76% increase).
- During 2008-09 to 2021-22, there was an overall increase in the hospitalisation rates for intentional self-harm for both males and females aged 15–19 years (see graph below). For males, the rate increased from 124 hospitalisations per 100,000 in 2008-09 to 374 per 100,000 in 2021-22 (22.6% increase). For females, the rate increased from 152 per 100,000 in 2008-09 to 637 per 100,000 in 2021-22 (70.5% increase).
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples
In 2021–22, the rate of intentional self-harm hospitalisations for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people (326 hospitalisations per 100,000 population) was over three times that of non-Indigenous Australians (96 per 100,000 population).
- The highest rate of intentional self-harm hospitalisations for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people was in the 15-19-years age group (710 hospitalisations per 100,000 population), almost double that of non-Indigenous Australians (366 hospitalisations per 100,000 population).
- The rates were highest among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander females aged 15-19 years (1,127 hospitalisations per 100,000 population) and 20-24 years (756 hospitalisations per 100,000).
Remoteness areas
While the majority (two-thirds) of self-harm hospitalisations were residents of Major Cities, the rate of hospitalisations tends to increase with increasing level of remoteness.
- Residents of Very Remote areas recorded a rate of 193 hospitalisations per 100,000, nearly twice that of residents of Major Cities (97 hospitalisations per 100,000).
- Between 2012-13 and 2021-22 overall rates increased in Very Remote areas by 12.2% (from 172 to 193 hospitalisations per 100,000 population) and Remote areas by 9.6% (from 146 to 160 per 100,000 population)
- Between 2012-13 and 2021-22 overall rates fell in Inner Regional areas by 17.6% (from 125 to 103 per 100,000), and Major Cities by 12.6% (from 111 to 97 per 100,000).
- The highest increase in rates occurred in young people aged 15-18 years in Outer Regional, Remote and Very remote areas.
Socioeconomic areas
From 2012–13 to 2021–22 the highest proportion of intentional self-harm hospitalisations was for people living in the lowest socioeconomic (most disadvantaged) areas. This proportion has remained relatively stable over the period, averaging around 23%.
In 2021-22, the rate for hospitalisations for intentional self-harm in the most disadvantaged areas (122 per 100,000) was 1.5 times the rate for the least disadvantaged areas (82 per 100,000 population.