Suicide rate, 2018

Identifying and definitional attributes

Metadata item type:Help on this termIndicator
Indicator type:Help on this termIndicator
Short name:Help on this termSuicide rate, 2018
METEOR identifier:Help on this term683363
Registration status:Help on this term
Description:Help on this term

The number of suicides per 100,000 Australians.

Rationale:Help on this term
  • Suicide is a leading cause of death among the general population, and people with mental illness are at even greater risk. Suicide rates are a commonly used global indicator of community mental health.
  • All governments are committed to working together to achieve a decrease in the rate of suicide. Suicide prevention through access and maintained support is a key early intervention goal of current and future programs.
  • Suicide is a complex problem that requires a whole of government response. Numerous factors, including age, gender, other health problems, social or geographic isolation and drug or alcohol problems, can influence an individual's risk of suicide. This complex interaction of biological, psychological and social factors can influence the outcomes of programs intended to reduce suicide rates.
     
Indicator set:Help on this termFifth National Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Plan, 2018
Health, Recorded 09/08/2018

Collection and usage attributes

Computation description:Help on this term

The registration of deaths in Australia is the responsibility of state and territory Registrars of Births, Deaths and Marriages. As part of the registration process, information about the cause of death is supplied by the medical practitioner certifying the death or by a coroner.  The information is provided to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) by individual Registrars for coding and compilation into aggregate statistics.  In addition, the ABS supplements this data with information from the National Coronial Information System (NCIS).

Deaths that are referred to a coroner can take time to be fully investigated. To account for this, the ABS undertakes a revisions process for those deaths where coronial investigations remained open at the time an initial cause of death was assigned. Data are deemed preliminary when first published, revised when published the following year and final when published after a second year.

Computation:Help on this term

(Numerator ÷ Denominator) × 100,000

Numerator data elements:Help on this term
Data Element / Data Set

Data Element

Person—death by suicide

Data Source

ABS Causes of Death Collection

Denominator:Help on this term

Total Australian population

Denominator data elements:Help on this term
Data Element / Data Set

Data Element

Person—estimated resident population of Australia, total people

Data Source

ABS Estimated resident population (total population)

Disaggregation:Help on this term

Consumer attributes: age, sex, state/territory, and Indigenous status.

Rates for Indigenous Australians are age-standardised.

Disaggregation data elements:Help on this term
Data Element / Data Set

Data Element

 Person—age

Data Source

ABS Causes of Death Collection

Data Element / Data Set

Data Element

 Person—Indigenous status

Data Source

ABS Causes of Death Collection

Data Element / Data Set

Data Element

 Person—sex

Data Source

ABS Causes of Death Collection

Data Element / Data Set

Data Element

 Person—usual residence

Data Source

ABS Causes of Death Collection

Guide for use

Used to determine state/territory

Representational attributes

Representation class:Help on this termRate
Data type:Help on this termReal
Unit of measure:Help on this termPerson
Format:Help on this term

N[NNN].N

Indicator conceptual framework

Framework and dimensions:Help on this termLess avoidable harm

Data source attributes

Data sources:Help on this term
Data Source

ABS Estimated resident population (total population)

Frequency

Quarterly

Quality statement

ABS Estimated resident population (total population), QS

Data custodian

Australian Bureau of Statistics

Data Source

ABS Causes of Death Collection

Frequency

Annual

Quality statement

ABS causes of death collection, QS

Data custodian

Australian Bureau of Statistics

Accountability attributes

Reporting requirements:Help on this term

Fifth National Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Plan

Organisation responsible for providing data:Help on this term

Australian Bureau of Statistics

Further data development / collection required:Help on this term

Nil.

Source and reference attributes

Submitting organisation:Help on this term

Mental Health Information Strategy Standing Committee

Relational attributes

Related metadata references:Help on this term
See also Australian Health Performance Framework: PI 3.4.4–Mortality due to suicide, 2019
See also Australian Health Performance Framework: PI 3.4.4–Mortality due to suicide, 2020