Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander suicide data 2016

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander suicide data 2016Preliminary 2016 statistics indicated that:

• 162 (119 male, 43 female) Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people died by suicide, which is slightly higher than the 152 recorded in 2015.

• Suicide was the 5th leading cause of death for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples across NSW, QLD, SA, WA and NT, compared to the 15th leading cause of death for non-Indigenous people in these states.

• In these states, the standardised death rate for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples (23.8 per 100,000) was more than twice the non-Indigenous rate (11.4 per 100,000).

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander suicide data 2012-2016

Between 2012-2016:

• 721 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people died by suicide.

• The age-standardised rate was significantly higher than the non-Indigenous rate in SA, WA, NSW, QLD and NT.

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14.4

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NSW QLD SA WA NT

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Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Non-Indigenous

Figure 1: Age-standardised rate of suicide from 2012 – 2016

Note: Rates for VIC, TAS, and ACT were not available for publication due to small numbers, but the number of deaths are included in the total number of deaths above.

State specific Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander suicide data

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander –NSW 2016

2016 New South Wales specific statistics indicated that:

• 41 (35 male, 6 female) Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people died by suicide.

• Suicide was the 5th leading cause of death for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the state, compared to the 17th leading cause of death for non-Indigenous people.

• The standardised death rate for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders (18.6 per 100,000) was considerably higher than the non-Indigenous rate (9.7 per 100,000).

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander –NSW 2012-2016

Between 2012-2016 in New South Wales:

• 150 (113 male, 37 female) Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander deaths have been attributed to intentional self-harm, which represents 3.9% of all causes of death.

• For Indigenous Australians in NSW, suicide is ranked 5th in the leading causes of death.

• The suicide rate for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders (16.1 per 100,000) in NSW was considerably higher than the non-Indigenous population (9.8 per 100,000) for the same period.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander –Northern Territory 2016

2016 Northern Territory specific statistics indicated that:

• 18 (14 male, 1 female, 3 gender unknown) Aboriginal and

Torres Strait Islander people died by suicide.

• Suicide was the 5th leading annual cause of death for

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, compared to

the 4th leading cause of death for non-Indigenous

Australians in the Northern Territory.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander –Northern Territory 2012-2016

Between 2012-2016 in the Northern Territory:

• 106 (62 male, 44 female) Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander deaths have been attributed to intentional self-harm, which represents 4.1% of all causes of death.

• For Indigenous Australians in NT, suicide is ranked 5th in the leading causes of death.

• The suicide rate for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people (26.4 per 100,000) in NT was considerably higher than the non-Indigenous population (14.4 per 100,000).

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander –Queensland 2016

2016 Queensland specific statistics indicated that:

• 52 (37 male, 15 female) Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people died by suicide.

• Suicide was the 5th leading annual cause of death for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, compared to the 10th leading cause of death for non-Indigenous Australians.

• The standardised death rate for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders (22.8 per 100,000) was considerably higher than the non-Indigenous rate (13.1 per 100,000).

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander –Queensland 2012-2016

Between 2012-2016 in Queensland:

• 225 (172 male, 53 female) Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander deaths have been attributed to intentional self-harm, which represents 5.8% of all causes of death.

• For Indigenous Australians in Qld, suicide is ranked 4th in the leading causes of death.

• The suicide rate for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people (23.3 per 100,000) in Qld was considerably higher than the non-Indigenous population (13.6 per 100,000).

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander –Western Australia 2016

2016 Western Australia specific statistics indicated that:

• 47 (31 male, 16 female) Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people died by suicide.

• Suicide was the 3rd leading annual cause of death for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, compared to the 12th leading cause of death for non-Indigenous people.

• The standardised death rate for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples (43.9 per 100,000) was considerably higher than the non-Indigenous rate (12.2 per 100,000).

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander –Western Australia 2012-2016

Between 2012-2016 in Western Australia:

• 202 (144 male, 58 female) Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander

deaths have been attributed to intentional self-harm, which

represents 8.0% of all causes of death.

• For Indigenous Australians in WA, suicide is ranked 3rd in the

leading causes of death.

• The suicide rate for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples

(40.6 per 100,000) in WA was considerably higher than the

non-Indigenous population (12.3 per 100,000).

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander –South Australia 2012-2016

Between 2012-2016 in South Australia:

• 37 (23 male, 14 female) Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people deaths have been attributed to intentional self-harm, which represents 4.4% of all causes of death

• For Indigenous Australians in SA, suicide is ranked 5th in the leading causes of death.

• The suicide rate for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples (21.3 per 100,000) in SA was considerably higher than the non-Indigenous population (12.6 per 100,000).

Other states

• Limited data is available for VIC, TAS and the ACT due to relatively small numbers.

• Between 2012 and 2016, the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander deaths attributed to suicide were:

– 32 in Victoria

– 5 in Tasmania

– 6 in the ACT.

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