We would like to acknowledge the information provided by ABS (Causes of Death, Australia, 2023 | Australian Bureau of Statistics (abs.gov.au), and Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (Data from suicide registers – Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (aihw.gov.au).
Please note this page will be update as new data comes to hand.
When referring to or talking about statistics, we recognise that every number represents a person, a loved one, a community member. Research states that 89% of people in Australia know someone who has attempted and 85% know someone who has died by suicide, so we need to acknowledge and consider the lived and living experience of each and every person we meet.
The reasons people take their own life are complex and often there is no single reason why a person attempts or dies by suicide, and although there are a number of common health and psychosocial reasons, these are as individual as the person themselves.
If you have lived or living experience of suicide and are finding this information difficult, please reach out to ourselves, a helpline or trusted health professional or friend for support.
2,419 males died by suicide.
11th leading cause of death for males
Males aged between 55-59 years had the highest age-specific suicide rate (30.9 per 100,000 people).
Males aged between 40-44 years accounted for the highest proportion of deaths due to suicide (9.9%).
Suicide was the leading cause of premature mortality with 79,772 years of life lost.
Those who died by suicide lost on average 35.1 years of life.
795 females died by suicide.
26th leading cause of death for females.
Females aged between 50-54 years has the highest age-specific suicide rate.
Females aged over 85 years has the largest decrease in the age-specific suicide rate.
Suicide was the leading cause of premature mortality with 27,775 years of life lost.
Those who died by suicide lost on average 36.9 years of life.
Suicide was the leading cause of child death in Australia.
There were 94 children who died by suicide, accounting for 18.5% of child deaths.
Males had a suicide rate of 2.4 per 100,000 children (53 deaths).
Females had a suicide rate of 2.0 per 100,000 children (41 deaths).
Over 87% of children who died by suicide were aged 14-17 years (82 deaths).
Whilst the suicide rate for children has increased since 2022, it remains lower than rates in 2019-2021.
In the five-year period 2019-2023:
When controlling for population size and age structure, the suicide rate in remote and very remote Australia was between 20.5 and 24.0 deaths per 100,000 people. This is consistently higher than suicide rates in both regional areas and major cities.
Major cities of Australia had the lowest suicide rate across all years (between 10.0 and 11.2 deaths per 100,000 people).
The suicide rate for males living in remote and very remote Australia in 2021-2023 was more than double the rate for males living in major cities.
Though 2023 suicide data is considered preliminary, suicide rates for males and persons living in remote and very remote Australia were higher than 2020 (final) rates.
83.3% of people who died by suicide had at least one risk factor reported at the time of preliminary coding. This proportion is likely to increase as coronial investigations are finalised.
Psychosocial risk factors were the most commonly reported risk factor, present in 67.4% of deaths of people who died by suicide.
People who died by suicide had an average of 4 risk factors mentioned.
Mood disorders (including depression) were the most common risk factor overall, and in those aged between 25-84 years.
Suicide ideation was the most common risk factor for those aged under 25 years and was mentioned as a risk factor in over a quarter of suicides across all age groups. Suicide ideation can include thoughts or contemplation of suicide, and both direct and indirect discussions or comments surrounding a person’s intention or wish to end their life.
Limitation of activities due to illness and disability continues to be the most common risk factor for those aged 85 years and over.
Those aged 25-64 years were most likely to have problems related to employment, relationships, and legal circumstances mentioned as risk factors.
The highest median age at death was seen for those with problems related to care provider dependency (79.6 years). High median ages at death were also seen for those who had chronic health conditions (malignant neoplasms, ischaemic heart disease, hypertensive diseases and musculoskeletal disorders) and pain. These risk factors are more likely to impact quality of life for those in older age cohorts.
Acute alcohol use was recorded as a factor in 17.8% of suicides, and directly contributed to death in a further 1.9% (i.e., deaths due to intentional alcohol toxicity or mixed drug and alcohol toxicity (X60-X65)). Acute alcohol use can affect a death due to suicide in a number of ways including causing respiratory depression (especially when used in combination with other drugs) or affecting judgement and decision-making processes.
Those aged between 25-44 years were the most likely age group to have acute alcohol use and intoxication mentioned as a risk factor (present in 21.0% of suicides in this age group).
Those aged between 45-64 years were the most likely age group to have chronic alcohol abuse disorders mentioned as a risk factor (present in 18.5% of suicides in this age group). Acute psychoactive substance use was recorded as a factor in 16.7% of suicides, and directly contributed to death in a further 12.3% (i.e., deaths due to intentional drug toxicity or mixed drug and alcohol toxicity (X60-X65)). Like alcohol, acute use of psychoactive substances can affect a death due to suicide in several ways, including by impairing cognition, perception or moods, or by causing toxicity.
Those aged 25-44 years were most likely to have issues with psychoactive substance use mentioned as a risk factor (present in 24.5% of suicides as acute use and intoxication and in 28.2% as chronic use).
For those aged 25-44 years, acute and chronic psychoactive substance use were both more common risk factors than acute or chronic alcohol use.
The lowest median age at death due to suicide was in those with acute psychoactive substance use (37.0 years) and chronic psychoactive substance use (38.4 years). This is lower than the overall median age at death due to suicide which is 45.5 years.
For males who died by suicide in 2023:
Those aged under 25 years were most likely to have a personal history of self-harm or suicide ideation mentioned as a risk factor.
Substance abuse was a more common risk factor for males than for females.
Males aged 25-44 years were the most likely age group to have substance abuse mentioned as a risk factor, including:
Chronic psychoactive substance abuse disorders (29.3%)
Acute psychoactive substance use and intoxication (25.4%)
Acute alcohol use and intoxication (22.2%)
Those with acute and chronic alcohol use mentioned as a risk factor had higher median ages than those with acute and chronic psychoactive substance use.
The most common psychosocial risk factor was problems in spousal relationships circumstances, present in 24.8% of suicides overall and most commonly mentioned as a risk factor for those aged between 25-44 years (31.7%). Problems in spousal relationships can include separation and divorce as well as arguments and domestic violence situations.
Problems in spousal relationships was the third most common risk factor mentioned for males who died by suicide. This compares to the fifth most common for females.
For females who died by suicide in 2023:
Mood disorders (including depression) were the most common risk factor, being captured in 44.9% of all suicides of females. Mood disorders were the most commonly mentioned risk factor for those aged 65-84 years.
Mood disorders and anxiety disorders were more common risk factors for females than for males.
Suicide ideation was mentioned as a risk factor in over 30% of suicides in every age group.
The most common psychosocial risk factor was personal history of self-harm, present in 32.5% of female suicides.
Personal history of self-harm was the most common risk factor for those aged under 25 years. It was more commonly mentioned as a risk factor in this group than in any other age group.
Females aged 25-44 years were the most likely age group to have substance abuse (both acute and chronic use) mentioned as a risk factor.
Behavioural syndromes (F50, F52-F59) were a leading risk factor in females aged under 25. Within this group, eating disorders were most commonly mentioned.
In 2023, there were 275 registered deaths of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who died by suicide.
Over 30% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who died by suicide had a usual residence in New South Wales.
The median age at death was 33.0 years (35.1 years for males and 27.9 years for females).
The number of suicides of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people increased across all jurisdictions, except Western Australia, when comparing 2014-18 with 2019-23.
Since 2015 improvements have been made to the identification of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander deaths in the ABS mortality dataset. These changes have resulted in a higher number of deaths (including due to suicide) of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people identified in the dataset, with a subsequent increase in mortality rates. This should be considered when interpreting time series as increases may represent improved representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the mortality data.
In 2023, 265 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people died by suicide across the six jurisdictions.
Their median age was 32.8 years (34.9 years for males and 27.8 years for females).
Suicide was the fifth leading cause of death.
The highest number of deaths were of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in New South Wales and the lowest number in South Australia.
When adjusted for population size and age-structure, South Australia had the highest rate of death from suicide (crude and age-standardised). The age-standardised mortality rate in South Australia was 1.9 times higher than that of New South Wales and Queensland.
Victoria had the second highest age-standardised rate (36.4), whereas the Northern Territory recorded the second highest crude rate (32.2).
The median age at death by suicide was 32.8 with Victoria both included and excluded.
There was a slight increase in both the crude death rate and the age-standardised death rate when Victoria is included in rate calculations.
In 2023 there were 197 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander males who died by suicide.
Suicide was the second leading cause of death.
The median age at death was 34.9 years.
Three quarters of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who died by suicide were male.
In 2023 there were 68 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander females who died by suicide.
Suicide was the eighth leading cause of death.
The median age at death was 27.8 years.
Crude death rates increased marginally with the addition of Victorian data.
The effect was similar for both males and females.
For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who died by suicide between 2019 and 2023:
Almost 80% were aged between 15-44 years.
For males, the highest suicide rate was for those aged 35-44 years at 76.5 deaths per 100,000 people.
For females, the highest suicide rate was for those aged 15-24 years at 26.1 deaths per 100,000 people.
Across all age groups, males had a suicide rate over 2.6 times that of females.
During the five-year period 2019-2023:
There were 81 suicides in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children. The suicide rate was 6.1 deaths per 100,000 children.
Suicide was the leading cause of death for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children.
Almost a quarter of deaths of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children were due to suicide.
Over three quarters (75.3%) of Aboriginal and Torres strait islander children who died by suicide were aged 15-17 years.
Over half (55.6%) of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children who died by suicide were female.
For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who died by suicide between 2019 and 2023:
When adjusted for population size and age-structure, the suicide rate was more than double that of non-Indigenous males and females.
Suicide was the fifth leading cause of death for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people compared to the 16th for non-Indigenous people.
The median age for suicides was 31.5 years for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people compared to 46.0 years for non-Indigenous people.
The current ABS census doesn’t ask about sexual orientation, gender identity and intersex status. There are also no standardised questions on sexual orientation, gender identity and intersex status in suicide death data records. The data below is from the ‘Snapshot of Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Statistics for LGBTIQ+ People’ recorded in October 2021.
LGBTQA+ 16 – 17 years were almost 3 times more likely (11%) to have attempted suicide in the past 12 months and almost 5 times more likely (25.6%) to have attempted suicide in their lifetime.
Transgender people aged 14-25 are fifteen times more likely to have attempted suicide in their lifetime.
People with an intersex variation aged 16 and over are nearly six times more likely to have attempted suicide in their lifetime.
16% of LGBTI young people aged 16 to 27 and 27.8% of bisexual people aged 18 years and over reported that they had attempted suicide.
5.2% of LGBTI people aged 18 and over reported having attempted suicide in the past 12 months (13.7% of trans men, 10.9% of trans women, 6.8% of non-binary participants, 4.2% of cisgender women and 3.3% of cisgender men), and 30.3% of LGBTI people aged 18 and over reported having attempted suicide at some point during their lives
48.1% of transgender and gender diverse people aged 14 to 25 reported that they had attempted suicide in their lifetime.
35% of transgender people aged 18 and over reported that they had attempted suicide in their lifetime.
19% of people with an intersex variation aged 16 and over reported that they had attempted suicide on the basis of issues related to their intersex status.
An estimated 703,000 people die by suicide every year, one every 40 seconds.
Suicide 1.3% all deaths worldwide, 17th leading cause of death
77% of global suicides occur in low and middle-income countries.
The global rate of suicide is over twice as high among men than women.
We acknowledge the traditional custodians of the lands on which we work and pay our respects to Elders past, present and emerging.
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