Provisional Mortality Statistics

Latest release

Provisional deaths data for measuring changes in patterns of mortality

Reference period
Jan - Aug 2025
Release date and time
28/11/2025 11:30am AEDT

Key statistics

  • 125,162 deaths occurred between January and August 2025, 1.1% fewer than 2024 but 1.7% more than 2023.
  • 17,066 deaths occurred in August 2025, 0.6% more than 2024 and 6.3% more than 2023.
  • There were more deaths from respiratory diseases in August 2025 than from dementia.

This publication presents the number of deaths occurring by week and month. From April 2025, deaths occurring in 2025 will be presented. Key considerations are:

  • Deaths occurring in 2025 will have two comparison points: 2023 and 2024. This is the same format for deaths that occurred in 2024, which were compared to 2022 and 2023. Reasons for this presentation of data has been outlined in previous publications.
  • Age-standardised death rates can be accessed via the data downloads tab in this publication.
  • A time series of weekly and monthly deaths occurring from 2015 is available in the data downloads section of this publication. Customised datasets are able to be created from these data cubes.
  • The data in this publication is not an excess mortality estimate. Excess mortality estimates to December 2023 are available in published articles from the following links: ‘Measuring Australia’s excess mortality during the COVID-19 pandemic until December 2023’ (published 28 June 2024), and excess mortality estimates by remoteness areas (published 28 February 2025). Excess mortality by selected causes of death, 2020-23 was published 29 September 2025.
  • More detailed analysis on mortality from influenza and respiratory syncytial virus and COVID-19 are provided in the publication: 'Deaths due to acute respiratory infections in Australia'.

Australian deaths by week

All-cause deaths

For all deaths:

  • In 2025, there were 125,162 deaths that occurred by 31 August and were registered by 31 October 2025. This is 1,440 deaths (1.1%) fewer than in 2024, but 2,127 (1.7%) more than in 2023.
  • 17,066 deaths occurred in August 2025 and were registered by 31 October. This is 104 deaths (0.6%) more than in 2024, and 1,017 (6.3%) more than in 2023. The 18,226 deaths in July 2025 were 3.2% more than in July 2024 and 9.5% more than in July 2023.
  • 14,961 of the deaths occurring in August 2025 were doctor certified and 2,105 were coroner referred. In July 15,916 deaths were doctor certified and 2,310 were coroner referred.
  • The age-standardised death rate (SDR) for August was 44.3 deaths per 100,000 people, lower than death rates for both 2024 (45.5) and 2023 (44.5). The SDR for July 2025 was 47.3, comparable to the rate for July 2024 (47.4) and higher than the rate for July 2023 (46.2).

Deaths are presented by counts only. Counts of death do not account for changes in population. See data downloads for weekly and monthly age-standardised death rate calculations. 

a. Data is by occurrence.
b. Data is provisional and subject to change.
c. Weeks are defined as seven-day periods which start on a Monday as per the ISO week date system. Refer to 'Weekly comparisons' on the methodology page of this publication for more information regarding the data in this graph. Week 1 ended 8 Jan 2023, 7 Jan 2024 and 5 Jan 2025.

Age-specific death rates

The following table shows age-specific death rates (deaths per 100,000 population) for different age groups by sex in August 2025, presented alongside data for 2024 and 2023. All references to "death rates" in this section refer to age-specific death rates. 

August 2025

  • Most age specific rates were lower in August 2025 than in 2024, other than the rate for those aged 65 to 74 years which was 0.1% higher. The death rate for those aged 0-44 years was 5.0% lower than in 2024. Compared to 2023, the rates for those aged 0-44 years and 75 to 84 years were 2.0% and 2.4% respectively lower in August 2025. Other age groups had higher age specific death rates in August 2025 than 2023.
  • For males, all age groups had a lower age specific death rate in August 2025 than in 2024, with the death rate for those aged 85 years and older 3.0% higher. Compared to August 2023, the rates for those aged 65 to 74 years and 75 to 84 years were 2.6% lower in 2025, while the death rate for those aged 45 to 64 years was 2.3% higher.
  • For females, all age groups had a lower death rate in August 2025 than in 2024 other than those aged 65 to 74 years, which was 4.4% higher. The death rate for those aged 0-44 years was 11.6% lower in 2025, and those aged 75-84 years had a death rate 8.1% lower. Compared to 2023, the death rate for those aged 65 to 74 years was 8.6% higher in 2025, and those aged 85 years and older was 0.7% higher but the other age groups had lower rage specific rates.
  • For all age groups, males have a higher death rate compared to females, with the rate ratio being largest in the youngest age groups and smallest in the oldest age group.

Year to date, January to August 2025

  • For males and females, all death rates for January to August 2025 are lower than the comparable rates in 2024 and 2023 with the exception of females aged 65 to 74 years (0.1% higher than in 2024 but 1.6% lower than in 2023). The death rate for males aged under 45 years in 2025 is 8.4% lower than in 2024 and 5.7% lower than in 2023. For females, the death rate for those aged under 45 years is 4.4% lower than in 2024 and 9.8% lower than in 2023.
Age specific rates, 2025, 2024, 2023 (a) (b) (c) (d)
 AugustJanuary - August
 202520242023202520242023
Persons 
0-444.1864.4064.27031.37333.73433.787
45-6429.54730.03629.423225.326233.185229.977
65-74100.09699.97998.394747.399765.325766.235
75-84283.185297.408290.1792,110.9362,201.0482,257.109
85 and over1,174.3941,200.0831,167.2298,525.0878,941.0308,899.417
All ages61.48662.11059.828452.820465.545461.622
Males      
0-445.3215.3715.33740.05643.71842.472
45-6437.55237.73236.714285.997295.095289.398
65-74121.418124.832124.621928.225965.578955.965
75-84342.261349.447351.5462,520.5452,605.6612,692.297
85 and over1,240.7051,278.4201,237.1559,036.8509,541.0259,564.306
All ages64.58364.90063.060477.351491.205486.617
Females      
0-443.0153.4123.17022.41923.45224.849
45-6421.84022.62322.390166.900173.541172.649
65-7480.59177.17374.238581.877581.415591.305
75-84230.738251.009235.3211,746.8861,839.8601,867.953
85 and over1,128.8731,147.1531,120.7898,175.5508,537.7608,459.833
All ages58.43359.36056.639428.633440.247436.976

a. Data is by occurrence.
b. Data is provisional and subject to change.
c. Doctor certified and coroner referred deaths are included.
d. Age-specific death rates reflect deaths per 100,000 of the estimated resident population (ERP).

Mortality by selected causes of death

Cause-specific mortality

The following analysis is based only on doctor certified deaths (i.e. coroner referred deaths are not included). Any changes in patterns of coroner referral could affect counts of doctor certified deaths. Some conditions have higher coroner referral rates (ischaemic heart disease, cerebrovascular diseases and to a lesser extent, respiratory diseases and diabetes) so counts for those conditions would be more likely to be affected by such changes.

August 2025

  • Deaths due to respiratory diseases in August 2025 were 1.1% higher than 2024 and 23.1% higher than in 2023. There were 218 deaths due to influenza in August 2025, compared to 198 in 2024 and 32 in 2023. Deaths due to chronic respiratory diseases in August 2025 were 2.7% lower than in 2024 but 9.8% higher than in 2023. Deaths due to pneumonia were 5.2% higher than in 2024 and 20.9% higher than in 2023.
  • Deaths due to COVID-19 that were certified by a doctor were 48.4% lower in August 2025 than in 2024 but 4.6% higher than 2023.
  • Deaths due to other cardiac conditions were 14.9% higher than in 2024 and 12.1% higher than in 2023, while deaths from cerebrovascular diseases were 10.6% higher than in 2024 and 4.1% higher than in 2023. 

Year to date, January to August 2025

  • Deaths due to respiratory diseases between January and August 2025 were 1.9% higher than 2024 and 16.5% higher than 2023. The 861 deaths due to influenza in the year to August for 2025 are higher than both 2024 (632 deaths) and 2023 (275 deaths). Deaths due to pneumonia are 1.3% higher in 2025 than in 2024 and 20.2% higher than in 2023.
  • Deaths due to COVID-19 that were certified by a doctor between January and August 2025 were 53.9% lower than in 2024 and 57.4% lower than in 2023.
  • Deaths due to dementia in 2025 are 2.3% higher than in 2024 and 7.8% higher than in 2023.
  • Deaths due to ischaemic heart disease and diabetes were lower in 2025 than in 2024 or 2023.
Doctor certified deaths by cause, 2025, 2024, 2023 (a)(b)
 AugustJanuary - August
 202520242023202520242023
Cancer4,3434,4194,32534,22934,56834,084
Respiratory diseases1,7251,7061,40110,99810,7899,443
 Chronic lower respiratory diseases8278507535,5105,6565,122
 Influenza and pneumonia5024682672,6992,4471,804
  Pneumonia2842702351,8381,8151,529
Dementia1,6991,7191,50612,46012,18411,556
Ischaemic heart disease1,1301,1701,2058,3358,5569,065
Other cardiac conditions1,0599229457,0186,9466,779
Cerebrovascular diseases8157377835,8315,8256,035
Diabetes4795015043,4873,5913,688
COVID-191593081521,4023,0403,291

a. Only doctor certified deaths are included.
b. Data is by date of occurrence.

Timeliness and completeness of data

Each death registration in the national mortality dataset has 3 dates:

  • The date on which the death occurred.
  • The date on which the death was registered with the jurisdictional Registry of Births Deaths and Marriages (RBDM).
  • The date on which the death was lodged with the ABS. 

When looking to measure change over time, the completeness of data for the most recent period is important. When data is received each month by the ABS, the lag between the date of death and the date of registration means that approximately 40-50% of reported registrations are of deaths that occurred in the month being reported. The remainder are deaths that occurred in earlier months.

For deaths which are doctor certified, approximately 95% of registrations are received after a second month of reporting, while for coroner certified deaths, the proportion of registrations reported after a second month is lower (approximately 80%). This is because it takes longer for coroners to certify deaths due to the complexity of investigations.

As coroner referred deaths make up a smaller proportion of all deaths (approximately 11-14%) their inclusion in all-cause data only reduces the overall completeness by around 2%. This should be considered when making comparisons with historical counts, noting also that the level of completeness will be higher for the start of any given month than the end of that month. 

This pattern of registration and reporting is highlighted in the table below, which also shows the slight variation in reporting timelines by cause of death.

Estimated completeness of death registrations received by the ABS (a)(b)(c)
 Total proportion reported at the end of
Cause of deaththe month the death occurred (%)the month after the death occurred (%)two months after the death occurred (%)
All cause - doctor and coroner certified42.993.597.7
All cause - doctor certified only45.695.398.6
All cause - coroner certified only24.080.991.7
Ischaemic heart disease (I20 – I25)44.094.998.4
Other cardiac conditions (I26 – I51)45.795.898.8
Cerebrovascular diseases (I60 – I69)46.495.698.8
Respiratory diseases (J00 – J99)46.096.299.1
Chronic lower respiratory diseases (J40 – J47)44.594.398.1
Influenza and pneumonia (J09 – J18)45.595.698.7
Cancer (C00 – C97, D45, D46, D47.1, D47.3 – D47.5)47.095.898.8
Diabetes (E10 – E14)43.892.597.0
Dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease (F01, F03, G30, G31.0, G31.8)46.296.199.0

a. Percentages are based on the date registrations were received by the ABS for deaths that occurred in 2020-2024.
b. Only doctor certified deaths are included for cause-specific data.
c. Data is provisional and subject to change.

The graphs below show how numbers of deaths for each period have increased over time as additional registrations that occurred in previous months are reported to the ABS. Due to these increases, data for the most recently reported periods should be treated with caution.

Data downloads

Provisional Mortality Statistics, Jan - Aug 2025

Data files

Previous catalogue number

This release previously used catalogue number 3303.0.55.004

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