3303.0.55.001 - Causes of Death, Australia: Doctor Certified Deaths, Summary Tables, 2009 Quality Declaration 
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 13/12/2010   
   Page tools: Print Print Page Print all pages in this productPrint All

NOTES


ABOUT THIS PUBLICATION

This publication contains summary information relating to cause of death for those deaths certified by doctors. It should be noted that these data represent only a subset of all causes of death, and that the numbers presented here are not comprehensive. Doctor certified deaths accounted for 86.7% of all deaths registered in 2009. The remainder are reported to, and certified by, a coroner.

Although what constitutes a reportable death varies across jurisdictions, they are generally reported in circumstances such as:

  • where the person died unexpectedly and the cause of death is unknown;
  • where the person died in a violent or unnatural manner;
  • where the person died during, or as a result of, an anaesthetic;
  • where the person was 'held in care' or in custody immediately before they died; and
  • where the identity of the person who has died is otherwise unknown.

A complete dataset of causes of death for 2009 will be published in Causes of Death, Australia, 2009 (cat.no. 3303.0), due to be released in 2011. For further information on certification of causes of death, refer to Explanatory Notes 2-3.


INQUIRIES

For further information about these and related statistics, contact the National Information and Referral Service on 1300 135 070.