Causes of death

• The 65 deaths involving COVID-19 in October 2025 is the lowest since September 2021.
• Deaths from influenza fell in October 2025 (101 deaths), but are still high compared to earlier years.
• Influenza deaths for the year are comparable to 2017.

• 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.

Statistics on perinatal deaths including fetal (stillbirths) and neonatal deaths sourced from Registries of Births, Deaths and Marriages

• Dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease is now Australia’s leading cause of death.
• Ischaemic heart diseases are at their lowest rate in the available time series.
• There were 187,268 registered deaths in 2024, an increase of 4,137 since 2023.

• In 2024, 3,307 deaths have been classified as being due to suicide.
• The crude suicide rate was 12.2 per 100,000 people.
• Suicide was the 16th leading cause of death.
• People who died by suicide had a median age of 46.0 years.

• Drug and alcohol-induced deaths both increased in 2024.
• There were 269 deaths due to assault – 168 males and 101 females.
• Accidental falls were the leading external cause of death and the 8th leading cause overall.
• 17,470 deaths reported injuries or poisoning as an associated cause, an increase of 4.4%.

Statistics on doctor certified death registrations