New mortality statistics and other information to measure COVID-19 impacts

The ABS is releasing a third tranche of new statistical products to meet critical COVID-19 information needs.

These new products are in addition to those announced on 16 March and 31 March 2020.

Provisional Monthly Mortality Statistics: Commencing in the second half of June, the ABS will release monthly mortality statistics to provide more timely information about mortality patterns. The first release in June will include deaths occurring from January to March 2020. The monthly mortality information will include:

· the total provisional number of deaths as certified by doctors;
· deaths by key causes for all deaths certified by doctors. These data will be compared to baseline measures derived from historic data; and
· COVID-19 deaths in Australia, including basic demographic information and the presence of other health conditions.

Other new statistical products recently released are:

· Provisional statistics on international travel based on border crossings into and out of Australia. These statistics are released monthly. The first release occurred on 13 May 2020.
· New interactive maps examining the geographic distribution of Persons with Disability, Unpaid Carers and Weekly Payroll Jobs; and
· A series of technical notes describing Economic Measurement during COVID-19 within the Balance of Payments and International Investment Position, Government Finance Statistics and National Accounts. The technical notes describe the classification of withdrawals from superannuation accounts prior to retirement, JobKeeper payments, and government temporary cash flow support in ABS economic statistics.

The ABS will continue to identify opportunities to make additional information on COVID-19 impacts available to the community and government. Further announcements will be made as necessary.

Dr David Gruen
Australian Statistician
27 May 2020