Falls, transport, assault and accidental poisoning are among the leading external causes of injury, hospitalisations and deaths in Australia, according to new data from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW).

An update to the report, Injury in Australia 2022–23, presents the latest injury-related hospitalisations (2022–23) and deaths (2021–22), including trends over the preceding decade and local area information about four (4) major external causes of injury.

Data examined for mortality varies by year due to being updated and released one year later than hospitalisations.

‘This ongoing work monitors trends in injuries as a major cause of morbidity, permanent disability and mortality with the aim of informing discussion around injury risk, prevention and management,’ said AIHW spokesperson Dr Sarah Ahmed. 

Falls

‘Falls have remained the leading cause of injury-related hospitalisation and fatality in Australia over the past decade and across most regions,’ said Dr Ahmed.

Falls resulted in 238,055 hospitalisations in 2022–23, accounting for more than 2 in 5 (43.4%) of all injury hospitalisations. They also accounted for more than 2 in 5 (6,378) injury deaths in 2021–22, with rates increasing due to age. 

Slips, trips and stumbles were the most frequent cause, with 74,399 cases in 2022–23, however, hospitalisation patterns varied by season and the type of falls.

Transport

Transport was another leading cause of injury hospitalisation in 2022–23, resulting in around 61,200 hospitalisations.

Cars were the type of vehicle most frequently involved in both transport injury related hospitalisations (over 20,000 cases) and deaths (over 720 fatalities). Transport-related injuries resulted in 1,500 deaths in 2021–22 and were most common among males (1,148 deaths). 

‘Across types of transport, age groups and sexes, injury rates generally decreased over the past decade,’ said Dr Ahmed.

Assault

Assault resulted in 20,490 hospitalisations in 2022–23 and 218 homicides in 2021–22, with people aged 25–44 most likely to be affected. 

While males were the most common perpetrators across all assault types, the patterns of assault injury hospitalisations differed based on who was assaulted and the nature of the assault.

Accidental poisoning

Accidental poisoning resulted in 8,921 injury hospitalisations in 2022–23 and 1,567 injury deaths in 2021–22.

Children aged 0–4 were most likely to be affected, with around 80 hospitalisations and 11 deaths per 100,000 population. 

Among accidental poisoning related hospitalisations, the proportion of cases severe enough to require ventilatory support has doubled over the past decade from around 4% in 2012–13 to 8% in 2022–23.

Common substances associated with both accidental poisoning hospitalisations and deaths include antiepileptics, sedatives and psychotropics and narcotics, opioids and hallucinogens. 

Among non-pharmaceutical substances, alcohol was responsible for the highest number of accidental poisoning deaths (155 in 2021–22).