A Review of Suicide Statistics in Australia (Injury Research and Statistics Series Number 49, Catalogue Number INJCAT 121)

This report investigated deaths occurring in 2004 using cases extracted from the National Coroners Information System as at early 2008. Comparisons were made using data added from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, including Underlying Causes of Death codes, & with aggregate data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics mortality data files. The comparisons indicated that a lack of information from coroners concerning intent impeded the assignment of ICD-10 codes by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The main effect of this was that some deaths coded in one system as intentional self-harm were not coded as such in the other. Aside from incomplete information, the quality of Australian Bureau of Statistics coding appears to be good. (27 refs.)