The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Causes of Death report shows that in 2021, 1,559 people in Australia died of an alcohol-induced death, such as chronic conditions like liver cirrhosis or acute conditions such as alcohol poisoning. Alcohol-induced deaths were recorded at a rate of 5.4 deaths for every 100,000 people living in Australia – the highest rate reported in 10 years. The rate of alcohol-induced deaths is higher for men, for people in the lowest socio-economic quintile and people living outside capital cities. The Northern Territory, Queensland, South Australia and Tasmania reported higher alcohol-induced death rates than the national death rate.
FARE’s report draws upon the ABS data release on 19 October 2022, which included data for the full 2021 calendar year. A list of current and past data releases from the ABS Cause of Death series can be found here.
