Child Deaths in the ACT 2016-2020


This fact sheet is a summary of key information from the Committee’s Annual Report 2020.

Download the Child Deaths in the ACT 2016-2020 factsheet [PDF 159KB]

Between 2016 and 2020, 127 ACT resident children aged 0 to 17 were recorded in the ACT Child Death Register. Due to ongoing coronial proceedings, 10 of these deaths were not reported on in the annual report.

Over the five-year period, the average number of deaths of ACT resident children was 25 per year and the age-specific mortality rate was relatively stable from year to year.

Age is a key predictor of mortality risk

As shown in Table 1, a higher number of deaths occurred in the early years and in adolescence.

Table 1: ACT resident children who died in 2016–2020*

 

Number

Per cent

Total

Persons 0–17 years of age

117

 

Sex

Female

59

51

Male

58

49

Age

< 28 days

60

51

28–365 days

13

11

1–4 years

10

9

5–9 years

5

4

10–14 years

13

11

15–17 years

16

14

*Not including coronial cases.

Causes of death differ between life stages

As shown in Table 2, medical causes and extreme prematurity were the most frequent causes of death for young children with older children and young people primarily dying from unintentional injuries, accidents or suicide.

Table 2: Cause of death—ACT resident children who died in 2016–2020

 

Number

Per cent

Total

Persons 0–17 years of age

117

 

Cause of death

Medical causes

65

56

Extreme prematurity

30

26

Suicide

10

9

Unintentional injury/accident

6

5

Deaths of vulnerable children and young people in the ACT

Between 2016 and 2020, neonates and infants represented 65% of all deaths, which was consistent with trends from previous years. Most were neonates under 28 days, born preterm.

The next highest number of deaths occurred in the 15 to 17 age group representing 14% of all deaths during the five-year period. Suicide was the leading cause of death for this age group.

Of the children and young people who died during the five-year period, 14% were known to Child and Youth Protection Services (CYPS) with females having a slightly higher representation. A larger group of children (31%) were known to ACT Policing, noting that for the latter, most contact related only to the death incident.

Progress made on previous recommendations

The Committee reported significant progress on most recommendations made, such as improving messaging about safe sleeping, educating staff on child-focused practice and increasing support for families with a history of intergenerational trauma.

The following concerns were noted:

The Committee will continue to monitor progress to improve systems and policies to achieve better outcomes for the safety and wellbeing of children and young people in the ACT.

Contact us

If you have comments about the findings from the annual report, the ACT Children and Young People Death Review Committee is keen to receive feedback from interested ACT residents.

Email:ChildDeathCommittee@act.gov.au
Phone: 02 6207 7764
Website: www.childdeathcommittee.act.gov.au