Deaths
In 2018, the death rate among young people aged 15–24 was 35 deaths per 100,000. Overall, the death rate among young people has fallen over time from 42 deaths per 100,000 in 2009 to 35 deaths per 100,000 in 2018.
Death rates were higher among young males (49 per 100,000) than females (20 per 100,000) (AIHW 2019b). The leading cause of death among young people was injuries (74%).
In 2018, injuries contributed 845 deaths of young people aged 15–24—a rate of 26 per 100,000 people. The leading causes of injury deaths were intentional self-harm (51%), land transport accidents (26%) and accidental poisoning (8.0%).
In 2018, the age-specific rate of suicide among young people was 13.5 per 100,000. Young people accounted for 14% of suicide deaths. The rate of suicide was higher among young males (20 per 100,000) than females (6.4 per 100,000) (ABS 2019b).
Between 2009 and 2018, the rate of suicide among young people increased from 9.1 per 100,000 in 2009 to 14 per 100,000 in 2018 (ABS 2019b).
See Causes of death and Suicide and intentional self-harm for more information.
Overweight and obesity
According to estimates from the ABS National Health Survey 2017–18, 41% (1.3 million) of young people aged 15–24 were overweight or obese. This proportion was higher among males than females—47% (737,000) of males aged 15–24 were overweight or obese compared with 36% (543,000) of females (ABS 2019c).
For further detail of how overweight and obesity is defined and measured, see Overweight and obesity.
Substance use
Data from the 2019 National Drug Strategy Household Survey (NDSHS) are available to report on substance use among young people aged 14–24. Self-reported data from the 2019 NDSHS found that 97% of young people aged 14–17 and 80% of people aged 18–24 had never smoked tobacco.
Fewer young people are taking up smoking
The proportion of people aged 14–17 who had never smoked increased from 82% in 2001 to 97% in 2019.
The proportion of 14–17 year olds who were daily smokers decreased from 11% in 2001 to 1.9% in 2019. However, the estimate for 2019 should be interpreted with caution as the RSE (relative standard error) is between 25% and 50%.
In 2019, two-thirds (66%) of young people aged 14–17 had never had a full serve of alcohol, compared with only 15% of those aged 18–24. The proportion of 14–17 year olds consuming 5 or more drinks at least monthly remained stable between 2016 and 2019 (8.0% and 8.9%, respectively) but has declined since 2001 (30%) (AIHW 2020b).
There were no significant declines among 14–17 year olds in recent illicit drug use (at least once in the past 12 months) between 2016 and 2019. However recent use was considerably lower in 2019 (9.7%) than in 2001 (23%); use of cannabis fell from 21% to 8.2% (AIHW 2020b).
For more detailed information about substance use among Australians, see Tobacco smoking, Alcohol risk and harm and Illicit drug use.
Sexual and reproductive health
In 2018, the sixth National Survey of Australian Secondary Students and Sexual Health found:
- most students in Years 10, 11 and 12 had engaged in some form of sexual activity, from deep kissing (74%) to sexual intercourse (47%)
- most sexually active students reported that they had discussed having sex (81%) and protecting their sexual health (77%) prior to sex, and were using condoms (57%) and/or oral contraception (41%)
- one-third (33%) of students reported ‘sexting’ in the previous 2 months (mostly with a boyfriend, girlfriend or friend) (Fisher et al. 2019).
A large proportion of students (79%) had accessed the internet to find answers to sexual health information, but the most trusted sources of information were: GPs (89%), followed by mothers (60%) and community health services (55%) (Fisher et al. 2019).
Mental health services
In 2018–19, young people aged 12–24 made up 21% (557,000) of all people receiving Medicare-subsidised mental health-specific services. Across different service providers, young people aged 12–24 accounted for:
- 19% (78,100) of people receiving services from psychiatrists
- 21% (472,000) of people receiving services from general practitioners
- 22% (118,000) of people receiving services from clinical psychologists
- 23% (169,000) of people receiving services from other psychologists
- 23% (25,200) of people receiving services from other allied health providers (AIHW 2020a).
For further information, see Mental health services.
HPV immunisation
Immunisation against the human papillomavirus (HPV) can prevent cervical and other cancers, and other HPV-related diseases. The National HPV Vaccination Program has been immunising adolescent girls since 2007 and was extended to boys in 2013.
In 2015–16:
- 80% of girls aged 15 were fully immunised against HPV, an increase from 79% in 2014–15
- 74% of boys aged 15 were fully immunised against HPV, an increase from 67% in 2014–15 (AIHW 2018).
See Immunisation and vaccination.
Patient experiences
The ABS Patient Experiences in Australia survey collects information about access and barriers to a range of health care services. In 2018–19, the most common health service used by young people aged 15–24 in the 12 months before the survey was a general practitioner (GP) (Figure 3) (ABS 2019d).
In 2018–19, the majority of young people who saw a GP said the GP always: listened carefully (71%), showed respect (79%) and spent enough time with them (71%). However, 19% said they waited longer than they felt was acceptable to get an appointment (ABS 2019d).
See Patient experience of health care.