3.3
Right to life, survival and development
79. Australia’s most recent injury prevention and safety promotion plan
expired in 2014. In its May 2018 budget, the Australian Government
committed to develop a new National Injury Prevention Strategy to reduce
the risk of injury for Australian children, and pledged $0.9 million over
three years, from 2018–2019. This is a welcome development.
(a)
Child mortality
80. There is no regular national report on all causes of death for Australian
children under the age of 18 years.
81. Existing data merges developmental age groups without differentiating
between childhood, adolescence and early adulthood. This makes it
difficult to use the data to guide interventions, policy-making and planning
for children.
82. Since 2008 the number of infant deaths (children less than one year of
age) has decreased. The 2016 infant mortality rate was 3.1 infant deaths
per 1000 live births—the lowest on record.58 Since 2001, the death rate for
Indigenous infants also decreased, but it is still almost twice the rate for all
infants.59
83. There are mechanisms for reviewing child deaths in all states and
territories in Australia. Most report on the number and causes of death of
children under 18 years of age, and include reviews of deaths where
children have been involved in child protection systems. However, as the
Australian Institute of Family Studies (AIFS) points out, ‘there is no uniform
structure or legislation for child death review team responsibilities.
Reporting requirements vary for each state or territory’.60
84. The Australian and New Zealand Child Death Review and Prevention
Group (ANZCDR&PG), of which the NCC is a member, was established in
2005 with the aim of developing national comparable child death statistics,
and to better understand and prevent child deaths. In 2014, the NCC
recommended that the ANZCDR&PG be supported to continue its work in
relation to the development of a national child death database, in
conjunction with the AIHW.
(b)
Intentional self-harm and suicide in children aged 0–17 years
85. In 2014, the NCC conducted an examination of intentional self-harm and
suicide in children aged 0–17 years. Self-harm deaths were reported for
15