ABORIGINAL AND TORRES STRAIT ISLANDER YOUNG PEOPLE

Comparative snapshot of the health and wellbeing of Indigenous young people

Health status and wellbeing Indigenous Non-Indigenous Rate ratio(a)
Physical and mental Proportion of young people aged 15–24 years rating
*90% *93%(b) 1.0
wellbeing their health as ‘excellent’, ‘very good’ or ‘good’ (2007–08)
Death rates for young people aged 12–24 years
Deaths *90 per 100,000 *38 per 100,000 2.4
(2003–2007)
Proportion of young people aged 18–24 years having
Mental health high or very high levels of psychological distress as *33% *14% 2.4
measured by the Kessler 5 (K5) scale(c)(d) (2007–08)
Injury and poisoning death rate for young people aged
*84 per 100,000 *32 per 100,000 2.6
15–24 years (2003–2007)
Road transport accident death rate for young people
*26 per 100,000 *13 per 100,000 2.0
aged 15–24 years (2003–2007)
Assault death rate for young people aged 15–24 years
*6 per 100,000 *1 per 100,000 6.0
(2003–2007)
Injury and poisoning
Suicide rate for young people aged 15–24 years
*33 per 100,000 *8 per 100,000 4.1
(2003–2007)
Accidental poisoning death rate for young people
3 per 100,000 2 per 100,000 1.5
aged 15–24 years (2003–2007)
Injury and poisoning hospitalisation rate for young
*3,809 per 100,000 *2,243 per 100,000(e) 1.7
people aged 15–24 years (2008–09)
Prevalence of long-term conditions among young
59% 63% 0.9
people aged 12–24 years (2007–08)
Proportion of young people aged 12–24 years with
*16% *13% 1.2
asthma as a long-term condition (2007–08)
Chronic conditions
Incidence of diabetes among young people aged
9 per 100,000 13 per 100,000 0.7
15–24 years (Type 1 diabetes only, 2005–2007)
Incidence of cancer per 100,000 young people aged
*14 per 100,000 *25 per 100,000 0.6
12–24 years (2003–2007)
Incidence of vaccine-preventable diseases among

Part VII
*121 per 100,000 *43 per 100,000 2.8
young people aged 12–24 years (2008)
Pertussis (2008) 56 per 100,000 37 per 100,000 1.5
Hepatitis A, B, and C notification rates for young people
*185 per 100,000 *30 per 100,000 6.2
aged 12–24 years (2008)
Hepatitis A (2008) 1.4 per 100,000 1.7 per 100,000 0.8
Hepatitis B (2008) 61 per 100,000 13 per 100,000 4.7
Communicable
diseases Hepatitis C (2008) 123 per 100,000 15 per 100,000 8.2
HIV infection notification rate for young people aged
3 per 100,000 3 per 100,000 1.0
12–24 years (2004–2008)
Incidence of notifiable sexually transmissible infections
*4,519 per 100,000 *428 per 100,000 10.6
among young people aged 12–24 years (2008)

Chlamydia (2008) 2,880 per 100,000 405 per 100,000 7.1

Gonorrhoea (2008) 1,540 per 100,000 19 per 100,000 81.1

42. Health and wellbeing of Indigenous young people 173

 Factors influencing health Indigenous Non-Indigenous Rate ratio(a)
Overweight Proportion of young people aged 15–24 who are
*37% *27% 1.4
and obesity overweight or obese(d) (2007–08)
Proportion of young people aged 15–24 years meeting
Physical activity *14% *34% 0.4
the National Physical Activity Guidelines (2007–08)(f )
Proportion of young people aged 12–24 years meeting
Nutrition *5% *8% 0.6
Australian Dietary Guidelines (2007–08)
Proportion of young people aged 15–24 years who *Males 39% *Males 16% 2.4
are daily smokers(d) (2008 (Indigenous); 2007–08
(Non-Indigenous)) *Females 40% *Females 14% 2.9
Substance use
Proportion of young people aged 18–24 years who *23% (ST) 15% (ST) 1.5
drink at risky or high-risk levels in the short term (ST)
or long term (LT)(d) (2004–05) 16% (LT) 14% (LT) 1.1

Sexual and
Age-specific birth rate for 15–19 year old women (2008) *78 per 1,000 *14 per 1,000 5.3
reproductive health
Family and community factors Indigenous Non-Indigenous Rate ratio(a)
Proportion of young people aged 18–24 years who
are able to get support in a time of crisis from persons
Social capital *90% *96%(b) 0.9
living outside the household (2008 (Indigenous); 2006
(all young people))
Rate of young people aged 12–17 years who were
+ +
the subject of a substantiation of a child protection 22 per 1,000 4 per 1,000(e) 5.5
Child protection notification received in a given year (2009–10)
Rate of young people aged 12–17 years who are the + +
42 per 1,000 6 per 1,000(e) 7.0
subject of care and protection orders (2009–10)
Rate of young people aged 18–24 years who have
Victims of violence been the victim of physical or threatened violence(d)(g) *33% *24% 1.4
(2008 (Indigenous); 2006 (all young people))
Rate of young people aged 12–17 years who are + +
30 per 1,000 2 per 1,000 15 
Young people under juvenile justice supervision (2008–09)
and crime Rate of imprisonment for young people aged + +
26 per 1,000 2 per 1,000 13 
18–24 years (2009)
Proportion of young people aged 12–17 years living in
Environmental
households where a household member smoked inside *33% *12% 2.8
tobacco smoke
the home (2004–05)(h)
Proportion of young people aged 15–24 years who live
Overcrowded housing 27% 10% 2.7
in overcrowded housing (2006)
Socioeconomic factors Indigenous Non-Indigenous Rate ratio(a)
Proportion of young people in Year 7 and Year 9
achieving at or above the national minimum standards *59–76% *89–96% .. 
for reading, writing and numeracy (2009)
Education + +
Apparent retention rate from Year 7/8 to Year 12 (2009) 45% 77% 0.6
Proportion of young people aged 15–24 years
*41% *58% 0.7
undertaking study leading to qualifications (2008)
Full-time participation rate of young people aged
40% 77%(b) 0.5
18–24 years in education or employment (2008)(d)
Employment
Unemployment rate for young people aged
26.5% 11.5%(b) 2.3
15–24 years (2009)
Proportion of young people aged 15–24 years receiving + +
45% 16% 2.8
government income support (2008)
Income Proportion of young people aged 18–24 years who live
in households that experience financial stress (2008 *60% *36%(b) 1.7
(Indigenous); (2006 all young people))
Proportion of young people aged 12–24 years
+ +
whose parents did not complete secondary school 22% 7% 3.1
Socioeconomic (Year 10 or above) (2006)
status of parents
Proportion of young people aged 12–24 years living in + +
35% 12% 2.9
jobless families (2006)

174 Young Australians: their health and wellbeing 2011