Aims and justification

The overall aim of the Victorian Aboriginal Child Mortality Study,1988-2008 is to accurately measure Aboriginal infant, child and youth mortality and the disparities between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal populations in Victoria for births occurring between 1988 and 2008.  In order to calculate accurate mortality rates, an accurate count of births is essential.

Current counts of Aboriginal births and deaths vary greatly between individual datasets principally due to inconsistent classification of Aboriginal births (those born to Aboriginal mothers versus those born to Aboriginal mothers and/or fathers), and the estimated under-identification of Indigenous status in birth and death collections/registrations.

The number of Aboriginal births recorded in any given year can vary greatly between statutory and administrative datasets. Reporting does not currently indicate whether the recorded births are discreet, overlap or are additive between datasets, therefore a definitative number of births cannot be determined.

Due to an incompleteness of data identifying Aboriginal deaths in Victoria, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) excludes data from Victoria in national reports on Indigenous mortality. Therefore, Indigenous infant mortality and life expectancy are only calculated for the Northern Territory, South Australia, New South Wales, Queensland and Western Australia, where data are estimated to be of sufficient completeness to report (Deaths Australia 2007).

This study will build on past and continuing efforts of State and Commonwealth governments to further reform the quality of Aboriginal data in health information systems. Access to accurate data is crucial for State and Commonwealth policy makers and the community-controlled health sector to develop and evaluate initiatives aimed at improving Aboriginal health in Victoria. 

This study aligns with State and Commonwealth government commitments to ‘close the gap’ in life expectancy between the Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal population, and to ‘halve the gap’ in mortality rates for children under five years. The results of this study will provide a more accurate baseline from which to monitor progress towards these goals and evaluate future initiatives and investment.