How Should Australia’s Five-Year Perinatal Death Figures Be Read?

Sonal Goyal

10 November 2026 10:05 PM AEDT

How Should Australia’s Five-Year Perinatal Death Figures Be Read?

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Highlights

The published perinatal death rate was 8.8 per 1,000 births in 2021 and 9.8 in 2025.
The recorded perinatal death count was 2,744 in 2021 and 2,895 in 2025.
The ABS identifies a break in the stillbirth Time Series affecting Victorian and national data.

Australia’s latest perinatal death publication presents five years of counts and rates alongside qualifications about reporting scope and birth registrations. Released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics on 10 November 2026, the 2025 figures show 2,895 perinatal deaths and a rate of 9.8 deaths per 1,000 births. Both were lower than in 2024.

Counts and Rates Follow Different Published Patterns

Perinatal death counts were 2,744 in 2021, 2,739 in 2022 and 2,695 in 2023. They increased to 2,952 in 2024 before decreasing to 2,895 in 2025.

The published perinatal death rates were 8.8 per 1,000 births in 2021, 9.0 in 2022 and 9.3 in 2023. The rate reached 10.0 in 2024 and declined to 9.8 in 2025.

The series therefore records lower counts in 2022 and 2023 than in their respective preceding years, while the published rate increased in each year. A death count reports the number received; a rate relates that number to the relevant birth denominator.

The ABS specifically refers readers to its methodology for influences on birth registrations used to calculate the rates. It advises caution when interpreting perinatal death rates.

Three Categories With Two Birth Denominators

Perinatal deaths comprise stillbirths and neonatal deaths. In 2025, the recorded total consisted of 2,111 stillbirths and 784 neonatal deaths.

Stillbirths are fetal deaths at a gestation of at least 20 weeks or a birth weight of at least 400 grams. The publication’s table notes that fetal deaths with unstated gestation and/or birth weight are included within scope.

Neonatal deaths concern live born babies of any birth weight or gestation who die within 28 completed days of birth.

Stillbirth and perinatal death rates are expressed per 1,000 births, including live births and stillbirths. The neonatal rate is expressed per 1,000 live births only. For 2025, these rates were 7.2, 9.8 and 2.7 respectively.

Victorian Scope Change Affects National Comparisons

From 2024, Victorian stillbirth data back to 2020 was revised. The collection now uses Medical Certificates of Cause of Perinatal Death rather than registrations. The ABS describes the change as a break in the time series affecting both Victorian and national data.

The publication generally presents data by year of registration, while Victorian stillbirths are presented by year of receipt. These reporting bases are stated separately in the release.

The administrative collection draws on state and territory Registries of Births, Deaths and Marriages. Victoria includes Medical Certificates of Cause of Perinatal Death, and Tasmania includes birth notifications. Cause-of-death information is coded using the tenth revision of the International Classification of Diseases.

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