Mortality Data Variables
Items in bold red are sensitive and require justification. Items supplied by the ABS have been listed in a separate section.
Unless otherwise stated, approved items are available for release for registrations from 1969 to current. Items for earlier registrations may be backfilled when/if registration corrected.
Variable Name / DLB Variable Name / Values / Comments /Registration year / r_year / Number(4)
YYYY / Year event registered
Based on registration year, not year of death. /
Sex / sex / Varchar(1)
M - Male
F - Female
U - Unknown
N - Not determined
Blanks – not recorded / Sex of the deceased person from Death Registration Form
U – 1970 onwards. Small numbers.
N – 1984 onwards. Small numbers. /
Subset date of birth / DOB_YYYYMM
DOB_YYYY / YYYYMM
YYYY
Blanks – not recorded / DOB is subset by DLB. /
Age / age / Number(3)
Blanks – not recorded / Age at date of death
Must select AGE_TEXT in order to put age in context. /
Age Text / age_text / Varchar(3)
Y - Years
M - Months
D – Days
U - Unknown
A - Approximate age in years
W - Weeks
H - Hours
MI - Minutes
S - Seconds
NBA - Not born alive
Blanks – not recorded / Context for age at date of death from Death Registration Form.
Y: 1969 onwards
M: 1969 onwards.
D: 1969 onwards.
U: 1980-2001.
A: 1984-1997.
W: 1984 onwards.
H: 1984 onwards.
MI: 1984 onwards.
S: 1984-2006.
NBA: 1984 onwards. /
Aboriginality or Torres Strait Islander (ATI) Status of deceased person / aborigin / Varchar(2)
Y – Yes
NS – Not stated
UN – Unknown
N – No
U – Unknown
A – Aboriginal
AT – Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander
T – Torres Strait Islander
Blanks – Not recorded / Pre 1982: Status not recorded.
Y: 1983-2001.
NS: 1984-2001.
UN: 1997-1997. Small numbers.
N: 1983 onwards.
U: 1985 onwards.
A: 2000 onwards.
AT: 2002 onwards. Small numbers.
T: 2004 onwards. Small numbers /
ATSI status (doctor) / ATSI_status_per_dr / Varchar(2)
A – Aboriginal
AT – Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander
T – Torres Strait Islander
N – No, not A, AT or T
U – Unknown
NS – Not stated / Pre 2002: Status not recorded.
AT: Small numbers.
T: Small numbers. /
Post mortem / postmort / Varchar(2)
N – Not to be conducted
C – Has been conducted
T – Yet to be conducted
W – Will be conducted
NS – Not stated
Blanks – not recorded / Post mortem status as recorded by doctor on the Medical Certificate of Cause of Death
W: 1984-1990 only. /
Marital status / marital / Varchar(1)
D – Divorced
M – Married
N –- Never married
P – Presumed widowed
S – Single
T – Presumed tribally married
U – Unknown
W – Widowed
Blanks – not recorded / N: 1986 onwards, but small numbers until 2001.
P: 1984 onwards, but small numbers.
T: 2001 onwards, but small numbers. /
Date of death / dod1 / Number(8)
YYYYMMDD
Blanks - not recorded / Date of death lower
1969 registrations onwards. /
dod2 / Number(8)
YYYYMMDD
Blanks - not recorded / Date of death upper
1984 registrations onwards. /
dodcode / Varchar(1)
A - The actual date of death is on or about the date in DOD1 (i.e., approximate).
B - The actual date of death is between the date in DOD1 and the date in DOD2.
D - Year, month and day are known, and are entered in DOD1.
F - The actual date of death is unknown; the date in DOD1 is the date the body was found.
R - Date is unknown; the date of registration is entered in DOD1.
d - Record taken from ABS (no description).
U - Unknown
Blanks - not recorded. / Description of date of death
If the DODCODE is equal to ‘d’, then DOD2 will be blank.
In all cases, except where DODCODE is equal to ‘B’, DOD2 will be blank.
A: 1984 onwards.
B: 1984-2003.
D: 1984 onwards.
F: 1985-2001. Small numbers.
R: 1987 & 1994. Total of 4 records.
d: 1969-1983. Small number of records 1984-1993.
U: 1980 onwards. Small numbers. /
Occupation / occuptxt / Varchar(100)
Blanks - not recorded. / 1984 onwards. /
MAIN_TASK / Varchar(150)
Blanks - not recorded. / 2002 onwards. /
Mother’s occupation / MOTH_OCCUP / Varchar(150)
Blanks - not recorded
Term ‘NOT STATED’ also used. / Occupation of the mother of the deceased as recorded on the Death Registration Form
2001 onwards. /
MOTH_MAIN_TASK / Varchar(100)
Blanks - not recorded
Term ‘NOT STATED’ also used. / 2002-2009. /
Father’s occupation / FATH_OCCUP / Varchar(150)
Blanks - not recorded
Term NOT STATED also used / Occupation of the father of the deceased as recorded on the Death Registration Form
2001 onwards. /
FATH_MAIN_TASK / Varchar(100)
Blanks - not recorded
Term NOT STATED also used. / 2002-2009. /
Country of birth / pob_COUNTRY / Varchar(50)
Blanks - not recorded / 2000 onwards.
Lots of variation in spelling of country names. /
Born overseas / POB_overseas / Varchar(1)
Y – Born overseas, otherwise blank / Born overseas flag added by DLB.
2002 onwards.
If POB_COUNTRY = AUSTRALIA and POB_COUNTRY = NULL then POB_OVERSEAS = ’Y’. /
Time resident in Australia / AUSTRALIA_YEARS / Varchar(3) / Residency in Australia (if born overseas) from Death Registration Form
2002 onwards. /
AUSTRALIA_MONTHS / Varchar(3) / 2002 onwards.
Probably derived from additional information written on Registration Form. /
Total time residency in Australian states / time_tot / Varchar(3)
Blanks – not recorded / 1984-2001
Calculated by DLB.
time_tot = ST_YRS_1 + ST_YRS_2 +… +ST_YRS_8. If ST_UNKN = 'Y' then TIME_TOT = '000'
e.g., NSW, 75, WA,10 = TIME_TOT=85
This field is a precursor to AUSTRALIA_YEARS. /
Time of occupancy in Western Australia / time_wa / Varchar(3)
Blanks - not recorded / 1984 -2001.
Calculated by DLB.
If ST_n = 'WA' then TIME_WA = TIME_WA + ST_YRS_n. If ST_UNKN = 'Y' then TIME_WA = '000'. /
State of residence unknown / st_unkn / Varchar(1)
Y – Yes
N – No
Blanks - not recorded / 1984-2001.
2002 onwards: ST_UNKN stores data from YEARS_IN_AUSTRALIA_UNKNOWN.
If States the person had lived is unknown, st_unkn = "Y", otherwise blank. If ST_UNKN = 'Y' then St_1-8 fields will be empty. /
State of residence / st_1
st_2
st_3
ST_4
st_5
st_6
st_7
st_8 / Varchar(3)
ACT - Australian Capital Territory
CHI - Christmas Islands
CHR - Christmas Islands
CI - Christmas Islands
CKI - Cocos (Keeling) Islands
COC - Cocos (Keeling) Islands
COK - Cocos (Keeling) Islands
NSW - New South Wales
NT - Northern Territory
QLD - Queensland
SA - South Australia
TAS - Tasmania
VIC - Victoria
WA - Western Australia
Blanks - not recorded / 1984 -2001.
This field was used to indicate the State(s) the deceased person had lived in during his/her life. /
Period of occupancy in State of residence / st_yrs_1
ST_yrs_2
ST_yrs_3
ST_yrs_4
ST_yrs_5
ST_yrs_6
ST_yrs_7
ST_yrs_8 / Varchar(3)
Blanks – not recorded / 1984 -2001.
This field was used to indicate the number of years the deceased person had lived in ST_n. /
Deceased pregnant within 6 weeks of death / preg_6_weeks / Varchar(2)
Y - Yes
N - No
NS - Not Stated
U - Unknown
Blanks - not recorded / Flag for pregnancy in previous 6 weeks of death as recorded on Medical Certificate of Cause of Death
2003 onwards. /
Deceased pregnant within 6 weeks and 12 months of death / preg_12_months / Varchar(2)
Y - Yes
N - No
NS - Not Stated
U - Unknown
Blanks - not recorded / Flag for pregnancy in previous 12 months of death as recorded on Medical Certificate of Cause of Death
2003 onwards. /
ABS variables
Projects receiving coded cause of death data are required to submit all publications to the Australian Coordinating Registry (ACR) for approval, prior to publishing. When coded cause of death data is destroyed, the ACR must also be notified. All outputs and publications must acknowledge the Victorian Department of Justice and the National Coronial Investigation System as joint-Custodians of the Cause of Death Unit Record File. Please note that all applications for linked ABS death data must be approved by the ACR, which may impact overall timeframes. /
Aboriginal flag / abs_aborig / Char(1)
Reg Year 1997-2003
0 – Not Indigenous or Unknown
1 – Indigenous
4 – Aboriginal
5 – Torres Strait Islander (TSI)
6 – both Aboriginal and TSI origin
7 – Not Stated
Reg Year 2004 onwards:
1 - Aboriginal not Torres Strait Islander origin
2 - Torres Strait Islander not Aboriginal origin
3 - Both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander origin
4 - Neither Aboriginal nor Torres Strait Islander origin
9 - Not stated / inadequately described / ATSI status as coded by ABS
Coding is based on year of registration, not year of death.
Must also select R_YEAR to obtain coding context. /
Postmortem flag / abs_pm / Char(1)
0 - Not collected
1 - Carried out
2 - To be carried out
3 - No Post Mortem
9 - Not stated / ABS Flag to indicate whether a postmortem was held
1999-2006. /
Occupation code / occup / Varchar(4)
ABS occupation codes / Pre-1982: 2 digit ABS Demography occupation codes.
1983-1989: 4 digit ABS Demography occupation codes.
1990-2002: 4 digit Australian Standard Classification of Occupations (ASCO).
2003 onward: As above, but the ABS also imputes occupation of deceased based on age and codes:
0907 Student/child
0801 Insufficient information
0918 Invalid/Pensioner/Retired person.
The ABS has strong reservation about the quality of occupation data. /
Country of birth code / pob / Varchar(4)
Blanks – not recorded / Pre-1978: 2 digit country code.
1978-1982: 3 digit country code.
1983-1990: 3 digit country code, revised.
1991 onwards: 4 digit Australian Standard Classification of Countries for Social Statistics (1269.0) /
Cause of death code / codcode / Varchar(4)
ICD codes
Blanks – not recorded. / The registration year of the record that dictates which ICD version is used, not the year of death. There is usually a 12-24 month lag in receipt of this data from ABS.
See K:\DOCUMENTATION\Deaths\Multi_COD_desc_new.doc
The ABS does not use the code 800-9999.9 ICD-9. Codes E800-E999 are used instead, but without the E, e.g. E910.4 appears as 9104.
All ICD-9 codes (ABS data) without a fourth digit has a 9 appended to them, e.g. 410 will become 4109. /
Multiple causes of death / ENTITY_AXIS_DATA (from deathmulti_cod) / Varchar(240)
Concatenation of index and ICD code / Must also select multi_cod_format_TYPE
ICD coded data as it appears on the Medical Certificate of Cause of Death, showing line and position details: The 48 fields represent the 6 lines of the Medical Certificate of Cause of Death, with 8 causes per line allowed. /
RECORD_AXIS_DATA (from deathmulti_cod) / Varchar(97)
ICD codes / Must also select multi_cod_format_TYPE
ICD coded data as it appears on the Medical Certificate of Cause of Death that may have been converted into a more desirable statistical format by linking codes, removing duplicate codes and deleting non-specific codes where more specific conditions are mentioned on the Certificate. /
multi_cod_format_TYPE (from deathmulti_cod) / Varchar(2)
1 – 1997-1998
2 – 1999-2005
3 – 2006 onwards / Added by DLB.
Indicates which format the multiple causes of death the data is in. /
Place of occurrence for deaths due to selected external causes from ABS / plc_occ / Char(1)
0 – Home
1 – Residential institution
2 – School, other institution and public administrative area
3 – Sports and athletic area
4 – Street and highway
5 – Trade and service area
6 – Industrial and construction area
7 – Farm
8 – Other specified place (including beach, forest etc)
9 – Unspecified place / Available 1999-2002.
Only set for deaths due to or involving selected external causes. (W00 – Y34). /
Activity related to deaths due to or involving from ABS / act_code / Char(1)
0 – While engaged in sports activity
1 – While engaged in leisure activity
2 – While working for income (including transportation to and from work)
3 – While engaged in other type of work
4 – While resting, sleeping, eating or engaging in other vital activities
8 – While engaged in other specified activities
9 – During unspecified activity / Available 1999-2003.
Only set for deaths due to or involving external causes. (V01 – Y34). /
Type of firearm used in firearm related deaths from ABS. / FIREARM / Char(1)
0 - Hand gun
1 - Shotgun
2 - Hunting rifle
3 - Military firearms
4 - Other firearms
5 - Unspecified firearms / Only available 1999-2003. /
Geocoding variables /
Postcode / RES_PC / Varchar(4)
Blanks – not recorded / Residential postcode of the deceased.
1983 onwards.
0000, 2999, 3999, 4999, 5999, 6999, 7999, 8888, 9999 should be regarded as unknown postcodes. 6999 is often unknown WA and 8888 unknown overseas. NT postcodes are 3 characters.
Australia Post Postcode Data file
http://auspost.com.aul /
Radius / LGA (from GEO_ABS) / Varchar(5) / Added by DLB to provide indicator of how accurate Geocoding was to address, as defined by its X and Y coordinates.
Should always be requested where SEIFA and/or ARIA are requested. /
LGA / SLA (from GEO_ABS) / Varchar(9) / Geocoded local government area derived from address
Added by DLB from Geocoded point data. /
SLA /
Geocoded statistical local area derived from address
Added by DLB from Geocoded point data. /
Sensitive Variables /
Date of birth / Dob / Number(8)
YYYYMMDD / Full date of birth of the deceased /
Cause of death text / CODTEXT / Varchar(1000) / Disease or condition directly leading to death
1984-2003: Descriptions were in one field and separated by |.
2003 onwards: Some details broken into new fields.
May be supplied where CODCODE not available, otherwise additional DOHWA HREC approval required.
Need all of the following if CODTEXT provided: /
Antecedent causes / ANTECEDENT / Varchar(500) / Antecedent causes relating to death
2003 onwards was separated out of the CODTEXT field /
Other significant conditions / CONTRIB_FACTORS / Varchar(300) / Other significant conditions contributing to death, but not related to the disease or condition causing it
2003 onwards was separated out of the CODTEXT field /
Operations / OP_PERFORMED / Varchar(2)
Y - Yes
N - No
NS - Not Stated
U - Unknown
Blanks - not recorded / Whether an operation was performed within 4 weeks of death
2003 onwards was separated out of the CODTEXT field /
OPERTEXT / Varchar(250) / Text describing an operation, if performed
Provided as separate variable with CODTEXT 1984-2003 /
OP_DISEASE / Varchar(100) / Description of disease/condition resulting in operation
2003 onwards was separated out of the CODTEXT field /
Injury / INJURY_INVOLVED / Varchar(2)
Y - Yes
N - No
NS - Not Stated
U - Unknown
Blanks - not recorded / Injury/external cause involved in death /
/ INJURY_DESC / Varchar(100) / Description of injury/external cause involved in death /
Place of death / POD_sub / Varchar(32) / 1984 onwards.
Can be suburb of usual residence or hospital. /
POD_PCODE / Varchar(10) / 2002 onwards.
Can be suburb of usual residence or hospital. /
Place of death hospital / POD_HDWA_CODE / Varchar(40) / 1989 onwards.
Derived by DLB.
This field can be unreliable and will require approvals from CEOs of the Area Health Services. /
Collectors District (ABS) / CD (from GEO_ABS) / Varchar(7) / Geocoded census district derived from address /
Place of birth of deceased person / POB_TEXT / Varchar(76)
Suburb & State (if Australia)
Town & Country (if Overseas) / Place of birth text (in full)
1984 onwards.
This field can be unreliable and will require approvals from CEOs of the Area Health Services. /
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