A picture of Australia’s children 2009

Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (2009)
A picture of Australia’s children 2009
Canberra: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare

This report provides the latest available information on how Australia’s children aged 0-14 years are faring. A broad range of indicators are drawn together in this report covering health status, risk and protective factors, early learning and education, family and community environments, safety and security, and system performance.

Many Australian children are faring well: death rates have fallen dramatically, and most children are physically active and meet minimum standards for reading and numeracy. On the other hand, rates of severe disability and diabetes are on the rise and too many children are overweight or obese, or are at risk of homelessness. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children fare worse on most key indicators. They are 2 to 3 times as likely to die, be of low birthweight or have dental caries. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children are 5 times as likely to be born to teenage mothers, 8-9 times as likely to be in the child protection system and 24 times as likely to be in juvenile justice supervision.

Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet abstract

• Further information:
  • View report (PDF - 1.8MB)
  • View report (HTML)
  • View Part IX: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children (PDF - 331KB)
  • View website: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare
  • ‘Doing well’ but ‘could do better’ for Australia’s kids
    View media release: AIHW (17 June 2009)
  • Australia lagging on children’s health
    View media release: ABC News (17 June 2009)
• Contact details:
  • Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 26 Thynne Street, Fern Hill Park, Bruce ACT, GPO Box 570, Canberra ACT 2601, ph: (02) 6244 1000, fax: (02) 6244 1299, email: info@aihw.gov.au