Caution:
This site includes information about child deaths, which some readers may find distressing. If you need support, free and confidential help is available.
We wish to convey our sincere condolences to the families and friends of the infants, children and young people in NSW who have died. It is our foremost responsibility to learn from these deaths and to use that knowledge to make a difference.
External causes include unintentional or accidental injuries, such as drowning, transport incidents, falls, being struck by an object, or choking, and intentional injuries, including suicide and homicide.
Between 2022 and 2023, 172 children aged 0–17 years in NSW died from external causes (injury) – 87 in 2022 and 85 in 2023.
The main causes of fatal injury are explored in the Transport, Drowning, Suicide and Homicide pages. Other fatal injuries, such as those caused by fires, threats to breathing or poisoning, are grouped as other unintentional injuries.
Findings collected
2009-2023
Page last updated
5 November 2025
In 2022 and 2023, the average rate of external cause deaths was 4.8 deaths per 100,000 children.
Most deaths were due to unintentional injuries (65%, 112 deaths), while intentional injuries, such as suicide and homicide, accounted for 35% (60 deaths).
The leading causes of external cause deaths were: transport incidents (40%), suicide (28%), drowning (8%), accidental threats to breathing (8%), and homicide (6%).
These are the factors identified in other unintentional injury deaths:
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Over the 15 years to 2023, child deaths from external causes in NSW decreased by 25%, reflecting long-term gains in injury prevention and safety awareness.
Most external cause deaths were the result of unintentional injuries (69%), including transport incidents, drowning, or other accidental events. The rate of unintentional injury deaths declined steadily, while intentional injury deaths, such as suicide and homicide, remained relatively stable.
Despite the overall decrease, some groups of children and young people continue to experience higher rates of death from external causes, including:
Across the 15-year period, rates declined for both males and females. However, the rate for males remained consistently higher – about 1.7 times that of females.
Rates were highest among young people aged 15–17 years, followed by infants under 1 year. Children aged 10–14 years were the only group to record an increase.
For non-Indigenous children, rates decreased steadily. Among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, rates varied from year to year but showed no overall change. On average, the rate was 2.3 times higher than for non-Indigenous children.
Rates declined for children living in major cities but remained 2.3 times higher for those in regional and remote areas.
Overall rates did not change significantly. However, children in the most disadvantaged areas experienced rates 2.3 times higher than those in the least disadvantaged areas.
NSW Health provide information and resources about the significant risk of children being left in vehicles in any circumstance, as well as the risk of fatal distraction for parents and carers, in both the Baby Bundle bag, a free initiative by NSW Health to provide new parents in NSW with practical information and products to support their baby’s health and development, and to child and family health services.
The information and resources should include but not be limited to:
Other initiatives seek to reduce the risks from children being left unattended in vehicles. These programs focus on education, practical safety advice and community awareness.
Key initiatives include:
Promote hazard awareness in homes, vehicles and play environments, including the dangers of leaving children unattended in cars.
A safety campaign for early childhood education and care services. Helps reduce the risk of leaving children in vehicles by providing reminders, posters and communication tools for services and families.
Information about the dangers of leaving children unattended in vehicles, and provides free key tag reminders to prompt checking the back seat each time the car is locked.