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Falls

Injuries due to falls span the life course, with most falls occurring in homes and workplaces. For young children, falls down stairs, from furniture and play equipment are the most common. Among young people and adults, occupational groups with higher falls risk include construction, agriculture, forestry and fishing. Among older people, falls contribute to a large health burden and predominantly occur in the home, in residential care and in hospital settings. Among people aged under 65 years, men and boys are over-represented in fall-related hospitalisations and deaths, whereas women are over-represented among people aged over 65 years. 

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Falls can happen from a height, such as from a ladder, or on a level surface, such as a slip or trip.  

What is the incidence and impact of falls in New Zealand? ​


In 2022-2023, falls were the leading cause of injury deaths in Australia, resulting in: 

  • 6,698 deaths, with an age-standardised death rate of 17.9 per 100,000. (AIHW, 2025b) 

  • 61 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander deaths, with an age-standardised death rate of 6.7 people per 100,000. (AIHW, 2025b) 
     

In 2023-2024, falls-related injury resulted in: 

  • 248,211 hospitalisations in Australia, with an age-standardised hospitalisation rate of 768.8 per 100,000 people. (AIHW, 2025b) 

  • 8,843 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people being hospitalised, which was an age-standardised rate of 858.2 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people per 100,000. (AIHW, 2025b) 

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  • Falls are the leading cause of injury deaths and injury hospitalisations for both males and females. (AIHW, 2025b) 
     

  • Australians aged 65 years and older are almost 12 times more likely to be hospitalised due to a fall than adults aged 25 to 44 years. (AIHW, 2025b)
     

  • Most fall injury hospitalisations are from slipping, tripping or stumbling on the same level, while unspecified falls caused the most deaths (10.8 deaths per 100,000). (AIHW, 2025b) 
     

  • Males were more likely to die from falls in 2022-23, with age-standardised rates of 20.4 per 100,000 men and 15.8 per 100,000 females. (AIHW, 2025a) 
     

  • Females were more likely to experience a hospitalisation due to a fall in 2023-34, with age-standardisation rates of 748.8 per 100,000 females and 741 per 100,000 males. (AIHW, 2025b)   
     

  • People living in the most socioeconomically disadvantaged areas are 1.3 times more likely to die from a fall when compared to people living in the least socioeconomically disadvantaged areas. (AIHW, 2025b) Hospitalisation rates for falls-related injuries are similar across socio-economic areas. (AIHW, 2025b)  

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What is the incidence and impact of falls in Australia? ​


In 2022-2023, falls were the leading cause of injury deaths in Australia, resulting in: 

  • 6,698 deaths, with an age-standardised death rate of 17.9 per 100,000. (AIHW, 2025b) 

  • 61 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander deaths, with an age-standardised death rate of 6.7 people per 100,000. (AIHW, 2025b) 
     

In 2023-2024, falls-related injury resulted in: 

  • 248,211 hospitalisations in Australia, with an age-standardised hospitalisation rate of 768.8 per 100,000 people. (AIHW, 2025b) 

  • 8,843 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people being hospitalised, which was an age-standardised rate of 858.2 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people per 100,000. (AIHW, 2025b) 

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  • Falls are the leading cause of injury deaths and injury hospitalisations for both males and females. (AIHW, 2025b) 
     

  • Australians aged 65 years and older are almost 12 times more likely to be hospitalised due to a fall than adults aged 25 to 44 years. (AIHW, 2025b)
     

  • Most fall injury hospitalisations are from slipping, tripping or stumbling on the same level, while unspecified falls caused the most deaths (10.8 deaths per 100,000). (AIHW, 2025b) 
     

  • Males were more likely to die from falls in 2022-23, with age-standardised rates of 20.4 per 100,000 men and 15.8 per 100,000 females. (AIHW, 2025a) 
     

  • Females were more likely to experience a hospitalisation due to a fall in 2023-34, with age-standardisation rates of 748.8 per 100,000 females and 741 per 100,000 males. (AIHW, 2025b)   
     

  • People living in the most socioeconomically disadvantaged areas are 1.3 times more likely to die from a fall when compared to people living in the least socioeconomically disadvantaged areas. (AIHW, 2025b) Hospitalisation rates for falls-related injuries are similar across socio-economic areas. (AIHW, 2025b)  

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What is the cost to Australia from falls?
 

In 2023-2024, falls injuries were estimated to cost the Australian health system more than $5 billion. (AIHW, 2025b) The true cost of falls goes beyond direct health care costs and includes loss of schooling, employment, and productivity for both the injured person and their carers. 

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Is the burden of falls increasing?
 

The rate of fall injury hospitalisations has increased in Australia over the past decade, with age-standardised rates ranging from 747.1 in 2014-15 to 768.8 per 100,000 people in 2023-24. (AIHW, 2025b) In the same period, fall-related hospitalisations increased from 195,296 to 248,211.  

 

The number of injury deaths caused by falls has also increased. In 2022-23, the age-standardised rate of falls injury deaths was 8.2% higher than the previous 5-year average rate of 16.5 per 100,000. (AIHW, 2025b) Several factors contribute to the rising burden of falls, one of the most significant being population ageing. 

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Common Risk Factors

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Older Age

Numerous factors associated with older age have been found to be risk factors for falling, such as medication use (including sedatives), reduced balance and gait, co-morbidities, poor eyesight, impaired cognition and confusion. (Giovannini et al., 2022; White et al., 2023) These factors also increase the risk of injury due to falls in younger age groups but tend to be more prevalent among people aged 65 years or over.

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History of previous falls

Having had a previous fall is a strong predictor of a fall. (Wapp et al., 2022)

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Alcohol

Alcohol consumption impairs balance and the ability to assess risk, thereby increasing the likelihood of falling. (Dept of Health, 2019, Cherpitel et al 2018)

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Children

Young children are at elevated risk of injuries due to falls from heights, including stairs, nursery furniture, bunk-beds, window ledges, and trampolines. (Omaki et al., 2023)

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People with disabilities

Unsafe products or chemicals such as friction burns from treadmills, button batteries causing oesophageal burns in children, or laser pointers leading to retinal burns.

Effective interventions​​

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The effectiveness of the falls prevention interventions outlined in the table below is based on the findings of the review of reviews that informed the consultation for the National Injury Prevention Strategy 2021-2030 and the Australian Falls Guidelines. The table needs to be read recognising the limitations of current evidence, including a lack of investment in well-designed research studies. Readers are strongly advised to refer to the World Health Organisation’s 2021 publication Step Safely guidelines, the evidence synthesis for falls prevention that informed those guidelines and the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care’s Falls Guidelines.

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While systematic reviews are regarded as the ‘strongest level of evidence’, there are limitations. Research evidence may be biased towards western science, lack consideration of Indigenous or other knowledges and may not accurately capture the experiences and priorities of particular population groups. Some ‘rigorous’ research designs may not be acceptable, feasible or sufficiently adaptable to make them viable or appropriate to use within a particular setting, or with particular population groups. Prioritising self-determination, a strengths-based approach and cultural responsiveness should be guiding principles in program planning and evaluations.  

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The following resources offer useful advice when designing, implementing and evaluating programs: 

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Relevant national strategies
 

The following table presents an overview of national strategies that relate to the prevention of falls. Noting that despite the large burden of falls injury, there is no updated national fall prevention strategy or plan. 

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Data and research gaps – What don’t we know?
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There is a lack of evidence on effective falls prevention strategies and their cost-effectiveness for: 

  • older children and young adults, particularly young males. 

  • specific population groups. Particularly, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, those from low socio-economic communities or rural areas, and people with disabilities. 

  • specific occupational groups such as construction, agriculture, hospitality or health care workers. 

  • older people with low literacy levels, those who speak a language other than English at home or are based in rural and remote settings. 

Key partners and stakeholders​

  • Department of Health 

  • State and territory Departments of Health 

  • State and territory Departments of Infrastructure and Planning  

  • Department of Veterans’ Affairs  

  • Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services 

  • Local government 

  • Strata management bodies 

  • Housing provider services 

  • Aged care services  

  • Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care 

  • NGOs with a core focus on children or older people 

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Key resources and guidelines      

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Position Papers

References​

Where can I find more information on the burden, incidence and impact of injury due to falls?  

  • Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (2025a). Injury in Australia: Deaths.  

  • Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (2025b). Injury in Australia: Falls.  

  • Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (2019a). Australian Burden of Disease Study: impact and causes of illness and death in Australia 2015. Australian Burden of Disease series no. 19. Cat. no. BOD 22. Canberra: AIHW 

  • Health New Zealand – Te Whatu Ora (2025a). Mortality data web tool. 

  • Health New Zealand – Te Whatu Ora (2025b). Publicly funded hospital discharges – 1 July 2022 to 30 June 2023 [Dataset]. Health New Zealand 
     

Where can I find more information on the risk factors for falls? 

  • Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care. Preventing falls and harm from falls in Older People. Best Practice Guidelines for Community Care in Australia. (2025). 

  • Australian Government Department of Health. National Alcohol Strategy 2019–2028. Department of Health; 2019. 

  • Cherpitel CJ, Witbrodt J, Korcha RA, Ye Y, Kool B, Monteiro M. Multi-level analysis of alcohol-related injury, societal drinking pattern and alcohol control policy: emergency department data from 28 countries. Addiction. 2018;113(11):2031-2040. doi:10.1111/add.14276 

  • Giovannini, S., Brau, F., Galluzzo, V., Santagada, D. A., Loreti, C., Biscotti, L., Laudisio, A., Zuccalà, G., & Bernabei, R. (2022). Falls among Older Adults: Screening, Identification, Rehabilitation, and Management. Applied Sciences, 12(15), Article 15. https://doi.org/10.3390/app12157934 

  • Omaki, E., Shields, W. C., Rouhizadeh, M., Delgado-Barroso, P., Stefanos, R., & Gielen, A. (2023). Understanding the Circumstances of Pediatric Fall Injuries: A Machine Learning Analysis of NEISS Narratives. Injury Prevention : Journal of the International Society for Child and Adolescent Injury Prevention, 29(5), 384–388. https://doi.org/10.1136/ip-2023-044858 

  • Wapp, C., Mittaz Hager, A.-G., Hilfiker, R., & Zysset, P. (2022). History of falls and fear of falling are predictive of future falls: Outcome of a fall rate model applied to the Swiss CHEF Trial cohort. Frontiers in Aging, 3, 1056779. https://doi.org/10.3389/fragi.2022.1056779 

  • White, A. M., Orosz, A., Powell, P. A., & Koob, G. F. (2023). Alcohol and aging – An area of increasing concern. Alcohol, 107, 19–27. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.alcohol.2022.07.005 

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Where can I find further information on effective interventions? 

  • Person-centered care approach to prevention and management of falls among adults and aged in a Brazilian hospital: A best practice implementation project. Jbi Evidence Implementation, 21(1), 14–24. https://doi.org/10.1097/XEB.0000000000000356 

  • Cameron, I. D., Dyer, S. M., Panagoda, C. E., Murray, G. R., Hill, K. D., Cumming, R. G., & Kerse, N. (2018). Interventions for preventing falls in older people in care facilities and hospitals. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (9). doi:10.1002/14651858.CD005465.pub4 

  • Colón-Emeric, C. S., McDermott, C. L., Lee, D. S., & Berry, S. D. (2024). Risk Assessment and Prevention of Falls in Older Community-Dwelling Adults. JAMA, 331(16), 1397–1406. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2024.1416 

  • Giovannini, S., Brau, F., Galluzzo, V., Santagada, D. A., Loreti, C., Biscotti, L., Laudisio, A., Zuccalà, G., & Bernabei, R. (2022). Falls among Older Adults: Screening, Identification, Rehabilitation, and Management. Applied Sciences, 12(15), Article 15. https://doi.org/10.3390/app12157934 

  • Gulka HJ, Patel V, Arora T, McArthur C, Iaboni A. (2020). Efficacy and generalizability of falls prevention interventions in nursing homes: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of the American Medical Directors Association, 21(8), 1024-1035. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jamda.2019.11.012 

  • Jullien, S. (2021). Prevention of unintentional injuries in children under five years. BMC Pediatrics, 21(1), 311. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12887-021-02517-2 

  • Kwan, E., & Straus, S. E. (2014). Assessment and management of falls in older people. CMAJ Canadian Medical Association Journal, 186(16), E610-621. doi:https://dx.doi.org/10.1503/cmaj.131330 

  • Lewis, S. R. et al. Population-based interventions for preventing falls and fall-related injuries in older people. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 1, CD013789 (2024). 

  • Santesso, N., Carrasco‐Labra, A., & Brignardello‐Petersen, R. (2014). Hip protectors for preventing hip fractures in older people. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (3). doi:10.1002/14651858.CD001255.pub5 

  • Shafizadeh, M., Parvinpour, S., & Ali, K. (2022). Effect of home-based exercise on falls in community-dwelling older adults: An umbrella review. Sport Sciences for Health, 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11332-022-00993-2 

  • Sherrington, C. et al. Exercise for preventing falls in older people living in the community. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD012424.pub2 (2019) doi:10.1002/14651858.CD012424.pub2. 

  • The George Institute for Global Health Synthesis of evidence for a technical package on falls prevention and management. Newtown: The George Institute for Global Health, 2020. 

  • The Royal Children’s Hospital Safety Centre. (2018). Kids Health Info: Safety: Preventing falls. The Royal Children’s Hospital Melbourne. https://www.rch.org.au/kidsinfo/fact_sheets/Safety_Preventing_falls/ 

  • van der Molen, H. F., Basnet, P., Hoonakker, P. L., Lehtola, M. M., Lappalainen, J., Frings-Dresen, M. H., . . . Verbeek, J. H. (2018). Interventions to prevent injuries in construction workers. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2, CD006251. doi:https://dx.doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD006251.pub4 

  • World Health Organisation. (2021). Step safely: strategies for preventing and managing falls across the life-course. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2021. Licence: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO. 

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Acknowledgements

This content was prepared by The George Institute for Global Health in partnership with the Australasian Injury Prevention Network (AIPN), Injury Matters and Ngarruwan Ngadju First Peoples Health and Wellbeing Research Centre, University of Wollongong.


Date: June 2026​

© 2026 by Australasian Injury Prevention Network 

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