Australian Child Safety Data

Every 8 minutes, a child is hospitalised at home.

Not on the street. Not at school. At home. This is the data — by age, by room, by type of harm. Physical and emotional. All preventable.

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The most dangerous place for a child is home.

Australian data shows the majority of child injuries and harm happen inside the family home. This site maps those risks by room, by age, and by type — so you can see what matters most.

2,400+
Hospitalisations / year
62%
Occur at home
1 in 4
Children experience emotional abuse
78%
Are preventable

Physical dangers — by statistical likelihood

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🔥
Critical
Falls
Leading cause of injury hospitalisation for children 0–14 in Australia. Furniture, stairs, play equipment, bunk beds, change tables.
Hospitalisations/yr
~18,000
% of all child injuries
38%
Peak age
1–4 yrs
InfantToddlerChild
Source: AIHW Injury in Australia 2023
💧
Critical
Drowning & near-drowning
Leading cause of death for children 1–4 in Australia. Bathtubs, buckets, pools, and pet water bowls are all involved in fatal incidents.
Deaths/yr (0–4)
~30
Near-drownings
~300
At home
73%
InfantToddler
Source: Royal Life Saving National Drowning Report 2023
🧴
Critical
Poisoning
Cleaning products, medications, essential oils, button batteries. 80% of poisoning in under-5s occurs at home. Dishwasher pods look like lollies.
Calls to Poisons Info
~55,000/yr
Under 5
52%
Preventable
90%+
InfantToddler
Source: NSW Poisons Information Centre Annual Report
🔌
High
Burns & scalds
Hot drinks, bath water, stoves, irons, hair straighteners. A cup of coffee can cause a full-thickness burn in a toddler in under 1 second.
Hospitalisations/yr
~2,200
Hot drinks
#1 cause
Peak age
0–2 yrs
InfantToddler
Source: Australian Burns Registry 2023
🪙
High
Choking & suffocation
Food (grapes, sausages, nuts), small objects, blind cords, plastic bags, soft bedding for infants. 3rd leading cause of injury death for under-3s.
ER visits/yr
~5,000
Food-related
59%
Deaths (0–3)/yr
~15
InfantToddler
Source: AIHW & Kidsafe Australia
🔋
Moderate
Button battery ingestion
20mm lithium coin cells can burn through a child's oesophagus in 2 hours. Found in remotes, toys, watches, bathroom scales, key finders.
Ingestions/yr (Aus)
~1,100
Severe injury
~20
Deaths since 2013
3
InfantToddlerChild
Source: ACCC Product Safety Australia

Emotional & psychological harm

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Percentage of Australian children exposed by age 18 — self-reported in AIFS Growing Up in Australia study

Filter by demographics

Region

Socioeconomic

Note: rates are 2–5× higher in remote and lowest socioeconomic areas. Data: AIHW Child Protection 2022-23.

Witnessing domestic violence
25%
1 in 4
Emotional abuse / neglect
23%
1 in 4.3
Parental mental illness
22%
1 in 4.5
Parental substance misuse
20%
1 in 5
Physical abuse
18%
1 in 5.5
Chronic neglect
15%
1 in 6.7
Sexual abuse
12%
1 in 8
Sources: AIFS Growing Up in Australia, AIHW Child Protection Australia 2022-23, ABS Personal Safety Survey 2016

The numbers that matter

56,726
Children on care & protection orders in Australia (2022-23)
175/day
Children hospitalised for injuries — one every 8 minutes
78%
Of home injuries are preventable with known interventions
$4.3B
Annual cost of child injury to the Australian health system

Children hospitalised for home injuries

63,000/yr

That's 175 children per day. One child every 8 minutes. Falls, poisoning, burns, drowning — in the place meant to keep them safe.

Road accident child hospitalisations

3,400/yr

We spend billions on road safety. Home injuries outnumber road injuries 18:1 for under-5s. Funding is inverted.

By Age

Different ages, different dangers

The risks change as children grow. What threatens an infant is different from what threatens a teenager — but every age has hidden risks at home.

0–1
Infant
Suffocation, falls from furniture, drowning in baths
Infants are most vulnerable to suffocation from soft bedding, co-sleeping incidents, falls from change tables and beds, and drowning in as little as 3cm of water. Button battery ingestion peaks here.
Suffocation #1 Falls from furniture Bath drowning
1–4
Toddler
Falls, poisoning, burns, drowning — the most dangerous age
The highest injury rate of any age group. Mobile enough to access danger, too young to assess risk. Poisoning (cleaning products, meds), scalds (hot drinks, bath), pool drowning, and falls from playground equipment all peak at this age.
Falls #1 cause Poisoning peak Drowning #1 killer Scalds peak
5–9
Child
Falls from play equipment, dog bites, trampoline injuries
Physical injury rates drop but outdoor home risks emerge: trampolines (6,500 hospitalisations/yr), dog bites, cycling injuries. Emotional harm from family conflict and bullying becomes more visible at school age.
Trampoline #1 Dog bites Family conflict
10–14
Pre-teen
Self-harm emerges, cyberbullying, emotional abuse impact compounds
Physical injury rates fall but intentional self-harm hospitalisations begin rising sharply. Online bullying, parental conflict, exposure to domestic violence, and pressure to perform contribute to mental health crises. 1 in 7 will self-harm by age 17.
Self-harm emerges Cyberbullying DV exposure
15–17
Adolescent
Self-harm peak, substance use, leaving care cliff
Self-harm hospitalisations peak at 15–17 (3x the rate of 10–14). Substance experimentation at home. For children in out-of-home care, the "leaving care cliff" at 18 with no support. Sexual assault disclosure peaks in adolescence — but most occurred years earlier.
Self-harm peak Substance use Care system cliff

See the dangers in every room

Walk through an interactive 3D home — built for parents, carers, and anyone who wants to understand.

Explore the 3D Home Download Infographic