NSW infant and young child mortality rate. Photo: Fairfax Graphics
Children in some parts of Australia have a higher chance of dying before they turn five than they would if they were born in Romania, Sri Lanka or Lebanon.
The National Health Performance Authority has broken down infant and young child mortality rates by Medicare local catchment for the first time in a report that shows wide variances in the mortality rate of infants and young children depending on their address.
While only 2.6 babies per 1000 who are born in Bayside, Victoria will die before their fifth birthday, the rate soars to 8.5 per 1000 in far north Queensland and 9.2 in the Northern Territory.
Child mortality is quite high in Australia.
The infant mortality rate among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders in the Northern Territory was 13 deaths per 1000 live births – higher than Romania, Sri Lanka or Lebanon and equal to Libya, when compared with 2012 figures from the World Bank.