Of the 45 Australian born cases in 2025, 4 case (9%) identified as an Aboriginal people. The average rate of TB among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people over the past 10 years is nearly double that of non-Indigenous Australian born cases.
The most common ancestry or ethnic origin was from the Oceanic region (73%, n=33), followed by Southern and Central Asian (13%, n=6), and North West European (11%, n=5) regions.
The most common risk factors for Australian born cases was residing in a high risk country for 3 months or more and smoking (20% each, n=9). There were 4 (9%) children who parents were born in a high risk country. The 'other' risk factor category includes homelessness, undernutrition, previous TB disease, diabetes, immunosuppressive condition, working in healthcare, and residing in an institution or a correctional facility.
NSW Health previously used the ABS Aboriginal population backcast and projections based on the 2016 Census. The ABS has released new Aboriginal population backcasts and projections based on the 2021 Census, which replaces their previous backcasts and projections based on the 2016 Census. This report uses the ABS 2021 Census-based estimates and projections of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population for 2011 to 2031 (medium series, Table 4).
To produce this population estimates and projections, the ABS has:
Please note:
The new ABS estimates and projections may also mean that the Aboriginal population appears to be growing at a slower rate than it is (from 2021 onwards), so rates in recent years may appear higher.
