Your address in Australia could be adding or subtracting more than a decade from your life, according to startling new official figures that expose a profound national health divide.
The Stark Postcode Divide
The latest data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics reveals a dramatic 'postcode lottery' of longevity, with life expectancy ranging from a high of 86.9 years in Sydney's Inner West suburbs like Balmain, Leichhardt and Rozelle to a low of just 74.3 years in Greater Darwin and remote Northern Territory regions.
This represents a staggering gap of over twelve years in life expectancy based purely on geographical location. The New South Wales Central Coast followed closely with 86.7 years, while Sydney's Parramatta (86.3) and North Sydney and Hornsby (85.7) also ranked among the nation's healthiest regions.
At the opposite end of the scale, Coffs Harbour-Grafton in NSW recorded 78.5 years and Western Australia's Wheatbelt 78.7 years, though these were still substantially higher than the Northern Territory's figures. The national average life expectancy across Australia stands at 83 years.
Progress and Persistent Gaps
While life expectancy has improved dramatically over the last century—with Australians born between 2021-2023 living approximately 30 years longer than their counterparts from 1891-1900—significant inequalities persist.
A landmark study published in The Lancet Public Health found Australia has made commendable progress in reducing socio-economic inequalities in life expectancy since the late 2010s, distinguishing the country from many other high-income nations.
Lead author Dr Sergey Timonin from ANU noted that despite encouraging trends, women in the most disadvantaged areas still live 4.9 years less, and men 6.6 years less, than those in affluent areas.
'We found that three major causes of death consistently contribute to life expectancy gaps - lung cancer, chronic respiratory diseases, and heart disease,' Dr Timonin stated. 'In addition to chronic diseases, external causes such as suicide, road traffic injuries, and substance-related deaths also played a major role in life expectancy differences, particularly among men.'
Australia's International Standing
The research placed Australia in a global context by comparing life expectancy in socio-economically advantaged and disadvantaged areas with national averages in countries including Japan and the United States.
'Female life expectancy in all Australian areas by socio-economic status sits between Japan and the US,' Dr Timonin explained, 'while male life expectancy in Australia's five most advantaged areas—comprising around half the population—surpasses Japan's national average.'
He added: 'While this may be bad news for Americans, it is good news for Australians. Even in our most disadvantaged areas, life expectancy is higher than the US average for both men and women.'
Australians overall enjoy one of the highest life expectancies globally, with 83.2 years recorded in 2023 for males and females combined—ranking the country 10th behind nations including Switzerland, Japan, Spain and Israel.
The findings underscore the critical need for ongoing, targeted public health efforts to address the persistent geographical and socio-economic disparities in health outcomes across the nation.
