Childhood asthma hotspots in Australia using Census 2021 data
Ecological study using data from the Census 2021 (self-reported asthma prevalence in 4,6 million aged 0-14) for spatial clustering using statistical area level 2 (SA2, a ‘suburb’ within cities and catchments of rural areas, population around 3000 to 25000) and statistical modelling. The study reported that: (ref 1)
– 6.27% overall (average) childhood asthma prevalence in these geographical areas, ranging from 0 to 16.5%
– 465 areas (suburbs) were hotspots (they had a prevalence above the average 6.27% and were surrounded by areas with similar prevalence) , representing 20% of all areas
– NSW had the most hotspots (39%) followed by VIC (21%), QLD (18%) and TAS (11%)
– More than 60% of hotspots were in socio-economically disadvantaged areas
– Higher asthma prevalence in areas of areas of SE disadvantage vs advantage (10% higher, PR=1.10)
– Higher asthma prevalence in areas with high proportions of First Nations people (13% higher, PR=1.13)
– Hotspots mostly observed in regional or remote areas of New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, and Tasmania
Concl/Discussion: Childhood asthma variation was found to be associated with area-level sociodemographic features, such as social deprivation and Indigenous density. These findings can be attributed to environmental features including socioeconomic deprivation, race or ethnicity, pollen, dust, exhaust pollutants, air pollution, violence, or crime, as well as limited access to healthcare because the majority of specialised paediatric asthma services are located in tertiary metropolitan hospitals.
Note/Limitations: ecological studies can demonstrate associations rather than causal relationships, and parent-reported data may not be reliable due to reporting bias.
| The 20 hotspot areas / suburbs with the highest prevalence of childhood asthma (ref 2) | |
|---|---|
| Areas | Self-reported asthma prevalence among children 0-14 years |
| Acton – Upper Burnie (Tasmania | 13.8 per cent |
| Mount Hutton – Windale (NSW) | 12.9 per cent |
| East Devonport (Tasmania) | 12.8 per cent |
| Charnwood (ACT) | 12.5 per cent |
| Waverley – St Leonards (Tasmania) | 11.8 per cent |
| Leeton (NSW) | 11.7 per cent |
| Kurri Kurri – Abermain (NSW) | 11.6 per cent |
| West Wallsend – Barnsley – Killingworth (NSW) | 11.6 per cent |
| Ravenswood (Tasmania) | 11.6 per cent |
| Wynyard (Tasmania) | 11.6 per cent |
| Bathurst – South (NSW) | 11.5 per cent |
| Wendouree – Miners Rest (Victoria) | 11.5 per cent |
| Tinana (Queensland) | 11.3 per cent |
| Cessnock Surrounds (NSW) | 11.2 per cent |
| Sebastopol – Redan (Victoria) | 11.2 per cent |
| Leichhardt – One Mile (Queensland) | 11.2 per cent |
| West Ulverstone (Tasmania) | 11.2 per cent |
| Dubbo – East (NSW) | 11.1 per cent |
| Wauchope (NSW) | 11.1 per cent |
| Bridgewater – Gagebrook (Tasmania) | 11 per cent |
23 Hotspot Regions
The hotspot suburbs with high asthma childhood prevalence were identified in 23 SA4 areas (regions/shires, mostly with a population over 100,000) listed below: (ref 1 and 3)
Note: reference 3 is a Data on File ( UNSW Asthma hotspots – Childhood-Asthma-Clusters-Data-by-suburb-SA2-with-electorates .xlsx) provided by UNSW and can’t be shared without approval from UNSW.
| Jurisdiction | SA4 / regions |
| NSW | Central Coast; Central West; Riverinera; Hunter Valley (exc Newcastle); Newcastle and Lake Macquarie; Port Macquarie |
| QLD | Ipswich; Moreton Bay; Logan – Beaudesert; Maryborough; |
| VIC | Bendigo; Geelong; Hume; Shepparton; Ballarat |
| ACT | Belconnen; Tuggeranong |
| TAS | Launceston and North East; South East; West and North West |
| SA | Adelaide – North; Adelaide – South; Barossa – Yorke – Mid North |
Refer to attached file (Ref 3) for detail of hotspot suburbs (SA2s) included in each region (SA4).
Reproduced from Ref 4:
UNSW data – Asthma Hotspots in WA and NT (ref 5):
UNSW data on file – asthma hotspots WA – email J Khan 20 Jan 2026.pdf
UNSW team shared with AA that 4 hotspot suburbs (SA2) out of 465 were located in WA, and none were located in NT:
| Statistical area level 2 (SA2, small geographic areas/neighbourhood/communities) | Asthma prevalence |
| East Bunbury – Glen Iris | 7.7 |
| South Bunbury – Bunbury | 6.5 |
| Albany | 7.3 |
| Murray | 6.4 |
Note that most areas in WA exhibited relatively low asthma prevalence. This pattern may reflect a combination of low population density, and the potential for underdiagnosis, particularly in remote communities.