Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing
Put on a broad-brimmed hat that shades your face and neckWear sun protective clothing that covers as much of your body as possibleSeek shadeWear wrap-around sunglassesApply SPF30+ broad spectrum water resistant sunscreen every two hours
PROTECT YOURSELF IN FIVE WAYS FROM SKIN CANCER

Key Statistics

Fact sheet with detailed figures of incidence and mortality of skin cancer in Australia

Skin cancer (non-melanoma and melanoma) is the most common form of cancer in Australia, causing over 1,600 deaths in 20051. An estimated $264 million was spent on non-melanoma skin cancers and an estimated $30 million 2 was spent on melanoma in 2001, by the Commonwealth and State and Territory Governments, making it Australia’s most expensive cancer.


Non-melanoma skin cancers (NMSC) are the most common cancers diagnosed in Australia. Approximately 374,000 people were treated for NMSC in 2002 3. It is estimated that 433,000 people will be diagnosed with NMSC in 20084. However, mortality from NMSC was relatively low, compared to all other cancers, with 410 deaths (or 1% of all cancer deaths in Australia) reported in 20065.

Melanoma is less common but is the most life-threatening form of skin cancer. Australia and New Zealand have the highest incidence and mortality rates of melanoma in the world6. In 2005, the reported deaths from melanoma reached 1,273, which represented a 41.9% increase since 1994 7.

Excluding NMSC, melanoma was the fourth most common cancer diagnosed in Australia in 2004, with 9,722 new cases of melanoma reported4. This represented a 40.3% increase in new melanoma cases since 19941 with Queensland being the state with the highest incidence of melanoma 6. The risk of developing melanoma before the age of 75 is 1 in 24 for males and 1 in 33 for females9. Melanoma is the most common cancer in the 15-24 year old age group 8 with 227 young Australians in that age group diagnosed with melanoma in 2004 8.


1 AIHW & AACR (2001) Cancer in Australia 2001. AIHW cat. no. CAN 23. Canberra: AIHW (Cancer Series no. 28).
2 AIHW 2005 Health system expenditures on cancer and other neoplasms in Australia, 2000-01. AIHW cat. no. HWE 29. Canberra: AIHW
3 National Cancer Control Initiative 2003. ‘The 2002 national non-melanoma skin cancer survey’. A report by the NCCI Non-melanoma Skin Cancer Working Group. Edited by MP Staples. NCCI Melbourne.
4 AIHW (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare) and Cancer Australia 2008. Non-melanoma skin cancer: general practice consultations, hospitalisation and mortality. Canberra. AIHW.
5 AIHW (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare) and Cancer Australia 2008. Non-melanoma skin cancer: general practice consultations, hospitalisation and mortality. Canberra. AIHW.
6 AIHW (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare) & AACR (Australasian Association of Cancer Registries) 2007. Cancer in Australia: An Overview 2006. Cancer series no. 37. Cat. no. CAN 32. Canberra: AIHW.
7 AIHW (2008) Australia’s Health 2008. Cat. no. AUS 99. Canberra: AIHW
8 AIHW Interactive Cancer Incidence Data Cubes. http://www.aihw.gov.au/cancer/data/datacubes/index.cfm
9AIHW Australia Cancer Incidence and Mortality Books http://aihw.gov.au/cancer/data/acim_books/index.cfm