New figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics show Indigenous life expectancy is longer than previously thought.
The ABS announced today that the life expectancy gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people is about 10 years - down from previous estimates of almost 17 years.
But the new results are not necessarily a reflection of better health amongst Indigenous people.
ABS assistant director of demography, Matthew Montgomery, says a new method, which better accounts for Indigenous deaths, has been used to compile the latest figures.
"ABS certainly intends to use that direct method into the future because it provides us with a better estimate," he said.
"The previous estimates, really there was some uncertainty, [because] we had to make quite a bit of assumptions about the method.
"The current method allows us to stand back and let the data speak for itself."
The new data shows Indigenous life expectancy across Australia for men and women is 67.2 years and 72.9 years respectively - almost 10 years below non-Indigenous life expectancy.
The Northern Territory has the worst Indigenous life expectancy of any state or territory, at just 61.5 years for men and 69.2 years for women.
NSW recorded the highest life expectancy for Indigenous men and women, with 69.9 years and 75 years respectively
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/05/25/
