Injury is the leading cause of disease burden in the Northern Territory (NT).1 Injury prevention is therefore critical to improve the health of all Territorians. To support injury prevention efforts, this fact sheet explores the incidence, cause, nature and severity of all injury cases admitted to NT public hospitals between 2020 and 2022.

Tropical climates, expansive coastlines and an abundance of fresh waterways, all make the Northern Territory (NT) an extremely popular place for recreational water activities. Despite concerted efforts to promote general water safety1 and warn against the dangers of jellyfish and crocodiles,2 preventable water-related injury presentations to health services are not uncommon in the NT. To further inform and support water safety efforts, this fact sheet reports a descriptive analysis of all water-related injury cases that presented to a NT Government tertiary (public hospital) or primary health care service (community clinics) in 2023.