Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) epidemiology reports, Australia, 2020–2021

This page contains links to epidemiological reports, published in CDI, on the incidence, severity, and distribution of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) [previously known as novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV)] within Australia.

Page last updated: 24 September 2021

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Read this first: answers to frequently asked questions about the reports

Q: Where can I find more detailed data on COVID-19 cases?

A: We are currently looking into ways to provide more in-depth epidemiological analyses of COVID-19 cases, with regard to transmission and severity, including hospitalisation. These analyses will continue to be built upon in future iterations of the CDI report.

Q: Can I request access to the COVID-19 data behind your CDI fortnightly reports?

A: National notification data on COVID-19 confirmed cases is collated in the National Notifiable Disease Surveillance System (NNDSS) based on notifications made to state and territory health authorities under the provisions of their relevant public health legislation.

Normally, requests for the release of data from the NNDSS requires agreement from states and territories via the Communicable Diseases Network Australia, and, depending on the sensitivity of the data sought and proposed, ethics approval may also be required.

For information on how to apply to access data from the NNDSS please contact the NNDSS Data Requests inbox (nndss.datarequests@health.gov.au). We can then provide you with further information about the process and the required data request forms. Please note data requests for NNDSS data, including COVID data, will continue to be processed in line with CDNA policies and procedures. The time it takes to process your request may vary depending on the type(s) of data you request and the necessary approval steps.

We will continue to publish regular summaries and analyses of the NNDSS dataset and recommend the following resources be referred to in the meantime:

NNDSS summary tables;
Daily case summary of cases
Communicable Diseases Intelligence COVID-19 epidemiology report;
State and territory public health websites.

Q: Can I request access to data at postcode level of confirmed cases?

A: Data at this level cannot be released without ethics approval and permission would need to be sought from all states and territories via the Communicable Diseases Network Australia. As noted above, specific requests for NNDSS data are currently on hold.

Where current or recent reported case numbers are high enough to justify it, a GIS/mapping analysis of cases will be included in the CDI COVID-19 epidemiology report. In order to protect privacy of confirmed cases, data in this map will be presented at SA3 level.

Q: Where do I find the COVID-19 background information which was included as Appendix A in previous fortnightly epidemiology reports?

A: This information was most recently published in Epidemiology Report 24 (Word 3.47 MB) (PDF 7.35 MB). Additional information can be found in the CDNA Series of National Guidelines (SoNG) for COVID-19.