COVID-19 is still a “key contributor” to higher death rates as new data reveals Australia’s nationwide mortality rate is sitting at more than six per cent higher than expected.

The national excess mortality rate for the first eight months of 2023 shows deaths are estimated at 6.1 per cent above expected levels.

It marks a drop from 14.1 per cent higher than expected mortality rates during the same period in 2022, according to data released this week by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.