List of fatal snake bites in Australia
Date Species Name , age Location ; Comments
2003 Tiger snake Unnamed , elderly female Kew , Victoria ; bitten while pruning vines
2 January 2006 Brown snake Bevan Corbett , 20yo male Cobar , New South Wales ; bitten repeatedly while jogging
16 April 2007 Whip snake Ron Siggins , 37yo male Harcourt , Victoria ; bitten on the finger by a snake considered no more deadly than a bee-sting . The victim had been handling snakes for over 30 years and had been bitten by Whip snakes before
14 January 2007 Eastern brown snake Undisclosed name , 16yo boy Whalan , New South Wales ; bitten on hand , it is believed his trek to find help in hot conditions may have advanced spread of venom
10 March 2007 Eastern brown snake Milena Swilks , 9yo female Rocky River , New South Wales , bitten on her foot in a vegetable patch and died two hours later
15 January 2009 Western brown snake Undisclosed name , 60yo female Carnarvon , Western Australia
21st century -- 2000s
Below is a list of fatal snakebites that occurred in Australia. Omitted incidents include cases where someone died from falling after receiving a bite. Some of the comments include the first aid or treatment that was attempted. For the older fatalities, the term ligature means wrapping a limb or finger with a string to act like a tourniquet, and the term scarify means cutting the skin so blood flows out of the body. Although Australian snakes can be very venomous, comparatively little is known about the protein compositions of venoms from Australian snakes, compared to those of Asia and America. Wide access to antivenom and adequate medical care has made deaths exceedingly rare with only a few fatalities each year. Australian snakes possess potent venom: 5 of the world's top 10 most venomous snakes live in Australia. The estimated incidence of snakebites annually in Australia is between 3 and 18 per 100,000 with an average mortality rate of 0.03 per 100,000 per year, or roughly 1 to 2 persons, down from 13 persons per year in the 1920s. Between 1979 and 1998 there were 53 deaths from snakes, according to data obtained from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Between 1942 and 1950 there were 56 deaths from snakebite recorded in Australia. Of 28 deaths in the 1945-1949 period, 18 occurred in Queensland, 6 in New South Wales, 3 in Western Australia and 1 in Tasmania. A Queensland government occupational health publication Globally, 1.8-2.7 million people are envenomed annually, with more than 125,000 people dying, and for every fatality there are another 3 to 4 people permanently disabled.