The issue

Missing persons is a growing issue in Australia

On average, 150 people are reported missing every day. The financial, administrative, emotional, and psychological impact on the families, friends and communities left behind is profound, yet there is still no funding to support this growing population.

HOW MANY PEOPLE GO MISSING

Over 56,000 missing persons incidents were reported to Australian police in 2023.

∼ 90%

people are found safe and well within a week

In Australia, a missing person is defined as anyone who is reported missing to police, whose whereabouts are unknown, and where there are fears for the safety or concern for the welfare of that person.

∼ 3%

remain missing long term

A long-term missing person is someone who has been missing for more than three months.

WHY DO PEOPLE GO MISSING

Anyone can go missing for any number of reasons

Reasons for a disappearance vary widely; misadventure, mental health, natural disaster, abduction, dementia, migration, conflict and more.

∼ 85%

of cases pertain to mental health

1-2%

of cases are criminal in nature

THE BROADER IMPACT

Measuring the immeasurable

To truly grasp the scale of the issue, we delved into its financial implications.

Public sector

$30.9

million

Private sector

$211.3

million

Loved ones

$14.1

million

Refer to the 2022 Cost of Missingness Report.

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Ambiguous Loss Awareness

For the past decade, getting the term ambiguous loss into the Australian…

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Cost of Missingness

In order to demonstrate the magnitude of this issue, and get the…

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Social Return on Investment Report

During 2021, we asked 180 Degrees Consulting to help us understand the…

Portrait of an older man with a sorrow expression looking at the camera

UNIQUE FORM OF GRIEF

Ambiguous loss

The type of grief families and friends of missing people experience is called ambiguous loss. Psychologists consider it to be one of the most traumatic kinds of grief and one of the most unmanageable forms of stress.

*Ambiguous Loss, the theory and the book; Emeritus Professor Dr Pauline Boss (Harvard University Press, 1999/2000)

You can’t ask that

Families share insights

Is it better for someone you love to be missing or dead? Missed collaborated with ABC’s You Can’t Ask That producers to bring together loved ones to help answer difficult questions. It’s one of the most powerful programs on the experience ever made.

(M) Adult Themes, Coarse Language
Source: Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC)