Using the 2002 NATSISS, this study has attempted to generate an alternative estimate of child mortality and identify its determinants among Indigenous Australians. The results of the analysis showed that while there is some evidence of a decline in child mortality in recent years, mortality among young Indigenous Australians still remains three to four times higher than their non-Indigenous counterparts. It is observed that home ownership, quality of dwelling, better neighbourhood environment and absence of stress in the household have a positive influence on child health. On the other hand, other maternal factors such as high-risk drinking behaviour and lone parenthood increase the probability of child mortality, while degree of urbanisation has no effect. However, part of the explanation for the latter may lie in data quality which, as demonstrated in the paper, appears to be highly volatile and deviates sufficiently from known patterns to cast doubt on its quality, particularly at the level of jurisdiction. There is, therefore, a need to explore the causes of these problems and find ways to avoid the shortcomings in future data collections. As the 2002 NATSISS data also only permit analysis of child mortality, it is important to explore the feasibility of collecting information on adult mortality so that the results from these data could be used to counter-check existing estimates that are based on conventional methods. The NATSISS data also provide no information on current fertility, which is a useful input for population projection. This information can be obtained by asking all women in the reproductive age group one simple question on whether or not they had a live birth in the 12 months preceding the survey.