Australia should consider a no-fault compensation scheme for people injured by federally funded vaccines in a future pandemic, a Senate committee report into excess mortality recommends.

The committee's report, which examined what caused a spike in deaths in 2022 and what could be done to prevent further deaths, was tabled in parliament on Friday.

"Australia's life expectancy is the third highest in the world, sitting behind Monaco and Japan," the report said.

"Australia's life expectancies at birth have also increased over the last 30 years, from 75.0 years for males and 80.9 years for females in 1993, to 81.2 years for males and 85.3 for females in 2020 to 2022."

The report looked at excess mortality rates, defined as the difference between the observed number of deaths in a specified time period and the expected number of deaths in the same period.

The majority report, authored by senator Penny Allman-Payne, found Australia's ageing population meant there had been an increase in hospitalisations for heart issues, as well as diabetes and dementia, and COVID-19 continued to have an impact.

"The committee acknowledges that Australia's healthcare systems are vast, complex and exist across multiple jurisdictions," the report said.

"However, the committee holds that the pandemic emphasised the need to explore ways to strengthen the resilience of Australia's healthcare systems, so that it can withstand surges in demand during future public health emergencies."

It recommended the development of a no-fault compensation scheme for Commonwealth-funded vaccines.

"Following the testimony of witnesses and the large amounts of correspondence received by the committee in relation to vaccine injuries, the committee's attention was drawn to the small number of individuals who suffer adverse events following immunisation, and the compensation to which they are entitled," the report said.

"The committee recognises that the efficacy and efficiency of vaccine compensation schemes are also important to addressing vaccine hesitancy.

"As such, the committee believes it would be prudent to review existing compensation arrangements for individuals who have sustained injuries following vaccinations and explore the benefits of a no-fault compensation scheme."

The report said the Actuaries Institute of Australia found overall vaccinations helped to prevent higher rates of excess mortality.

The committee also recommended speeding up the opening of the planned Australian Centre for Disease Control, and improving data-keeping to understand the impacts of health events on Indigenous people, those with disabilities and regional residents.

The inquiry received about 60 submissions ranging from general practitioners to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), which mapped the past four years' worth of deaths to understand whether Australia was on an upward trend.

Overall, the bureau found excess mortality was down in 2020 due to strict lockdown measures enforced at the height of the pandemic.

In 2021 Australia recorded an excess mortality rate of 1.6 per cent, and the rate jumped to 11.7 per cent in 2022 due in part to the Omicron wave of COVID-19.

"In 2022 the virus accounted for over half of the estimated excess deaths in all age groups and over 95 per cent of excess mortality in people aged under 35 years old," the submission said.

"In this year, COVID-19 became the third leading cause of death, the first time an infectious disease had been in the top five leading causes since the late 1960s," the ABS said.

Last year's figures show a 4.6 per cent drop from 2022, with 182,038 deaths occurring in 2023.

It also highlighted issues with the data used to determine excess mortality, pointing to a submission by the National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation.

"Reporting of ABS provisional mortality data used to show excess deaths, does not include Indigenous status," the organisation said.

"It is therefore not possible to assess whether excess deaths seen at the whole-of-population level affect Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities at a comparable level."

The report said Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people already represented a high number of deaths from preventable diseases and a lack of access to health care, and it was important for the government to engage First Nations researchers to get a better understanding of mortality rates in the community.