The number of recorded deaths from preventable causes in Australian aged care homes has increased by 400 per cent, according to new research.

Key points: Falls are the most common cause of injury-realted deaths with over 2,600 cases

Falls are the most common cause of injury-realted deaths with over 2,600 cases There were a further 260 cases of choking

There were a further 260 cases of choking About 150 cases were of suicide

Monash University researcher Joseph Ibrahim warned the increase was partly attributable to stricter reporting requirements.

But he called for the aged care system to be reviewed after finding there were almost 3,300 deaths in nursing homes from falls, choking and suicide over 13 years.

The study involved examining 23,000 Coroner's Court records of deaths in aged, palliative and residential care from 2000 to 2013.

The number of premature deaths in nursing homes in this time increased from 1.2 per 1,000 aged care facility submissions in 2001-02, to 5.3 per 1,000 admissions in 2011-12.

"There's some debate about the degree of increase," Professor Ibrahim said.

"The most common cause of injury leading to deaths was falls and there's been variation in how falls deaths are reported to the coroner, so a lot of the increase is due to the requirement to report falls-related deaths, particularly in Victoria."

But Professor Ibrahim said the research highlighted a need for the whole system of aged care to be looked at.

"If Australia has some of the most liveable cities in the world, are our nursing homes the most liveable in the world?

"And if not, why is there a disparity just because a person is older?"

Professor Ibrahim said accessing the public coronial records was the only way to obtain information about preventable deaths in aged care facilities.

'We owe older people a better life'

Professor Ibrahim said the issue had not been looked at closely.

"I think that vulnerable older people, much like children, there's no-one speaking for them," he said.

"Older people, particularly those in nursing homes, are not able to get out and argue their case or show their dissatisfaction or satisfaction with the care we deliver.

"I think we owe older people a better life because they've given us one of the best countries to live in in the world."

He said the sector needed to be more proactive.

"I'm hoping it will open people's eyes to the fact that the deaths in residential care aren't all natural, that there are improvements that can be made."

The research was published in the Australian Medical Journal.