A new office has been established on World Suicide Prevention Day (10 September) within the National Mental Health Commission to lead a nationwide mission to reduce the prevalence of suicide in Australia.
Minister for Health and Aged Care, Greg Hunt said that in an Australia first, the new National Suicide Prevention Office had the capability to work across all Governments and sectors to drive a nationally consistent and integrated approach to reducing suicide rates.
“The creation of the National Suicide Prevention Office recognises that everyone plays a role in suicide prevention and that a collective national effort is required,” Mr Hunt said.
“The Office will be a significant step forward in the efforts to reduce suicide by helping to build capacity to address the social determinants that play a role in suicide, working to reduce fragmentation and duplication of efforts across Governments, supporting better data collection and sharing, providing advice on research priorities and knowledge translation, and – critically – improving the ability of our system to deliver evidence-based compassion-focused suicide prevention interventions,” he said.
Mr Hunt said the new Office would take a comprehensive approach to cover policy implementation, investment, data collection, research and workforce reform.
He said establishing the Office was among the recommendations and priority actions of the National Suicide Prevention Adviser’s Final Advice Report, all of which were accepted by the Government.
He said people who were concerned about suicide, living with someone who was considering suicide, or bereaved by suicide could get help and support from the Suicide Call Back Service on 1300 659 467.
Anyone experiencing distress can seek immediate support through Lifeline (13 11 14), Kids Helpline (1800 55 1800), or the Department of Health digital mental health gateway Head to Health at this PS News link.
