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Public Consultation - Advice on the National Suicide Prevention Strategy Consultation draft

The draft Advice on the National Suicide Prevention Strategy is now open for public consultation.

 It is time to change the approach to suicide prevention.

This is draft Advice on the National Suicide Prevention Strategy (Advice on the Strategy), the feedback received through this public consultation process will inform advice to Government from the National Suicide Prevention Office on the National Suicide Prevention Strategy.

Every day in Australia approximately 9 people die by suicide and 150 people attempt to take their own life. This is more than 3,000 deaths and 55,000 attempts each year. In addition, thousands more will experience suicidal distress or thoughts of suicide. The impacts of the loss of life, suicide attempts and suicidal distress on families and communities is devastating.

The National Suicide Prevention Office’s draft Advice on the National Suicide Prevention Strategy proposes a fundamental change to the way we think and act on suicide prevention.

It brings together first-hand evidence provided by people with lived and living experience of suicide, the latest research, and recommendations from existing inquiries and reports to lay out a path that will deliver a reduction in the number of lives lost to suicide nationally.  Suicide prevention must begin before people reach the point of crisis.

The Advice on the Strategy has been designed to be used by governments, service providers and communities to create an effective comprehensive suicide prevention system that:

  • prevents people from reaching suicidal distress
  • ensures that supports are accessible, compassionate and effective, and
  • is sustained by collective effort from governments, sectors beyond health, service providers and communities.

The Advice on the Strategy provides a point of reflection for everyone with a role to play in preventing suicide on what is currently being done and what needs to be done to prevent suicidal distress, suicide attempts and suicide deaths.

Your feedback is critical to ensuring that this Advice on the Strategy will be effective in guiding suicide prevention activities across Australia over the next 10 years. Thank you for your contribution.

Thank you for providing your feedback on the Advice on the National Suicide Prevention Strategy Consultation draft.

The public consultation period will close on midnight Sunday, 27th of October 2024.

The preferred method of receiving feedback, either individually or on behalf of a community or organisation, is through completion of the survey below. However, we can also accept feedback via email at: nspo@nspo.gov.au or by mail addressed to:
National Suicide Prevention Office
PO Box R1463
Royal Exchange NSW 1225

For any community groups seeking to provide collective feedback, please find some supporting information here.

Please ensure all feedback is provided before midnight on Sunday, 27th of October 2024.

Want to know more? Please click on the following link to find FAQs or reach out to the NSPO with your questions at nspo@nspo.gov.au.

For support services, please click on the following link: National Suicide Prevention Office’s Find support webpage.


The draft Advice on the National Suicide Prevention Strategy is now open for public consultation.

 It is time to change the approach to suicide prevention.

This is draft Advice on the National Suicide Prevention Strategy (Advice on the Strategy), the feedback received through this public consultation process will inform advice to Government from the National Suicide Prevention Office on the National Suicide Prevention Strategy.

Every day in Australia approximately 9 people die by suicide and 150 people attempt to take their own life. This is more than 3,000 deaths and 55,000 attempts each year. In addition, thousands more will experience suicidal distress or thoughts of suicide. The impacts of the loss of life, suicide attempts and suicidal distress on families and communities is devastating.

The National Suicide Prevention Office’s draft Advice on the National Suicide Prevention Strategy proposes a fundamental change to the way we think and act on suicide prevention.

It brings together first-hand evidence provided by people with lived and living experience of suicide, the latest research, and recommendations from existing inquiries and reports to lay out a path that will deliver a reduction in the number of lives lost to suicide nationally.  Suicide prevention must begin before people reach the point of crisis.

The Advice on the Strategy has been designed to be used by governments, service providers and communities to create an effective comprehensive suicide prevention system that:

  • prevents people from reaching suicidal distress
  • ensures that supports are accessible, compassionate and effective, and
  • is sustained by collective effort from governments, sectors beyond health, service providers and communities.

The Advice on the Strategy provides a point of reflection for everyone with a role to play in preventing suicide on what is currently being done and what needs to be done to prevent suicidal distress, suicide attempts and suicide deaths.

Your feedback is critical to ensuring that this Advice on the Strategy will be effective in guiding suicide prevention activities across Australia over the next 10 years. Thank you for your contribution.

Thank you for providing your feedback on the Advice on the National Suicide Prevention Strategy Consultation draft.

The public consultation period will close on midnight Sunday, 27th of October 2024.

The preferred method of receiving feedback, either individually or on behalf of a community or organisation, is through completion of the survey below. However, we can also accept feedback via email at: nspo@nspo.gov.au or by mail addressed to:
National Suicide Prevention Office
PO Box R1463
Royal Exchange NSW 1225

For any community groups seeking to provide collective feedback, please find some supporting information here.

Please ensure all feedback is provided before midnight on Sunday, 27th of October 2024.

Want to know more? Please click on the following link to find FAQs or reach out to the NSPO with your questions at nspo@nspo.gov.au.

For support services, please click on the following link: National Suicide Prevention Office’s Find support webpage.


  • SURVEY - Public consultation on the draft Advice on the National Suicide Prevention Strategy

    About this Survey 

    This survey seeks your feedback on the draft Advice on the National Suicide Prevention Strategy (Advice on the Strategy). Your feedback will help to inform advice to Government from the National Suicide Prevention Office on a National Suicide Prevention Strategy.

    To be truly effective we need a comprehensive suicide prevention system that: 

    • Acts to prevent people from reaching the point of suicidal distress in the first place.  

    This can be achieved by taking proactive steps to address areas of disadvantage and adversity that contribute to distress before they escalate into suicidal thoughts or attempts. 

    • Strengthens the support system to ensure that when a person does experience suicidal distress, support is accessible, compassionate, and effective. 

    The support system must be able to respond to individual needs and circumstances, be better equipped to address the full range of factors underlying a person’s distress and aim to restore wellbeing.  

    • Is sustained by collective effort from governments, sectors beyond health, service providers, and communities.  

    The system needs to be supported by greater accountability, more research and better data, and a stronger suicide prevention workforce. This will require the voices and expertise of lived and living experience to be embedded in the heart of policy design and implementation. 

    The survey will ask your thoughts on: 

    • How well the Advice on the Strategy articulates what is required for long term change in suicide prevention

    • If there is anything critical that the Advice on the Strategy is missing that should be included 

    • If you think any of the recommended actions need greater clarification or explanation 

    • Which actions you believe should be prioritised.


    We request that you read the Advice on the National Suicide Prevention Strategy Consultation draft prior to completing the survey. You may find it helpful to open a copy of the draft Strategy in another window while you complete the survey.

    You do not have to answer every question. 

    Please take care of yourself as you read the Advice on the Strategy and ask for help if needed. Support is always available. You can access support and information via the organisations listed on the National Suicide Prevention Office’s Find support webpage. 

    Privacy Statement 

    We are grateful that you are taking the time to provide your feedback on the draft Advice on the Strategy. We understand and take seriously your privacy and the sensitivity of the information you provide.  The National Suicide Prevention Office will use the information collected through this consultation for the purpose of informing the development of the National Suicide Prevention Strategy. It way also inform the National Suicide Prevention Office's broader work in monitoring, reporting and providing advice on Australia's suicide prevention system.

    Where you (or another person) are reasonably identifiable from your survey response, your personal information will be protected in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles. The National Suicide Prevention Office is administratively located within the National Mental Health Commission. For more information on the National Mental Health Commission's privacy practices and the contact details of our Privacy Officer, please click on the following link and refer to the National Mental Health Commission’s privacy.  KPMG has been engaged by the National Suicide Prevention Office to collate and categorise the feedback received on the draft Advice on the Strategy. Your feedback, personal and sensitive information will be shared with KPMG for this purpose. KPMG is contractually bound to comply with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles. 



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Page published: 10 Sep 2024, 07:09 AM