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.