Suicide Prevention Australia is deeply concerned that, despite ongoing election campaigning, neither major party has made a clear commitment to suicide prevention funding.
This is despite new data revealing that over eight in ten (83%)*Australians support increased action from politicians to address suicide prevention in the upcoming election, with young Australians (18-24) leading the call at 87%*. Suicide is the leading cause of death for young people aged 15-24.
While Suicide Prevention Australia welcomes the investment in mental health announced by both parties, there also needs to be a commitment to suicide prevention more specifically as there are many issues outside of mental illness that can cause suicidal distress.
Suicide Prevention Australia CEO, Nieves Murray, said the lack of direct investment in suicide prevention flies in the face of the government’s own commitments.
“The recently released National Suicide Prevention Strategy was meant to mark a turning point in how we approach suicide prevention in this country. Yet here we are, in the middle of an election campaign, and neither major party has committed to properly funding and implementing it.
“It’s positive to see investment in mental health. However, around half of those who die by suicide are not engaged with mental health services and a quarter of those who attempt suicide do not have a mental illness.
“Investing in only mental health and not suicide prevention is like fixing the cracks in a dam but ignoring the rising floodwaters — you might address part of the problem, but without a broader response, the pressure will keep building, and we will lose more people to suicide,” said Ms Murray.
Suicide rates and distress levels remain stubbornly high. Data from the Suicide Prevention Australia Community Tracker reveals that nearly one in five (19%) young Australians (18-34) have experienced suicidal distress in the last 12 months, including having serious thoughts of suicide, making a suicide plan, or attempting to take their life.
“Suicide is complex, and we cannot continue to funnel all solutions through the mental health or health system while ignoring the broader factors at play — financial stress, housing insecurity, social isolation, loneliness, relationship breakdown, climate change and more,” said Ms Murray.
“This isn’t just about mental health services, and having more psychologists. If we don’t fund suicide prevention workforce and programs directly, we are failing the many Australians at risk who never engage with the mental health system and don’t have a mental illness. We’re calling on both parties to step up and demonstrate their commitment to reducing deaths by suicide in Australia.
“Each year, more than 3,000 Australians die by suicide. That’s nine lives every day. This is almost 3 times the number of lives lost on our roads.
“Suicide rates are not going down. Every number represents a life lost, families devastated, and communities forever changed. We have the evidence, the strategy, and the solutions — but without funding, we can’t turn this into real, life-saving action. This election is a critical moment for all political leaders to step up and show they are serious about preventing suicide in Australia,” said Ms Murray.
Suicide Prevention Australia has written to both party leaders urging them to commit to funding the National Suicide Prevention Strategy before Australians head to the polls.
ENDS
ABOUT THE COMMUNITY TRACKER
The Suicide Prevention Australia Community Tracker is a quarterly survey that sheds light on the prevalence of suicidal behaviours, what social and economic issues are driving elevated distress, and the impact of suicide in our community. It is designed to provide real-time, community-wide insights to policy makers, practitioners, and the community and to support suicide prevention activities across Australia.
All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Australia. Total sample size was 1024 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 6th – 10th February 2025. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all Australian adults (aged 18+).
*Nationally representative sample of 1,516 Australian Citizens/ Voters aged 18 years and older undertaken by YouGov Australia between the 3rd – 10th February 2025.
Following the completion of interviewing, the data was weighted and are representative of all Australian voters 18+ by age, gender, location, education, income and past Federal election vote.
To get help 24/7, phone Lifeline on 13 11 14 or the Suicide Call Back Service on 1300 659 467. If you or someone you know are in immediate danger, phone 000 for emergency services.
Help to report about suicide safely is available online: Go to https://mindframe.org.au/
Media enquiries:
Amelia Hew 0410 591 134 or ameliah@suicidepreventionaust.org
About Suicide Prevention Australia
Suicide Prevention Australia is the national peak body and we’ve been providing support for Australia’s suicide prevention sector for more than 30 years. We support and advocate for our members to drive continual improvement in suicide prevention policy, programs and services. Our reach is broad, including member organisations, governments, businesses, researchers, practitioners and those with lived experience. We are focused on an integrated approach to suicide prevention encompassing mental health, social, economic and community factors. We believe that through collaborative effort and shared purpose, we can achieve our vision of a world without suicide.
