Impact Evaluation Bank

Overview:

Buddy Up Australia (BUA) works with defence members, first responders, and their families to ensure they are thriving through service.  BUA delivers events and resources based on social connection, personal challenge and decompression. These protective factors enable Australia’s defence and first responders to exceed upon the demands of service life. 

‘Thrive in Service’ is a one-day performance camp delivered directly to Australia’s service organisations addressing the service athlete, tactical nutrition, financial stability and role clarity in and out the uniform. 

Impact summary:

• In 2024/25, BUA delivered 636 events across Australia with 4,183 attendances nationwide.
• 166 members completed the 2026 evaluation survey, establishing BUA’s first baseline across resilience, help-seeking and social-connection. Members who attend weekly events, recorded loneliness scores approximately 27% lower than members who had never attended, suggesting that regular participation is associated with stronger social connection. 
• Qualitative feedback suggests BUA’s strongest perceived benefits are connection, belonging and renewed routine.
• Members commonly described Buddy Up as “a chance to mix with people who understand what service life is like”, while others said it gave them “reasons to get out and about doing activities I wouldn’t normally do.”

Overview:

The MindOut Training Program is a national, multi-component initiative aimed at strengthening the capacity of the mental health and suicide prevention workforce to deliver culturally safe and inclusive support for LGBTIQ+ communities. The evaluation demonstrates broad engagement across the sector and identifies meaningful contributions to workforce capability, including increased confidence, improved inclusive practice, and strengthened integration of lived experience perspectives in service delivery.

Impact summary:

• Evidence of impact is observed at individual, organisational, and system levels, including examples of policy development, practice change, and cross-sector collaboration.
• These findings reflect a capacity-building model designed to influence systems over time and should be understood within this context rather than as a single-point intervention.
• The evaluation highlights areas for further development such as achieving more consistent national reach and strengthening delivery infrastructure.
• The program provides a scalable and evidence-informed foundation for advancing LGBTIQ+ inclusive suicide prevention practice across Australia.

Overview:

Established in 2008, MATES develops networks of suicide safety on worksites by engaging the workforce as peer-connectors and ASIST intervenors. MATES also provide Respond critical incidents and postvention management training to peer-workers on sites.  The MATES program is supported by a peer workforce of field officers, case managers and a 24/7 helpline.

Impact summary:

• MATES has trained close to 400,000 workers in General Suicide Awareness, 40,000 peer connectors, and more than 5,000 suicide interveners in workplaces across Australia.  MATES have engaged more than 18,000 workers in case management.  
• MATES has been extensively evaluated with more than 20 peer-reviewed published articles.  A systematic review of peer-reviewed articles published before 2023 found short and medium-term gains in suicide literacy, stigma reduction and high training satisfaction.
• Medium-term impacts include stronger help-offering behaviours, greater peer engagement and increased trust in non-supervisory support roles.
• Long-term findings show cultural shifts in workplace attitudes, integration into routine safety practices, and early quantitative signs of reduced suicide risk.
• While there is strong evidence that suicide rates in the construction industry have declined at a rate significantly faster than amongst other employed men since the development of the MATES program, any causal link is not conclusive.  However, the reach and available evaluation evidence suggest that MATES could be a strong contributor to this decline.

Overview: 

The Stay Strong program at Menzies School of Health Research developed a wellbeing support package co-designed with First Nations young people and services. The program is guided by a research team, a Project Advisory Group with majority First Nations membership, Youth Reference Groups and an Indigenous Advisory Group. 

This suicide prevention service provides a structured intervention which promotes wellbeing, cultural connection, and access to other services. It integrates: The user guided wellbeing smartphone app ‘AIMhi for youth’, training and support resources (face to face and online) and Web-based resources. 

Impact summary:

• Promotion of the program at 26 conferences and community events with potential reach of 10,310 people. Face-to-face (or Virtual) awareness-raising sessions/consultations with at least 120 organisations promoting AIMhi-Y app. 

• Codesign of new content occured over nine Youth reference groups, and 21 youth co-design groups engaged over 95 young people in cultural, wellbeing and codesign activities. The young people reported that they enjoyed the workshops and learnt something new. New content including 11 new videos, 7 new games, and 5 new character stories with local cultural input were codesigned through this process and added to the AIMhi-Y app which was released in June 2025. A website with supporting wellbeing resources was also codesigned and released in Oct 2024, with user journeys for mob, young mob and workers to easily navigate to appropriate resources. As at 22 July 2025, 1,307 users had accessed the website with over 1,995 sessions and over 5,000 page views. The Keep Me Strong Hip Hop video has been viewed on YouTube 256 times since its release in September 2024. The AIMhi-Y app has been downloaded over 2,740 times. 

• Training in the Stay Strong approach and the use of the Stay Strong and AIMhi-Y apps has been provided to >911 service providers in over 31 organisation, supporting their capacity to respond to suicide. The majority of these organisations remained engaged with requests for repeat trainings and follow up support over the 3 years. In addition, 93 consultation and implementation planning sessions were conducted with 38 organisations to plan training and 53 follow support sessions were delivered to 12 organisations who received training. 

Overview:

Since 2018, #chatsafe has empowered young people and partnered with governments and social media platforms to promote safer online communication about suicide.

Impact summary:

• #chatsafe resources have been downloaded 600,000+ times and adapted in more than 30 countries.
• Social campaigns have reached over 17 million Australians.
• Guidelines (translated into 30+ languages) influence national conversations, inform policy and are embedded in safety hubs by platforms like Meta and TikTok.
• With 13 peer-reviewed publications, ongoing research and youth involvement, and expanding global partnerships, #chatsafe continues to shape safer online environments for young people.

Overview:

Australia’s national lived experience of suicide organisation, providing national leadership in lived experience of suicide by embedding lived experience expertise across suicide prevention nationally, supporting government and sector reform, driving innovation from community insights, strengthening lived experience and peer workforces, and contributing to research.

Impact summary:

Activity stream 4: National Leadership role

• Significant contribution to national system reform including driving the recognition of lived experience expertise as being central in the National Suicide Prevention Strategy (key enabler) and acknowledged as essential to inform the new iteration of the National Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Agreement. Providing lived experience expertise in over 40 advisory and representative boards and committees across various aspects of sector and government work.  

• Lived Experience Summit 2023 and 2025 have provided platform for people with lived experience, government, sector and community to collaborate, innovate and drive ongoing improvements across suicide prevention system. Additional 16 events across Australia to raise awareness, reduce stigma, support communities disproportionately impacted by suicide. 

• Future Leaders Program developed and piloted with evaluation report by Monash University due TBC – a first-of-its-kind leadership program in Australia for people with a lived experience of suicide. 80% of participants completed the program culminating in the development of local community-based suicide prevention project plans addressing local needs. 

• 127 lived experience engagement & integration projects completed to date where Roses in the Ocean directly supports and connects people with lived experience to contribute to research, service design, tertiary education content development, knowledge translation, resource development, Best Practice Guidelines, speaking engagements, system reform, documentaries, public signage etc.

• Faith Leaders project -  an Australian first – 18-month consultation project with seven faith leaders from seven different religious communities in NSW resulting in an extensive report and recommendations for how Australia can better support various religious and cultural communities address the conversation and issue of suicide.

Activity stream 6: Access and Equity Project

• 96 workshops delivered to over 2,500 people with lived experience of suicide in regional & remote areas.
  • Overall evaluation score of 4.72/5 based on workshop content, facilitator knowledge and skills, inclusive and safe environment for learning as people with lived experience of suicide, post-workshop resources. 
• TouchPoints (suicide intervention skills) workshop – 92.3% of participants report using skills learnt in the training in community over a 6-month period post-training, citing the following as
  • Key skills learnt in TouchPoints workshop include:
    Noticing invitations for help, directly asking about suicide, listening without judgement, recognising warning signs of someone who may be experiencing suicidal crisis, helping them decide what to do next to stay safe, supporting them to get help.
• Co-design, adaptation and development of community-specific suicide intervention skills training for LGBTIQA+ and South Sudanese communities.
  • Community leaders are upskilled to deliver training to their own community groups enhancing community autonomy, confidence and capability to recognise and respond to suicide, tailored training to meet specific local needs.

Activity stream 7: National Safe Spaces Project

• Supported community to establish and operate 19 community-led Safe Spaces across Australia. 

• 8,000+ guests have accessed one of these community-led Safe Spaces.

• Zero calls have needed to be made to emergency services representing significant reduction in distress, economic savings for government and providing critical genuine alternatives, options and choices for people at risk of suicide. 

Overview:

 R U OK? is a national suicide prevention charity encouraging meaningful conversations that help people feel connected and supported. 

Impact summary:

• R U OK? is the most widely recognised mental health organisation in Australia, strongly associated with talking behaviours – with 90% total brand awareness.
• Among those aware of R U OK?, more than half agree that it promotes meaningful conversations year-round – or should, if it does not already. 
• Those engaged with R U OK? continue to demonstrate more frequent help-giving behaviours. While barriers to these behaviours persist, confidence in recognising signs of someone needing support and conversing with them, have increased.

Reference: R U OK? Impact Tracker Report | March 2026, Varian. 

Overview: 

The Healthy Communities Foundation Australia’s Rural and Remote Suicide Prevention Program provides mental health and suicide prevention support across regional, rural and remote Australia. Through crisis support, outreach, education and training, the program supports people most at-risk while raising awareness of mental health and suicide prevention in local communities.

Impact summary:

• Since 2023, the program has supported more than 600 people across New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland, providing over 9,450 episodes of care.
• The program has delivered mental health and suicide prevention services across approximately 500,000 square kilometres, reaching communities with a combined population of around 150,000 people.
• Education and training initiatives have also been delivered to more than 5,700 individuals across rural NSW, strengthening local capability, early intervention responses and community awareness.
• An independent evaluation conducted by Charles Sturt University found the program had a significant positive impact on mental health outcomes across rural and remote communities in NSW, Victoria and Queensland.
• The evaluation highlighted the program’s flexibility, responsiveness and strong community engagement, supported through local workforce models, place-based care and partnerships with organisations including the National Rugby League (NRL). 

Overview:

Youth Insearch is a nationally recognised targeted early-intervention organisation supporting at-risk young people aged 8–25 through peer-led programs co-designed and delivered by young people with lived experience.

Impact summary:  

• Participants typically present with high levels of psychosocial distress and suicide risk. Evaluations of the program show strong links to rapid and long-term reductions in suicide risk and distress levels. After participating in the program, participants report improvement in distress levels with an average 80% reduction in reported psychosocial distress over 24 months.
• For those young people entering the program with suicidal behaviour risks, 35% demonstrated a reduction in the first 90 days, with 80% of participants demonstrating a reduction within 24 months. Significantly of those young people in the program, 75% of participants reported no suicidal risk.
• Latitude’s avoided cost modelling estimates future government service costs for the Youth Insearch cohort and calculates savings from reduced service use attributable to the program, with findings indicating an approximate $7 return for every $1 invested.

Reference: Latitude: Youth In Search – Report to National Suicide Prevention Office, Sept 2025

Overview:

Live4Life is an evidence-based, community-led, rural youth mental health and suicide prevention program. The only model of its kind designed specifically for rural and regional communities, Live4Life empowers young people, schools and communities to build the skills, relationships and local capacity needed to improve wellbeing, reduce suicide risk and support young people to respond to mental health challenges. 

Impact summary:  

• Live4Life has partnered with over 175 organisations in fourteen rural communities across Victoria and now Tasmania.
• 38,887 young people have completed mental health education 
• 3,582 adults have completed mental health education 
• 1,800 young people have volunteered as mental health ambassadors in the Live4Life Crew within their schools and communities
• Over the past 15 years, Live4Life has been continuously, independently evaluated across multiple rural communities — consistently showing that the program improved mental health literacy, reduced stigma, and increased confidence to seek and offer help: 
  • 90% or more of young people are having conversations about mental health with someone else.
  • 82% of adults are far more confident to support a young person with a mental health need (Ludowyk, 2020).
• Evaluations and emerging research shows these benefits extend beyond school, contributing to more open and supportive community cultures around mental health. 

Overview: 

StandBy Support After Suicide (StandBy) is a national suicide postvention program that provides free support to individuals and communities bereaved or impacted by suicide. The program provides coordinated support to individuals and groups, supports postvention planning, and helps build the capacity of communities to support to those bereaved or impacted by suicide.  

StandBy also offers Peer Support and a Suicide Bereavement Counselling Service (SBCS) across Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, and the Northern Territory to further support those bereaved or impacted by suicide loss. 

Impact summary:

• The study found that within 12 months after a suicide loss, people who received support from StandBy had significantly lower levels of responsibility, shame, loneliness (emotional, social, and overall), and suicidality compared to those who did not receive StandBy’s support.
• The study also found that people who had received StandBy support had significantly lower levels of feelings of rejection and social and overall loneliness, even when their loss occurred more than 12 months ago.
• The study also found significantly lower levels of suicidality among people who had received StandBy support. This suggests that support during the first 12 months after a suicide loss may act as a form of suicide prevention among people bereaved by suicide, who are a known at-risk group.