The national peak body for suicide prevention has welcomed the interim report from the Productivity Commission into the future of the National Agreement on Mental Health and Suicide Prevention, which outlines key recommendations that strongly align with the feedback provided by the peak body and its members.
Suicide Prevention Australia has praised the Commission’s recommendation that a new agreement be developed — one that is guided by the National Suicide Prevention Strategy, embedded with lived experience, and reflects the need for a whole-of-government approach to suicide prevention.
Christopher Stone, Acting CEO of Suicide Prevention Australia, said the interim report confirms what the sector has long been saying: the current system is not delivering the coordinated, measurable, and outcomes-driven action needed to reduce suicide and distress in Australia.
“This report is a wake-up call. We welcome the Productivity Commission’s honest assessment and are pleased to see the Commission endorse many of the recommendations we put forward – especially the need to align the next agreement with the National Suicide Prevention Strategy and for the National Suicide Prevention Office to take a central monitoring and evaluation role,” said Mr Stone.
The report recommends that suicide prevention remains a core component of the new agreement, with specific elements addressed in a separate schedule. Suicide Prevention Australia acknowledges it as a pragmatic compromise — ensuring suicide prevention receives dedicated focus while remaining integrated within a broader mental health framework.
Critically, the Commission recommends that the suicide prevention schedule be co-designed with people who access suicide prevention services, as well as people with lived and living experience, carers, kin, and service providers. It emphasises that the co-design process should be grounded in lived experience of suicide — not solely mental ill-health.
“Suicide prevention is complex and cuts across health, housing, education, justice, employment and more. The Commission is right to call for a truly whole-of-government approach, and for the next agreement to reflect this,” said Mr Stone.
Suicide Prevention Australia is urging the government to ensure the National Suicide Prevention Office is given responsibility for tracking and reporting on implementation, as recommended by the Commission.
“Accountability is key. With suicide rates remaining stubbornly high — and in some communities, rising — Australians need to see real action.”
Mr Stone also flagged that the key gap in the interim report is workforce.
“One gap in the interim report is its consideration of issues facing the suicide prevention workforce. We would welcome advice in the final report on how a future National Agreement could address these challenges to ensure services are equipped to respond to current and emerging priorities.
“Suicide prevention services cannot meet demand — or innovate — without adequate, stable, and skilled staffing. In addition, greater efforts need to be made to build and support the suicide lived experience and peer workforce. We strongly urge the Commission to address the suicide prevention workforce in its final report.
“We look forward to engaging with the Commission further and encourage all our members to contribute to the public submissions process,” said Mr Stone.
ENDS
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.
