A new suicide and self-harm monitoring system launched today will help government and suicide prevention service providers to identify trends and changes in suicide rates in Australia.
National peak body Suicide Prevention Australia welcomes the timely launch of the system, jointly developed by the National Mental Health Commission and Australian Institute for Health and Welfare.
Suicide Prevention Australia CEO Nieves Murray, who has been advocating for reliable and timely data, said the system will allow service providers to intervene quickly and early, which is particularly important in the ongoing COVID19 recovery process.
“Knowing what is happening now with COVID19, it’s really essential that we can get reliable and timely data to inform ongoing suicide prevention programs,” she said.
“Our community is vulnerable and as the long-term impacts of COVID19 become more apparent, we need to be ready with programs and services that are based on evidence and data.
“In our recent State of the Nation report, 75% of the sector said that they need access to better data on suicide, with 83% saying there are gaps in current data collection systems.
“The new monitoring system is a great start to filling some of these gaps. This is an ongoing piece of work that will enable our sector to respond quickly to new situations.
“A key part of the monitoring system is establishing suicide registers in all jurisdictions, which will help us to see trends across the states and territories.
“COVID19 has really highlighted the importance of having access to timely data. We’re working with data that is almost two years old, which makes it hard to deliver timely and effective services to the areas that need it most.
“We’re really excited to have played a role in developing the system. Suicide Prevention Australia has been advocating for timely data for years, and I’m delighted that our advocacy has seen results.”
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.
Suicide By The Numbers
- 3000+ deaths due to suicide in 2018 (3,046)
- 8+ deaths each day by suicide in Australia on average (8.4)
- 4 males per day
- 2 females per day
- 75% of suicide deaths were men in Australia (2,320)
- 65,000 suicide attempts each year (est.)
- Each year, around 100,000 Australians attempt suicide and it is estimated that more than 500,000 Australians have attempted suicide at some time in their life.
- 2x: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples had a rate of suicide approximately twice that of non-Indigenous people in Australia.
Help to report about suicide safely is available online: Go to www.mindframe-media.info
