A record half of all Australians nationally are now reporting elevated cost-of-living and personal debt distress (50%).
Cost-of-living distress is now double all other economic and social issues for the first time with ‘middle Australia’ driving the increase, the latest quarterly Suicide Prevention Australia Community Tracker reveals.
Some of the biggest increases in the March 2024 quarter were amongst full time workers (55%) and families with children at home under 18 (54%), compared to 41% (+14pp) and 38% (+16pp) in the September 2022 quarter.
It has led to Suicide Prevention Australia CEO, Nieves Murray issuing an urgent plea for Australians experiencing elevated cost-of-living and personal debt distress to seek help early; both financially and mentally.
“When you couple our data over the past 18 months with recent Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data showing living costs for employee households continue to rise well-above the national average, at the same time as real household income is declining, you can see Australia is in the midst of a growing cost-of-living challenge.
“Our findings on rising distress about unemployment and job security also align with the latest increase in unemployment, and it’s important we take a whole-of-government approach to ensuring these economic and social threats don’t lead to further increases in suicide rates as well.
“With federal and state government budgets, and further cost-of-living relief still months away, it’s clear more needs to be done to help ease the financial and mental distress of Australians right now.
“We know it’s two to three years after a critical event like a pandemic or environmental disaster that suicide rates often begin rising. The fact we are seeing cost-of-living distress continuing to escalate despite a softening in inflation and interest rates should be of real concern for our political and corporate leaders,” Ms Murray said.
Key Findings
- Overall, 50% of Australians reported cost-of-living and personal debt distress beyond normal levels in the March 2024 quarter. This is an increase on the past three (46%;+4pp), 12 (46%;+4pp) and 18 (40%;+10pp) months respectively.
- This is despite overall community distress continuing to remain relatively flat at about 73% over the same periods.
- Some of the biggest increases were amongst full time workers (55%;+3pp,+13pp,+14pp), as well as households earning over $100,000 (51%;+6pp,+11pp,+14pp) and $150,000 (54%;+8pp,+12pp,+20pp), plus those with children at home under 18 (54%;+4pp;+9pp;+16pp) over the same periods 3, 12 and 18 month periods respectively.
- Cost-of-living and personal debt distress (50%) is now more-than-double all other key economic and social determinants of suicide recorded in the survey, including: housing access and affordability (22%); unemployment and job security (21%); social isolation and loneliness (20%); family and relationship breakdown (23%); and drug and alcohol (10%).
- Cost-of-living and personal debt was also the main cause of elevated distress amongst Australians reporting suicidal behaviours (58%), as well as from those seeking help from frontline suicide prevention services (54%), particularly clinical services (64%).
Ms Murray said, “The silver lining is that about two-thirds of those Australians experiencing suicidal behaviours alongside elevated cost-of-living and personal debt distress are seeking help from a suicide prevention service. Our concern is that there’s another one-in-three, or potentially hundreds of thousands of Australians in distress that aren’t seeking help.
“Particularly given this is coming on top of three years of fires, floods and social isolation that have already put a significant strain on the community’s physical and psychological resilience.
“That’s why we need to accelerate the current rollout of a whole-of-government, not just mental health approach to suicide prevention. This includes national suicide prevention legislation requiring that key economic and social policies don’t have unintended consequences,” Ms Murray said.
Since the introduction of the 2006 Basic Act for Suicide Prevention in Japan, suicide deaths have fallen by about 40% in the past 16 years.
A national suicide prevention act is one of a range of positive, cost-effective policy options Suicide Prevention Australia has proposed that federal and state governments can implement immediately to ease the financial and mental strain on Australians.
ABOUT
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.
The Suicide Prevention Australia Community Tracker is undertaken in partnership with YouGov Australia. Total sample size was 1,063 adults. The survey was undertaken online between 5th – 7th February 2024. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all Australian adults (aged 18+).
To get help 24/7, phone Lifeline on 13 11 14 or the Suicide Call Back Service on 1300 659 467 or the National Debt Helpline on 1800 007 007. 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:
Tom Anderson 0409 718 271 or toma@suicidepreventionaust.org
Clare Kinsella 0427 689 689 or clarek@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 25 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.
