2019-10-15
Madam Speaker,
I rise to make the following statement on suicide in the ACT, in accordance with the motion moved by Ms Bresnan and passed on 28 March 2012 in this place, committing the Minister for Mental Health to present a biannual Ministerial Statement on suicide prevention.
In late 2016, the ACT Government, as a strategic priority, appointed me as its first dedicated Minister for Mental Health and suicide prevention. Mental health and wellbeing are key priorities for the ACT Government. We are committed to enhancing the mental health and wellbeing of our community by focusing on the integration of services, prevention and early support, and prevention of suicide and self-harm.
In accordance with the 9th Parliamentary Agreement, a key priority for me in the Mental Health Portfolio is achieving a sustained reduction in the rate of suicide in the ACT by 2020.
Suicide is an issue globally, nationally and locally.
Across Australia, suicide is the leading cause of death for people aged 15 to 44 years, and the second-leading cause of death for people aged 45 to 54 years. Each year in Australia there are an estimated 65,000 suicide attempts, with the majority of these suicide attempts being made by females. Three-quarters of suicide deaths are male.
In Australia in 2018, 3,046 people took their own lives by suicide. This was more than double the national road toll and accounted for approximately 105,370 years of potential life lost in 2018.
These are sobering statistics, which are even more concerning when considering that behind each suicide there are friends, families and communities that are deeply affected.
This underscores why continued and coordinated action to prevent suicide is crucial for Australia and for the ACT. This is also why it is crucial for us to report on the occurrence of suicide in Australia and in the ACT.
This allows us to understand the patterns of suicide and keeps us accountable for our suicide prevention activity.
As I said earlier, this brings me to update the Assembly on the most recent information about suicide in the ACT.
In 2018 in the ACT, there were 47 deaths by suicide compared to 58 deaths recorded in 2017. In 2018, this was equivalent to an age-standardised rate of 11 suicide deaths per 100,000 people in the ACT, which was lower than the national average of 12.1 suicide deaths per 100,000.
Despite this improvement in 2018 from the year before, it is important that we also look at the five-year, age-standardised rate of suicide deaths per 100,000 people to gain a real sense of the trend. This tells us that the figures have largely remained constant with 10.5 suicide deaths per 100,000 in the 2013-17 period in the ACT, to 10.7 in the 2014-18 period. Similar figures were also seen across all States and Territories, and in the national average.
This, again, points to the importance of sustained efforts to improve the range of suicide prevention activities and early intervention services in the ACT and across Australia. In light of this, and the fact that it is Mental Health Month, I will take this opportunity to update the Assembly on how the ACT Government is continuing to support suicide prevention and early intervention in the ACT.
However, before I do, in the spirit of Mental Health Month, which encourages and supports increasing awareness and having frank conversations about mental health and wellbeing, I would like to speak to three of the common myths about suicide.
The first of these myths is the idea that talking about suicide publicly, or asking someone if they are having thoughts of suicide, can increase the rates of suicide or suicidality. This is a common myth, but it is one that has been proven incorrect in a number of studies, including one, in 2014 by the school of medicine at the King’s College London, which found no statistically significant increase in suicidal ideation among adult participants when asked about suicidal thoughts. Rather, talking openly about suicide raises people’s awareness of the available services and encourages them to seek help, thereby potentially helping to prevent suicide.
The second myth is the notion that only people with mental illness are suicidal. This myth itself can be stigmatising because many people living with mental illness will not be affected by suicidal behaviours and not all people who take their own lives have a mental illness. The reasons as to why people take their own lives are complex and often there is no single reason why a person will attempt suicide.
Recent research by the ABS shows that while many people who die by suicide experience mental illness, other health and psychosocial risk factors are also important. A wide range of
social and economic factors are recognised as risk factors for suicide including a past history of self-harm, alcohol and other drug problems, relationship issues, legal issues, unemployment, homelessness, disability, bullying, bereavement and impacts of chronic health conditions. For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people suicide rates are approximately twice that of non-indigenous Australians.
The third, and final, myth I will discuss today is the belief that once someone is suicidal, they will always be suicidal. Heightened suicide risk is often short-term and situation-specific. While suicidal thoughts may return, they’re not permanent. Someone who has experienced suicidal thoughts or attempts can go on to live a long life.
The ongoing existence of these three myths is a constant reminder of the importance of our efforts to raise the awareness of suicide prevention and develop the resilience of our community. This is something that the ACT Government, and I as the Minister for Mental Health, are deeply committed to.
This commitment is demonstrated in the programs and services that the ACT Government supports for suicide prevention in the ACT. I believe that this is first and foremost recognised through the establishment of the LifeSpan Integrated Suicide Prevention Framework in 2018, in partnership with the Black Dog Institute.
LifeSpan is an evidence-based approach to integrated suicide prevention that coordinates nine different strategies across community-led approaches that includes health, education, frontline services, business and the community. The ACT Government is the only State and Territory Government that is centrally coordinating a LifeSpan trial site.
LifeSpan has hit the ground running and has already made great progress in establishing health promotion and suicide prevention programs in the ACT. A recent example is the Question, Persuade Refer (QPR) online gatekeeper training program, which has been widely promoted by the ACT Health Directorate and the Capital Health Network. QPR is a suicide prevention intervention that teaches lay and professional gatekeepers to recognise and respond positively to someone exhibiting suicide warning signs and behaviours. I am pleased to say over 450 Canberrans have taken up this training opportunity to date.
LifeSpan is also targeting groups who are at higher risks of suicidality, such as young people. For example, the ACT Government has committed to implement the Black Dog
Institute’s Youth Aware of Mental Health (YAM) Program as part of ACT LifeSpan. The ACT Health Directorate will implement YAM with year 9 students in all ACT high schools, in partnership with ACT Education, as it is a program that directly targets young people in the age group identified as being at an increased risk of intentional self-harm. Funding for this initiative has been made available through the Commonwealth Government’s Community Health and Hospitals Partnership Program.
LifeSpan is also working closely with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community in the ACT to develop culturally appropriate suicide prevention and intervention services. This has included employing an ACT LifeSpan Aboriginal Project Officer to coordinate this work and establishing an ACT LifeSpan Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Working Group.
This Working Group has included consultation with key local stakeholders including the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Elected Body, United Ngunnawal Elders Council, Winnunga Nimmityjah, Gugan Gulwan Aboriginal Youth Centre and a range of inter-directorate ACT Government stakeholders.
In addition to those vulnerable groups, the ACT Government is also continuing to support people who have recently attempted suicide, which is the time when people are at the greatest risk of making another attempt. This is achieved through the ACT Government’s ongoing funding for the Way Back Support Service, developed by Beyond Blue and provided in the ACT by Woden Community Services. The Way Back Support Service is a non-clinical suicide prevention program developed to provide follow-up support for people after they have attempted suicide.
I am proud to say that the ACT Government was an early adopter of the Way Back Support Service, as it funded a pilot of the program in 2016. Since then, the ACT Government has continued to support the Service and has negotiated a Bilateral Agreement with the Commonwealth to provide matched funding to secure its continued operation in the ACT.
These are important health services for preventing suicide and promoting health and wellbeing in the ACT. However, as I discussed earlier, the reasons that a person may attempt suicide are complex, multifactorial and can often be influenced by the social and economic circumstances that affect their lives. Many of these circumstances are outside the traditional remit of a health system.
Instead, effective community-wide suicide prevention requires the coordination of a range of different sectors, agencies and community groups that can take a holistic view of a person. A key element of this is enabling a whole-of-government approach that can work together to improve the underlying mental health and wellbeing of the community and reduce the overall impact of mental illness.
I am also proud to say that, in addressing the social and economic determinants of mental health and wellbeing, the ACT is leading the way. A key achievement in this is the establishment of the Office for Mental Health and Wellbeing, which was launched in June 2018. The work of the Office centres around promoting and coordinating whole-of-government action towards improving mental health and wellbeing.
In fact, this aim is reflected in the Territory-wide Vision of Mental Health and Wellbeing that has been developed by the Office in close consultation with members of the community and other key stakeholders. The vision that the Office is championing is “A kind, connected and informed community working together to promote and protect the mental health and wellbeing of all.”
This vision is a call to action for cooperation that improves the mental health and wellbeing of all Canberrans. This reaffirms that suicide prevention is everyone’s business.
In line with this, the model for the Office prioritises close collaboration with agencies outside of health services, including housing, employment, community services, justice, police and education. By encouraging linkages and cooperation between these agencies, the Office and the ACT Government are championing the importance of mental health and wellbeing across the community.
This focus on improving the range of social and economic factors that can impact on mental health will help to improve the naturally occurring protective factors in our community that help to prevent suicide. In this way, the ACT Government is doing what it can to create a community that is more resilient and supportive of each other.
This vision, of a more connected community in the ACT, is something I believe we must continue to strive to achieve. As a result, I will continue to prioritise the important work of suicide prevention in the ACT.
There is no single answer for preventing suicide, but each step forward is an important one. I am pleased with the collaborative work that is happening in the ACT. I look forward to continuing to serve the ACT in this regard, as the Minister for Mental Health, and I will continue to keep the Legislative Assembly and the public up to date with our work.
I present a copy of the Ministerial Statement I have made, and I move: That the Assembly take note of this paper.