According to the latest release from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), 3,214 Australians died by suicide in 2023 – averaging nine deaths per day and making up 31.8 per cent of all deaths among people aged 15-24.
Suicide is the leading cause of death for young Australians.
In Western Australia, the suicide rate saw an 8.3 per cent increase from 2022, totalling 417 deaths in 2023 and averaging more than 1 death per day. This positions WA above the national average and fourth nationally, behind NSW, VIC and QLD.
Despite this, WA remains one of the only states without a Suicide Prevention Act, a Suicide Prevention Minister, or a dedicated Office for Suicide Prevention.
According to Suicide Prevention Australia (SPA), these structures are vital to mandate accountability across government portfolios. SPA’s May 2025 Community Tracker called for urgent legislative reform, better integration between services, and consistent suicide prevention guidelines in emergency departments.
“These are so important,” says Dr Michael Kyron, Interim Director of UWA’s Suicide Prevention and Resilience Research Centre (SPARRC).
“Without someone to oversee service delivery and research, the system becomes fragmented – resulting in inefficiencies, people lost within the system, and duplication of services.”
Where the money goes, and where it doesn’t
The WA Government allocated $260 million in the 2024-2025 State Budget to mental health, drug and alcohol services – but only an estimated actual of $39 million was allocated to suicide prevention, awareness campaigns, and the development of a new strategy.
The 2025-2026 State Budget overview outlines a $34.1 million target for prevention services, including awareness initiatives for mental illness, suicide prevention, and substance use harm. But this still represents less than 2.1 per cent of the state’s overall mental health budget, a figure mental health professionals and advocates say doesn’t reflect the scale of need.
“WA only allocates 1.7 per cent of its mental health budget to prevention,” says youth mental health advocate Cass Swarbrick, a member of the Headspace Youth National Reference Group.
“How much of that already minimal percentage actually reaches regional and rural areas? Metro areas suffer; regional communities suffer twice as much.”
Dr Kyron agrees.
“We need to ensure things don’t reach a crisis point, even if the effects of those strategies are delayed.”
When suicide was a crime: A lasting impact
Did you know attempted suicide was once illegal in WA? It remained a criminal offense until the early 1970s. In 1897, a man named Edward Edmonds was charged after surviving a suicide attempt, a story reported in the The Inquirer and Commercial News on August 20 of that year.
The Inquirer and Commercial News, Aug 20, 1897, page 15
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Regional WA: High suicide rates, low service access
Suicide rates in WA’s regional areas, including the Kimberley and Goldfields, are 1.4 times higher than the state average. Contributing factors include financial stress, geographic isolation, difficulty accessing timely support, and chronic underfunding.
“In my community, suicide has almost become normalised,” says Ms Swarbrick.
“Services often tell people to ‘come back when they’re at risk again,’ creating a destructive cycle.”
Rockingham-based clinical psychologist Michelle Stickle sees this systemic failure firsthand.
“Clients I send to hospital often wait over eight hours to be seen, and many leave before they are,” she says. “I’ve had patients who’ve attempted suicide by overdose sent home the next day with no follow-up care at all. Unless they advocate for themselves, they just fall through the cracks or die later.”
According to Dr Kyron, one of WA’s top priorities should be better digital infrastructure “to ensure people’s experiences are properly captured as they move through the health system.”
Too many individuals fall through the cracks,” he says.
Emergency departments not equipped
The Mental Health Commission’s (MHC) Suicide Prevention Framework 2021–2025 identifies emergency departments (EDs) as a key crisis touchpoint. But according to Dr Kyron and Ms Stickle, EDs are often under-resourced and overwhelmed.
“Young people are more impulsive, they’re not going to wait hours to be seen,” Ms Stickle says.
“The burden often falls on community services,” adds Dr Kyron.
“But it’s unclear they have the resourcing to ensure continuity of care. Risk assessments are also highly inaccurate; they often misclassify people and lead to inefficient use of limited resources.”
History of mental health laws in WA
From the 1840s to the 2020s, here is a quick guide to WA’s key mental health legislations and reforms.
Prevention starts with peer support
Youth-focused organisations like Zero2Hero advocate for peer-to-peer support models, especially for early intervention among young people.
“Friends are usually the first responders,” says Ms Swarbrick. “Proper training protects both the person in crisis and their support network.”
Zero2Hero highlights that while suicide is the leading cause of death for Australians under 44, more than 95 per cent of mental health funding goes to treatment, not prevention. WA also has the highest mental health readmission rate in the country at 16.5 per cent.
Still no public, real-time suicide register
Unlike VIC, QLD, and TAS, WA has no public real-time suicide register. Suicide data is currently shared between the Office of the State Coroner and the MHC via the Western Australian Coronial Suicide Information System but is not publicly accessible.
“Access to real-time data helps deliver resources where they’re needed and builds more resilient communities,” says Dr Kyron.
“Delayed data reduces our ability to respond to suicide clusters and regional trends.”
Swarbrick similarly questions the lack of urgency.
“We prioritise road safety because 3.6 Australians die in car crashes daily, but suicide kills 9.”
In April 2023, the WA Government announced that the MHC was developing a WA Suicide Monitoring System. No public updates have followed.
Postvention remains unfunded
WA has no dedicated state funding for postvention, support services for those bereaved by suicide. This group is at elevated risk of mental illness, trauma, and suicidality.
The most recent State of the States Report 2023 from SPA reveals that while the Federal Government invested $22 million in national postvention services in the 2021-2022 Budget, WA did not match this commitment in its Bilateral Agreement with the Commonwealth. This leaves WA as one of the few states without a dedicated, funded approach toward postvention services.
“Given that one suicide can impact up to 135 people”, says SPA’s Executive Director of Sector Advocacy Chris Stone.
“Families are left to navigate their pain in silence, increasing their vulnerability to further mental health struggles.”
“Postvention is cost-effective and crucial,” Dr Kyron says.
“Groups like StandBy do great work, but they need state resources to scale their impact, expecially if paired with real-time data systems.”
Ms Stickle agrees.
“My patients who attempt suicide only get a couple of follow-up appointments, then they’re on their own.”
If you or anyone you know needs help, 24/7 support services are available:
- Lifeline: 13 11 14
- Suicide Call Back Service: 1300 659 467
- MensLine Australia: 1300 789 978
- Kids Helpline (for young people aged 5 to 25 years): 1800 551 800
- StandBy – Support After Suicide: 1300 727 247
This article was written using the Mindframe guidelines. It is recommended for all Australian media professionals to refer to these guidelines when reporting on suicide, mental ill-health, and alcohol and other drugs.
