Suicide prevention
Suicide affects individuals, families and communities in Tasmania and across Australia.
Primary Health Tasmania is working with communities and service providers to reduce the incidence and impact of suicide.
Suicide affects individuals, families and communities in Tasmania and across Australia.
Primary Health Tasmania is working with communities and service providers to reduce the incidence and impact of suicide.
Primary Health Tasmania also supports other local initiatives designed to reduce suicide, as part of the National Suicide Prevention Strategy.
This includes working with local organisations to provide early intervention programs for people in remote and rural parts of the state, as well as those from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.
We also target workers by supporting workplace training in mental health and wellbeing awareness, resilience skilling and capacity building across different industries.
Find out more about our commissioned services by exploring Our Services Portal.
You don’t have to be a trained professional to engage in a conversation about suicide.
Primary Health Tasmania encourages people to undertake ‘gatekeeper training’, which provides the tools and confidence to have a conversation with and respond to someone who may be at risk of suicide.
We have received licences for two short online training courses so that Tasmanians can undertake gatekeeper training for free.
Click here to find out about the QPR Institute’s QPR (question, persuade, refer) training, which takes one to two hours.
Click here to find out about the Black Dog Institute’s Recognise and Respond training, which takes one hour.
Instructions for accessing these online training courses are available in the fact sheets linked above.
Under the National Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Agreement, the Australian, state and territory governments have committed to achieving what is referred to as ‘universal aftercare’.
The concept of universal aftercare expands the pathways to suicide aftercare support beyond hospital settings. It involves connecting people with aftercare services across various settings where people may present with suicidal distress.
The Tasmanian Suicide Prevention Strategy also highlights the need to increase the availability, accessibility and quality of aftercare services in Tasmania for people following a suicide attempt or for people who are experiencing a suicidal crisis.
Tasmania is the first state to adopt the National Communications Charter — a unifying resource for mental health, suicide prevention, government, business, and community organisations. On a local level, the Tasmanian Communications Charter champions a safe and stigma-free approach to talking about suicide that is consistent across various branches of the community.
Primary Health Tasmania is signatory to the Tasmanian Communications Charter.
You can find out more about it here.
Primary Health Tasmania does not offer health services, crisis, or emergency support.
Your regular general practitioner/doctors surgery should always be your first point of call if you need medical or mental health care
In an emergency, call Triple 000 for Ambulance, Fire or Police
For health advice on health services open at night, public holidays and weekends, visit the Tas After Hours website.
The following helplines are also available for urgent assistance: