Dial 000 for life threatening emergencies or go to your hospital’s emergency department.

Crisis telephone support (24/7)

• Lifeline: 13 11 14
• beyondblue Support Service: 1300 22 4636
• Kids Helpline: 1800 551 800 (for under 25’s)
• Men’s Line Australia: 1300 78 99 78
• QLife: 1800 184 5327 (LGBTQI+ Helpline – 3pm-midnight around Australia)

I need help

The best way to get help is to connect with someone face to face – by talking to a person who cares about you. Find someone you know you can trust and talk to them. This could be your cousin, an Aunty, an Uncle, your Granny or a friend.

You can go to an Aboriginal Medical Service or health clinic in your community and talk to a doctor or health worker there. If it’s after-hours, you can visit the emergency department of your hospital.

You can also call one of the numbers above to speak with someone at any time.

Although it may not feel like it now, these feeling will pass and talking to someone else will help you get through them. Remember you are not alone, and no matter where you are or who you are, you can get help now.

I need help for someone else

If the situation is urgent and you are concerned that someone else is in immediate danger do not leave the person alone, unless you are concerned for your own safety.

Call the person’s doctor, a mental health crisis service listed above or dial 000 and say that the person’s life is at risk.

If the person agrees, you could go together to the local hospital emergency department for assessment.

You can also visit an Aboriginal Medical Service or local health clinic. 

There are also a variety of resources on this page, mostly Aboriginal and Torres Straits Islander specific, about suicide, including how to help someone else you think may be suicidal. The resources include booklets, videos and links that you may find useful.

Helpful resources

• Keeping Strong - beyondblue (PDF, 3.5MB) 
  For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who may be experiencing the signs or symptoms of depression or for those with friends or family members who may have depression.
• Finding our Way Back - beyondblue (PDF, 5.3MB)
  A resource for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples after a Suicide Attempt. (21 page booklet)
• Lifeline: Toolkit for Suicide Prevention Information for Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander people (PDF, 2.7MB)
  A self-help resource for people living with mental illness.
• Lifeline: Aboriginal Suicide Prevention Information (PDF, 199KB)
• Lifeline: Information sheet for young people (PDF, 208KB)
• It's OK to Talk About it (YouTube)
  Video on Suicide Prevention, produced by The Gugan Gulwan Youth Aboriginal Corporation in the ACT, developed as an early intervention tool. (Approx. 16 mins duration).
• Suicide warning signs - Communities Matter (PDF, 767KB)

If you have lost someone close to you to suicide, this will be a very painful and confusing time and you may experience a range of feelings including deep sadness, depression, and sometimes anger and rage about somebody's decision to take their own life.

It's important to acknowledge and accept that the feelings you experience, and which can come up at different times, are a natural reaction to the suicide of someone who was close to you. It is also critical to acknowledge that it is a time not only of grieving and loss but it is also moving on to a point of recovery for you and your family and those others who were close to that person who has taken their own life.

During this time, it is also helpful to have loved ones and caring people around you. Face to face support is also available by talking to your doctor or a health care worker at an Aboriginal Medical Service or health clinic in your community.

You can also call one of the crisis numbers on the side of this page to speak with someone at any time.

There are a variety of resources on this page, mostly Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander specific, about grief and loss, and includes information on how to help children. The range of resources includes booklets, videos and links that you may find useful.

Helpful resources

• Supporting Children After Suicide booklet - Mental Health Association NSW (PDF, 453KB)
• Managing tough times: Suggestions for families and staff - KidsMatter [PDF, 1.2 MB]
• Toolkit: Coping with sorrow, loss and grief - Lifeline (PDF, 300KB)
• Grief and loss - beyondblue (PDF, 1.8MB)
• Indigenous Parents and Carers: How might trauma, loss and grief affect your bub? - Trauma and grief network (PDF, 300KB)
• Issues to Consider for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Organisations (PDF, 221KB)
  Indigenous Quick Reference Card developed for use by Indigenous Organisations when talking to the media about suicide.

If you are non-Indigenous (perhaps a teacher, health worker, or police officer working in a community) it can be daunting knowing how to best go about providing help and support to an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander person who is depressed or suicidal, or is dealing with grief and loss.

For many people who are not accustomed to working with Indigenous people it is very important to consider the cultural differences and to be mindful about the assumptions and expectations that we may have about people who are from different cultures to our own.

Working in the field of suicide prevention is stressful for everybody involved. For those who have the task of helping others who are struggling in this situation it's important that you’re properly prepared by having a sufficient level of cultural competence and understanding in working with Indigenous people so that you can effectively help them.

There are a variety of resources on this page to guide workers and helpers supporting and assisting Indigenous people, including young people, who may be suicidal or going through grief and loss. The range of resources includes booklets, videos and links that you may find useful.

Helpful resources

• Key facts: Grief, Loss and Trauma - Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet (PDF, 1.2MB)
• Suicide contagion for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people - headspace (PDF, 319KB)
• Trauma and resilience Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and families - KidsMatter (PDF, 404KB)
• What is trauma - KidsMatter (PDF, 1.6MB)
• How might trauma affect Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children - KidsMatter (PDF, 564KB)
• Suggestions and resources for school staff supporting Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander children who have experienced trauma - KidsMatter (PDF, 504KB)
• Suggestions and resources for families - KidsMatter (PDF, 370KB)
• How does KidsMatter support children who have experienced trauma - KidsMatter (PDF, 557KB)
• Djambatjthi - Becoming Wise (YouTube)
  Short video produced in the NT to assist people in communities and practitioners who provide help to people with mental health problems, including suicidal thoughts. Video produced in English and local Yolngu Matha language (with English subtitles).
  

This section includes resources for health professionals working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. 

Helpful resources

• CRANAplus - The peak professional body for the remote and isolated health workforce of Australia
• Australian Psychology Association
• Working Together: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Mental Health and Wellbeing Principles and Practice (PDF, 14.5MB)
  The 2nd Edition. Editors: Pat Dudgeon, Helen Milroy and Roz Walker. Book 620 pages or Downloadable Chapters.
• The Elders' Report into Preventing Indigenous Self-harm and Youth Suicide (PDF, 1.3MB)
• What works in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander suicide prevention?
  InPsych Bulletin –February 2016, Vol 38, Issue 1