Three key things have recently crossed my desk which I thought you might be interested in.
South Australia leading the way as first state to adopt a Suicide Prevention Act
The South Australian Parliament is the first Australian state to pass a Suicide Prevention Act, marking a national milestone for suicide prevention.
This Bill is the first of its kind for any jurisdiction in Australia and is the result of extensive stakeholder and community consultation.
It aims to reduce the incidence of suicide in South Australia and to deliver best practice suicide prevention strategies across the state.
Not only is this an important piece of legislation for suicide prevention, it serves as a potential model for the Commonwealth and how other states handle their approach to preventing suicide.
The Suicide Prevention Bill demonstrates a real commitment to mental health and reducing deaths by suicide in the state.
Read more here
National Children’s Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy
In Australia, half of all adult mental health challenges emerge before the age of 14 and more than 50% of children experiencing mental health challenges are not receiving professional help.
These kinds of statistics and the lack of mental health support to children have led to The National Mental Health Commission developing the National Children’s Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy as part of the Australian Government’s long-term national health plan.
If The Australian Government wants to tackle the national issue of mental health and also support suicide prevention, then ensuring the mental health and wellbeing needs of our children needs to be addressed first.
Early intervention is key. Giving children the support they need early on increases the chances for better recovery. If we give children the best start, they will grow into happier, healthier adults.
Read more here
Series on industry initiatives supporting mentally healthy workplaces
Across Australia, industry initiatives are creating campaigns that seek to improve their organisation’s work environment and company culture. A growing number of companies are committed to making some sort of improvement to create mentally healthy workplaces.
After much research highlighted the value of industry-led initiatives,
The National Workplace Initiative developed a 3 part series which aims to support individuals or groups seeking to lead change in their industry to support mentally healthy workplaces.
This series includes:
● Paper 1 - Creating a collaborative: How to build an industry-led initiative
● Paper 2 - Stories from the field: Case studies of pioneering industry action
● Paper 3- Industry-led initiatives: Plan on a Page tool
Read more here
