Executive director Grahame Gould said it was vital suicide became ‘’everyone’s business’’, with new figures revealing rates are on the rise.

Suicide remains the leading cause of death for Australians aged from 15 to 44 years according to figures released on Wednesday by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

In 2015, there were 3027 deaths by suicide – a rate of 12.6 deaths per 100,000 people which is the highest rate recorded in the past 10 years.

‘’It’s really hard to hear that the rate of suicides in Australia continue to rise,’’ Mr Gould said. ‘’What it means is that we need to have a more structured approach to suicide prevention.

‘’That includes encouraging community members to join in our free safe talks, to let them know they can make suicide part of their business and move someone at risk towards the right help.’’

Nationally, demand for Lifeline services has never been higher. Locally, Lifeline South Coast answered 16,385 calls during 2015 – 12,727 of those calls specifically discussed suicide.

The annual ABS Causes of Death report revealed that heart disease remained the overall leading cause of death for Australians, with dementia, strokes, lung cancer and chronic respiratory conditions all in the top five. 

While intentional self harm came in as the 13th leading cause of death overall, it accounted for a higher proportion of deaths among younger people. One-third of deaths among people aged 15-24, and a quarter of deaths among those aged 25-34, were due to suicide.

Visit www.lifelinesouthcoast.org.au to book in for a safe talk session. 

Call 13 11 14 for crisis support.