The Commission acknowledges and pays respect to the past and present Traditional Custodians and Elders of this nation and the continuation of cultural, spiritual and educational practices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
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The National Suicide Prevention Office is developing the National Suicide Prevention Outcomes Framework to provide a way of measuring the impact of efforts being made in suicide prevention. It does this by providing a more meaningful and complete picture of what is working well and what needs to be improved.
Introduction
In February 2025, the National Suicide Prevention Office (NSPO) and the Australian Government launched the National Suicide Prevention Strategy 2025-2035 (the Strategy), outlining a model of an effective suicide prevention system. The National Suicide Prevention Outcomes Framework (Outcomes Framework) will use this model to measure progress in suicide prevention.
The Outcomes Framework represents significant advancement in three ways:
shared goals and outcomes developed in partnership with people with lived experience of suicide and key stakeholders from the suicide prevention sector;
statistics (quantitative) and stories (qualitative) will be combined to provide the essential insights into people’s experiences across the life course; and
inclusion of preventive measures, support systems, and collective efforts as outlined in the Strategy will be the focus.
The annual suicide statistics highlighting the number of lives lost to suicide are devastating, but only tell part of the story. The Outcomes Framework will provide a better understanding of the experiences of the people whose lives have been impacted by suicide, and for the first time, provide the evidence needed to better support people and prevent suicidal distress from occurring in the first place.
The NSPO will use the Outcomes Framework to monitor suicide prevention efforts nationally. Reports will be published regularly to inform and guide governments, service providers, researchers and communities, ensuring we all work together and continually improve efforts to prevent suicide across Australia.
Components
The Outcomes Framework will be made up of several components: an Overview, an Outcomes Map, a Data Quality and Improvement Plan, and a Monitoring and Reporting Plan.
Outcomes Framework Overview
The Outcomes Framework Overview provides the purpose, aims and intent of the Outcomes Framework and explains how the components operate together to provide a better understanding of the impact of efforts being made nationally.
The NSPO collaborated with the Lived Experience Partnership Group (LEPG) to define both the development process and to create the outcomes that underpin the Outcomes Framework.
The Outcomes have been designed to be person-centred and include what is important to people who have lived through suicidal distress, cared for a person experiencing suicidal distress, or those who have lost loved ones to suicide.
The Outcomes and indicators are the foundation of what is to come in the Outcomes Map to be released in 2026. The Outcomes Map will outline the data measures that will help to understand the impact of suicide prevention efforts for specific communities. The NSPO is working closely with the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) and other key stakeholders to include both quantitative and qualitative data measures.
The five suicide prevention goals and sixteen person-centred outcomes were shared for consultation with the NSPO’s Advisory Board, Jurisdictional Collaborative Forum, and Scientific Advisors. Once refined and agreed upon, the NSPO partnered with these groups to develop a set of indicators carefully tailored to measure the outcomes and capture the concepts that matter most in understanding and preventing suicide. These indicators not only describe what needs to change but also set the direction for that change.
To ensure broad representation, the outcomes and indicators underwent extensive consultation with relevant Commonwealth portfolios, peak bodies representing groups disproportionately impacted by suicide, and sector representatives.
With the Strategynow in delivery phase, it is critical that we have a way to meaningfully measure and report nationally on the outcomes that matter to people. The Outcomes Framework will measure progress against the direction outlined within the Strategy by translating the Strategy model into person-centred outcomes to ensure we have a consistent and agreed upon way to monitor progress.
The National Suicide Prevention Outcomes Framework is the next critical step to understanding how we can collectively make needed progress in suicide prevention. It will reinforce the intent, purpose and delivery of the National Suicide Prevention Strategy. As Co-Chair of the Lived Experience Partnership Group, it is a privilege and a pleasure to work alongside the National Suicide Prevention Office in developing the Outcomes Framework.”
– Imbi Pyman NSPO Lived Experience Partnership Group
The Commission acknowledges Aboriginal and Torres strait Islander peoples as the Traditional Custodians of the lands and waters on which we live, work and learn.
Diversity
The Commission is committed to embracing diversity and eliminating all forms of discrimination in the provision of health services. The Commission welcomes all people irrespective of ethnicity, lifestyle choice, faith, sexual orientation and gender identity.
Lived Experience
We acknowledge the individual and collective contributions of those with a lived and living experience of mental ill-health and suicide, and those who love, have loved and care for them. Each person’s journey is unique and a valued contribution to Australia’s commitment to mental health suicide prevention systems reform.
