Every life: The Queensland Suicide Prevention Plan 2019-2029 (Every life) is Queensland's whole-of-government and whole-of-community plan to reduce suicide and its impacts.
Every life was released in 2019 and was designed to be implemented in three phases over ten years.
Every life Phase One concluded in 2022 and Phase Two 2023-2026 is the culmination of extensive consultation with people with a lived experience of suicide, non-government and government organisations, groups who are disproportionately impacted by suicide, and the broader Queensland community.
Preventing suicide
Suicide is complex, with no one cause or solution. Every life provides a plan of action for preventing suicide through a comprehensive set of initiatives, including:
- building resilience to prevent suicide
- intervening early in distress and vulnerability
- providing intensive responses at crisis points, and
- whole-of-system supports during key life stages and pivotal life events.
Effectively reducing suicide takes strong collaboration and leadership across all levels of government and the suicide prevention system, as well as the broader community.
The plan focuses on building and supporting joint initiatives, collective effort, and partnerships across agencies and sectors.
Importantly, the plan adopts coordinated and evidence-based actions to guide a multifaceted approach to suicide prevention.
Evaluation
The University of Melbourne has been engaged to conduct an independent evaluation of the ten-year suicide prevention plan, Every life, and develop a Queensland suicide prevention monitoring and outcomes framework.
Vision
Guiding principles
Every life is underpinned by the following principles:
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Relationship to Shifting minds
Every life Phase Two is a sub-plan of:
- Shifting minds: Queensland Mental Health, Alcohol and Other Drugs Strategic Plan 2018–2023 (Shifting minds 2018–2023) and
- Shifting minds: The Queensland Mental Health, Alcohol and Other Drugs, and Suicide Prevention Strategic Plan 2023–2028 (Shifting minds 2023–2028)
These plans provide a platform for improved mental health and wellbeing for all Queenslanders through three focus areas: whole-of-community, whole-of-person and whole-of-system.
Action areas
Building resilience
Improve wellbeing in people and communities
- Enable Queensland children and families to thrive
- Strengthen evidence-based suicide prevention strategies in places of learning
- Build supportive workplace environments that are equipped to respond to distress
- Build inclusive, resilient, socially connected and mentally healthy communities
- Contribute to reduced distress and sucide risk by supporting Queenslanders to achieve economic, employment and housing security
Reducing vulnerability
Strengthen support to people disproportionately impacted by suicide
- Prioritise men's suicide prevention
- Tailor responses and supports for populations disproportionately impacted by suicide
- Improve system-wide response to people who have experienced adversity and trauma
- Create targeted responses and supports that consider key stressors, life stages and transition points
Enhancing responsiveness
Enhance responses to suicidality
- Enhance government and community capability to provide timely and appropriate support at the point of distress
- Expand alternative entry points to support and emergency department diversion services, including after-hours support, non-medical, and peer support options
- Improve service accessibility, responsiveness, and appropriateness by expanding existing initiatives and developing new practice models
Enabling reform
Strengthen the systemic enablers for reform
- Create a more coordinated and integrated approach to suicide prevention
- Strengthen lived experience leadership in suicide prevention
- Strengthen First Nations leadership in suicide prevention
- Improve the way data, evidence and evaluation is collected, used and shared to drive and improve suicide prevention
- Strengthen governance and accountability mechanisms
- Develop the capacity and capability of the suicide prevention system workforce
