Warning: This article discusses suicide and suicidal ideation.
The suicide rate amongst Indigenous people in Victoria is three times higher than the general population, with 27 people dying in the last year from suicide.
56.6 per cent of Indigenous people who died by suicide between 2020-2024 were under 35 years of age, as opposed to just over 30 per cent of non-Indigenous people in the same age category.
A report from the Victorian Coroner released on Wednesday revealed a 42 per cent increase in Indigenous deaths by suicide since 2022, with the average age of death for men being 37 and 29.6 for women.
Developed by the Yirramboi Murrup Unit - Coroners Aboriginal Engagement Unit (YMU) and the Coroners Prevention Unit, the report aims to assist program design in the Indigenous mental health and suicide prevention sectors, the court said, to help provide "publicly available, accessible, accurate and culturally appropriate information on suicide".
Wardandi and Bibbulmun woman and Manager of Yirramboi Murrup Unit, Jessica Gobbo, said her heart went out to all the Indigenous communities disproportionately impacted by suicide across the state.
"More work is needed to understand why and how these passings can be prevented," she said.
"It is vital that the community has access to accurate and up-to-date information about suicide so we can work together to develop targeted, culturally safe supports for First Nations people in Victoria."
Suicide deaths are far higher in regional and remote areas. This is mirrored for Aboriginal people in Victoria, where 54.9 per cent of suicides occur in regional areas and 45.1 per cent in metropolitan areas.
This contrasts starkly with the general population, where two thirds of suicide deaths are in metropolitan areas.
Contextual information from the court's data revealed stressors resulting in suicide between 2020–2023 include diagnosed and suspected mental ill health, interpersonal concerns, substance use, exposure to family violence and recent contact with the justice system.
More than 75 per cent of people had a diagnosed mental illness at the time of their death.
State Coroner, Judge John Cain, said It was "deeply concerning that First Nations people in Victoria continue to pass by suicide at a rate almost three times higher than the non-Indigenous population – it is critical to ensure proper supports are in place to drive down suicides in these communities".
"We remain committed to making this data publicly available to help facilitate conversations at all levels, from government to the community, about suicide and what can be done to save more lives," Judge Cain said.
Closing the Gap data from last year revealed Indigenous suicide rates across the country continued to rise, with a rate of 29.9 per 100,000 people increasing from figures from two years ago, as well as the 2018 rate of 25.1 per 100,000 people.
Last year, a study compiled by leading psychologist Dr Tracy Westerman and The Westerman Jilya Institute found 42 per cent of participants in the first-ever comprehensive dataset on Aboriginal youth mental health in Australia had experienced thoughts of suicide.
It showed that of the 1226 Aboriginal youth who presented to mental health services between 2007 and 2022, one-quarter had attempted suicide one or more times.
Suicide was the leading cause of death for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 15–39 in 2022, and suicide rates for Indigenous youth have climbed to an average of four times that of non-Indigenous children.
Previous studies have found suicide rates in First Nations remote communities in Western Australia were some of the highest in the world.
"Mental illness has long been established as a causal factor to the escalating incidence of suicides, but this data is showing us that risk indicators markedly differ for Aboriginal youth, which is vital knowledge to have," Dr Westerman said at the time.
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