Current systems are not meeting the needs of First Nations people, and lack the cultural understanding and perspectives required to properly ensure mental wellbeing of young people, sector leaders have warned.

In September, Magandjin (Brisbane) hosted the National Indigenous Youth Mental Health & Wellbeing Forum, attendees from relevant organisations, policymakers, experts and guest speakers.

Australia-wide service headspace and south-east Queensland-based Institute for Urban Indigenous Health delivered the forum.

Importantly, mainstream mental health and broader sector were there with "really deadly pioneers and knowledge holders from our Aboriginal Community-Controlled and Health Organisation sector" in the room, Jacara Egan told National Indigenous Times.

Mr Egan is headspace's First Nations Cultural Practice head of operations and mental health social worker.

"I think it's really important that our knowledge as Aboriginal people and Torres Strait Islander people are centred in the building of programs or services, or incentive around research, around these programs for our young people and families to properly support them."

"For too long", Ms Egan said, a mainstream viewpoint has been in-part relied on.

"It's misaligned with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders' perspectives and understandings about health and well-being...It's not meeting the greater needs of our young people.

"These spaces (the forum) allow us to showcase life excellence, to share knowledge, and the greater purpose is to continue to build systems that actually service our young people and give them spaces for them and their families to be strong and well."

Government representatives and policy-makers being in the room with organisation leaders is critical "championing" allocating resources in the right areas, Ms Egan added.

Young people were also applauded, as both the next leaders, important voices in their peers' mental health and for contributions to panels, discussions and key note speeches at the forum.

With this, older voices, for notable aspects like those which are intergenerational, means elders' guidance play an important role.

Between 2019-2023, suicide was the cause of one in five deaths of First Nations people up to the age of 44, per the Australian Institute for Health and Welfare.

It's the leading cause of death for all Australians aged 15-24, and among the most common causes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people of any age.

First Peoples from outside Australia were also there at the forum.

Ngaati hauaa, Ngaati Tamateraa, Ngaapuhi woman Te Aorangi-Kowhai Morini works in youth mental health, primarily in governance and strategy.

"I think it's really important that, as Māori from Aotearoa, we continue to strengthen those ties and come together as Indigenous people from across the world and learn from one another through storytelling, song, play and all these ways of telling our stories and bringing us together," Ms Morini told National Indigenous Times at the forums' workshop.

"There's real strength in bringing our communities together in that way. The main takeaway was the real power in youth-led initiatives and bringing young people to the table, ensuring their voices are heard and that they influence the decisions being made, because those decisions affect their lives directly. It's only right that we have them at those tables making the decisions as well."

Similarly, in Aotearoa, youth suicide rates are high, having major impacts on communities and, as Ms Morini explained, carry stigma.

"I think the biggest thing we need to focus on is removing that stigma and creating change where people can start talking. We need to create safe spaces where young people can speak up and not feel shame to do so," she said.

Economic means and a cost-of-living crisis are a massive barrier.

"As a Māori organisation, our purpose is to create those pathways for young Māori so they can thrive, because often they are the ones who get left behind and don't get as many opportunities," Ms Morini explained.

"(Many whānau (family) are) in survival mode constantly. All they're worried about is, can I feed my kids and can I get a roof over our head? When you're in constant survival mode, you're not really worried about what the future looks like. You're worried about how you can get through today.

"It's quite hard to shift whānau (family) from that survival mindset to asking how we can thrive rather than just survive, and how we can actually thrive as a community. I think that's a huge shift that needs to be made."

headspace offers free services in Australia, and have been making efforts to extend their service delivery to First Nations young people, while ensuring cultural-safety.

At the start of 2026, the number of First Nations youth engaging with the organisation in the previous 12 months increased by 33 per cent with 62,000 visits to a centre from 10,000 people.

New headspace centres across the country catering for First Nations young people, and partnering with ACCHOs have been opened in recent years.