Policy Brief: Suicide Prevention in Australia - Analysis and Options

This policy brief examines the critical issue of suicide prevention in Australia. It begins by outlining the purpose of the brief, which is to analyze existing policies and the factors contributing to rising suicide rates. The paper then concisely summarizes the social policy challenge, emphasizing the economic, cultural, and social implications of suicide and the government's responsibility in prevention and community support. It identifies and critically analyzes available policy options, including the 'Living is for Everyone Framework' and Australia's Long Term National Health Plan, highlighting their strengths and weaknesses. The brief underscores the importance of early intervention, mental health awareness, and coordinated approaches to suicide prevention. The conclusion emphasizes the need for effective government policies to address this complex issue, protecting the well-being of citizens and preserving social cohesion.

Running head: POLICY BRIEF ON SUICIDE PREVENTION
Policy brief on suicide prevention
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1POLICY BRIEF ON SUICIDE PREVENTION
Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................2
Purpose of the policy brief...............................................................................................................2
Concise summary of the social policy challenge.............................................................................2
Identification of some available policy options...............................................................................3
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................4
References:......................................................................................................................................6

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Introduction
Policies are formulated by the government of a nation state with the objective of
improving the welfare aspect of the citizens living in that territory. It is the primary purpose of
the governments of such countries to ensure a dignified standard of living to its population
(Wienand et al. 2019). However, often times it is observed that such policies are not effective in
nature and have certain loopholes which prevent the holistic endowment of welfarism to all of its
targeted population. The purpose of this paper is to look in to the challenge of rising suicide rates
in Australia. In this context, this paper would look in to this challenge through the lens of a
policy brief which means that the various policies existing with regard to this social issue would
be examined.
Purpose of the policy brief
The primary purpose of this policy brief is to understand the prevailing suicide rates
which is existing in the region of Australia. Some of the factors which leads to the rise in such
suicide rates would also be looked in to. This policy brief would also analyze certain existing
policies in Australia would regard to this social challenge.
Concise summary of the social policy challenge
Suicide is termed to be illegal in nature since it essentially consist of taking the life of an
individual, albeit one’s own (Bulmer, Bӧhnke and Lewis 2017). This issue has always posed a
problem in the society because of its implication on the household affected, the society and also
for the entire nation. The individuals of the society are considered to be human capital for that
particular country. In the event that this country loses out on one of its individual, it not only
faces an economical loss, but its cultural moral and social integrity is also affected (Tatz 2017).

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The individuals belonging to that particular community in which the suicide has taken place,
starts to blame the ineffectiveness of the government.
It is over here that the challenge is observed. The government has the important task of
preventing the people of the society from undertaking any attempts to suicide. In the event that a
suicide does take place, the government has a two pronged responsibility of ensuring that the
social homogeneity of the community is maintained in the face of this cultural crisis (Ashfield
and Bryant 2017).
Identification of some available policy options
With regard to the issue of suicide, it can be noted that there are several policies which
are already in existence. The Living is for Everyone Framework was instituted as it provides an
evidence based holistic strategic policy frame work in order to prevent suicide in Australia (Platt,
Arensman and Rezaeian 2019). This Framework was revised in 2007 to provide the essential
support and aid to the national action plans to promote the issue of mental health among the
individuals of Australia so as to mitigate the issue of prevention. In this context, the Framework
is seen in the light of a resource which provides important guidelines to the policy makers, the
health care professionals and the doctors with strategies and action plan to prevent suicide
(Kinchin and Doran 2017). The six identified action areas of the strategy has been identified as
follows –
1. Improvement of the evidence based actions and analysis of how to prevent suicide.
2. The building up of the resilience of the individuals and the ability for self-help.
3. Improving the aspect of the strength of the community, their resilience and the capacity n
prevention of suicide.

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4. Undertaking certain coordinated approach to the issue of suicide prevention.
5. Provision of certain targeted activities which helps to prevent suicide.
6. Implementation of effective quality standards to help prevent suicide.
A critical analysis of this above mentioned Frame work reveals that the Framework
mainly aims to prevent suicide through the understanding of the various reasons which might
lead to suicide. The concerned governmental authorities are sought to be made aware of the
various mechanism which would help to prevent the undertaking of this grotesque measure in
finding a resolution to the problems that an individual may encounter (Fitzpatrick 2018).
Another available policy option which exists in the context of prevention of suicide is
that of Australia’s Long Term National Health Plan which was formulated by the Department of
Health of the Australian Government in 2019 ("National Suicide Prevention Strategies In
Australia - Life In Mind Australia" 2020). The Long Term National Health Plan emphasizes in
the health care of the citizens of Australia for a period of ten years. It also takes in to
consideration the 2030 mental health vision of the country. A unique feature of this Plan is that it
includes within itself a mental health strategy especially formulated for the children who are
under the age of twelve years.
A critical analysis of the Long Term Mental Health Plan reveals that this is significant
because the Plan aims to make the people aware about the ills of suicide from an early age. They
are sought to be made mentally stable and resilient so as to mitigate the thought of taking a
drastic step to resolve any problem which they might face in their lives.

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Conclusion
In conclusion, it can be observed that the issue of suicide has taken a strong foot hold in
the society as it provides an easy way out for the concerned individuals rather than taking the
attempt to resolve them. However, this individualistic color of the issue takes on a national
concern since it is the primary objective of the governments of the nation states to provide for a
decent standard of living to all of its citizens. In the event that a suicide does take place, the other
individuals of the community who are affected by it, blame the government for its inability to
prevent it. Thus, there is a need on the part of the governments to design important policies and
regulations which would help to prevent its occurrence or minimize it.

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References:
"National Suicide Prevention Strategies In Australia - Life In Mind Australia". 2020. Life In
Mind Australia. https://www.lifeinmindaustralia.com.au/for-the-sector/policies/national-policy.
Ashfield, John, and Lia Bryant. "Suicide in Australia." (2017).
Bulmer, Maria, Jan R. Bӧhnke, and Gary J. Lewis. "Predicting moral sentiment towards
physician-assisted suicide: The role of religion, conservatism, authoritarianism, and Big Five
personality." Personality and Individual Differences 105 (2017): 244-251.
Fitzpatrick, Scott J. "Reshaping the ethics of suicide prevention: responsibility, inequality and
action on the social determinants of suicide." Public Health Ethics 11, no. 2 (2018): 179-190.
Kinchin, Irina, and Christopher M. Doran. "The economic cost of suicide and non-fatal suicide
behavior in the Australian workforce and the potential impact of a workplace suicide prevention
strategy." International journal of environmental research and public health 14, no. 4 (2017):
347.
Platt, Stephen, Ella Arensman, and Mohsen Rezaeian. "National suicide prevention strategies–
Progress and challenges." (2019).
Tatz, Colin. "Suicide and sensibility." Death studies 41, no. 8 (2017): 542-550.
Wienand, Isabelle, Milenko Rakic, Sophie Haesen, and Bernice Elger. "14 How Should One
Die? Nietzsche’s Contribution to the Issue of Suicide in Medical Ethics." In Contemporary
Debates in Bioethics: European Perspectives, pp. 160-168. Sciendo, 2019.