Workshop or Forum (max 3.5 hours) National Suicide Prevention Conference 2026

Towards a National Framework: Building a Coordinated First Responder Suicide Prevention, Intervention, and Postvention Response (131401)

Henry Bowen 1 2 , Tara Lal 3 4 , Anna Brooks 5
  1. Open Door, College of Education, Psychology & Social Work, Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
  2. Military and Emergency Services Health Australia, The Hospital Research Foundation Group , Adelaide
  3. University of New England, Sydney
  4. Black Dog Institute, Sydney
  5. Lifeline Australia, Sydney

Background:
Research has consistently demonstrated that first responders face elevated suicide risk due to repeated trauma exposure and the cumulative impact of occupational and organisational stress. Effectively addressing suicide in this high-risk population requires a multi-dimensional approach spanning preparedness, prevention, early intervention, and postvention. Current responses, however, are often inconsistent, fragmented, and constrained by organisational red tape. This reactive approach undermines trust, limits prevention efficacy, and compounds the impact of a suicide death. The Support After First Responder Suicide (SAFeRS) study highlighted the urgent need for organisational reforms to better protect first responders and families. Recent Defence and Veteran Suicide reforms have shown how broad collaboration can drive systemic change. Building on these lessons, there is now an opportunity to create a national model that strengthens prevention, intervention, and postvention in emergency services.

Aim of Workshop/Forum:
This session proposes to replicate the format of a nationally co-ordinated forum in Defence and Veteran Postvention which demonstrated the value of convening stakeholders at a national level. It will convene first responder leaders, unions, families, researchers, policy makers, lived experience representatives, alongside those working in the wider suicide prevention community, to co-develop a federally coordinated roadmap that addresses the entire spectrum of suicide response, tailored to the unique culture and risks of emergency services.

Format and Approach:

The forum will be highly interactive, combining short scene-setting presentations with structured breakout groups, as participants:

  • Map national gaps and opportunities across preparedness, prevention, intervention, and postvention.
  • Co-design minimum standards and guiding principles for a federally consistent first responder suicide framework.
  • Identify national priorities for governments, organisations, and professional bodies.

The format mirrors the Defence and Veteran Postvention Collaborative Network forum, which integrated diverse stakeholders into a unified national proposal. This ensures lived and living experience is central, while producing outcomes that are culturally responsive and operationally feasible at a national scale.

Expected Outcomes:
The workshop will generate:

  1. A draft set of nationally applicable principles and minimum standards.
  2. A list of cross-sector priorities requiring federal coordination.
  3. A roadmap for a National First Responder Suicide and White Paper, ensuring that families, colleagues, and organisations inform national policy and practice.

Implications:
By building on existing efforts, this workshop will set the foundation for a coordinated, federally led framework. It will equip participants with strategies to strengthen prevention, improve intervention, and ensure postvention care is nationally consistent, trauma-informed, and centred on protecting those who protect us.

  1. Bowen, H., Thorpe, D., Nankivell, M., Whitson, K., McKenzie, L., Allington, P., Saccone, E., Hutchinson, C., Iannos, M., Langrehr, W., Andrews, O., Brooks, A., Sadler, N., Lawrence-Wood, E., Dwyer, M., & May, K. (2025) Towards a Coordinated National Defence Postvention Network. White Paper. Military and Emergency Services Health Australia: Adelaide, South Australia