Refugee and asylum seeker communities in Australia face elevated suicide risk due to cumulative trauma, forced displacement, and complex resettlement challenges. These risks are compounded by stigma, cultural taboos, and language barriers that limit access to appropriate support. Mainstream services often lack cultural safety and relevance, further exacerbating these challenges.
In response, two organisations partnered to deliver a community-led, trauma-informed suicide prevention initiative across New South Wales. The program was co-designed with refugee and asylum seeker communities and focuses on building capacity by equipping bicultural facilitators, many with lived experience of displacement and mental health challenges, to deliver suicide prevention workshops in their own cultural contexts. This approach fosters trust, relevance and cultural resonance.
Since its launch in 2021, the program has engaged over 741 participants across multiple regions. In 2025, it expanded to include six additional languages, supported by translated materials and culturally adapted content. 19 bicultural facilitators are currently accredited, representing more than 22 cultural groups. Current plans include training an additional ten bicultural facilitators in New South Wales and six in Queensland in November 2025.
Aligned with the conference theme United Voices, Brighter Futures, this collaborative presentation will offer an opportunity to share key learnings, challenges, and successes from the program’s development and implementation. Presenters will explore strategies for navigating cultural sensitivities around suicide, ensuring respectful translation of materials, and fostering trust in communities unfamiliar with mental health services. The session will also highlight the importance of organisational collaboration and sustained engagement and ongoing support for facilitators in maintaining momentum and impact.
Program outcomes indicate increased confidence in identifying suicide risk, greater openness in discussing mental health, and the emergence of peer-led support initiatives. One community has progressed from initial training to establishing its own suicide prevention network, which offers culturally safe peer support and referral pathways. Broader community engagement, including in-language radio and grief and loss initiatives, has helped raise awareness and foster open conversations, contributing to growing recognition of the importance of suicide prevention training. An independent evaluation by La Trobe University is currently assessing changes in help-seeking behaviour and community resilience using mixed methods through the Train the Trainer.
This collaborative presentation invites dialogue and shared learning for others working in suicide prevention, mental health, and community development. It demonstrates the transformative potential of lived experience, language access, and co-designed programming in promoting equity, inclusion, and wellbeing for refugee and asylum seeker communities.