Poster Presentation National Suicide Prevention Conference 2026

Many Voices, One Mission: Collective insights, analysis and findings.

Defence is strengthening suicide prevention across the Enterprise - prioritising safety, early identification, and compassionate support.

In partnership with SafeSide Prevention, Defence has adopted a unified framework that equips people across the Enterprise to recognise and respond to suicide-related distress. Building on our existing suicide prevention program, we co-designed a comprehensive suite of customised courses. These courses feature personnel with lived experience of suicide and bereavement, perspectives from military experts, and include Defence specific scenarios.  The content is practical, relevant and scalable for a workforce of 100000+, better meeting the diverse needs of all roles and ranks, moving beyond a single-course approach. 

We will be sharing a dataset that offers extensive insight into suicide prevention training within Defence, with over 7000 responses analysed. This includes findings on self-efficacy, learning transfer, use, and attitudes about the system-wide approach, while also identifying areas for continued improvement across the following courses:

• Defence Suicide Awareness (DSA): Enterprise-wide training that builds shared understanding and confidence to notice distress, start compassionate conversations, and connect peers to support.
• CARE-RF/DRF for clinicians and medical officers: Strengthens formulation-based clinical decision-making through a prevention-oriented lens, including foreseeable change, contingency planning, and extending networks beyond health.
• CARE-LM for leaders and managers: Focuses on their role in enhancing protective factors and working with health to support members at risk.
• CARE-S for health practitioners, chaplains, and wellbeing staff: Introduces the SafeSide CARE Model, equipping them to recognise concerns, initiate conversations, and provide a warm handover for clinical assessment while complementing the health response.

 By embedding role-specific training at every level, Defence is fostering a culture where united voices drive systemic change and create safer, more supportive futures for those who serve.

 At its heart is a simple but powerful principle: suicide prevention is everyone’s responsibility.

 This work embodies the NSPC26 theme, United Voices, Brighter Futures, by showing how co-designed, inclusive training empowers whole systems to prevent suicide.