Oral Presentation National Suicide Prevention Conference 2026

The agricultural industry faces unique mental health challenges driven by isolation, unpredictable climatic and market conditions, and the pressures of sustaining livelihoods. In response, Holyoake, in close consultation with industry specialists, has developed AgriBalance; a sector-specific, full-day professional learning program designed to strengthen mental health literacy, suicide prevention skills, and sustainable self-care practices among agribusiness professionals.

This “fit for purpose” program equips client-facing agricultural service providers with practical, evidence-informed tools to recognise and respond to mental ill-health and situational distress.

Core modules include:

• Mental Health & Wellbeing Continuum – mapping states of Thriving, Healthy, Surviving, Struggling and Crisis, with strategies to support recovery.
• De-escalation & Communication Techniques – enhancing confidence in difficult conversations.
• Suicide Awareness and Prevention – introducing key concepts and risk indicators.
• L.A.N.D.S. Framework – a step-by-step tool to assess psychological distress and risk, distribute tailored information, and facilitate referral pathways.
• Professional Wellbeing – practical strategies to minimise burnout, compassion fatigue, and vicarious trauma through proactive self-care.
• Support Services Directory – a curated reference of helplines, resources, and digital tools for ongoing use.

Since its launch, 20 AgriBalance workshops have been delivered across regional Western Australia, upskilling over 200 agribusiness professionals. Pre and post workshop evaluations demonstrate that 100% of participants indicated significant improvements in their knowledge, confidence, and competence to identify distress and risk of suicide, determine level of risk, and increased awareness of the most appropriate support or cris service to refer them to.  Also, notably, 100% of participants reported increased awareness of professional self-care and mentally healthy workplace practices, with one participant indicating “This training should be mandatory for all Agribusiness professionals, after working 20 years in the Ag industry , this is the best training I have ever done"

Participants also gain access to a comprehensive suite of training materials, sector-specific resources, and an emerging peer support network to sustain learning and strengthen industry resilience. By embedding mental health and suicide prevention literacy within everyday agribusiness interactions, AgriBalance not only enhances communication and early intervention but also fosters longevity and wellbeing within a critical workforce.

This presentation will share program design principles, evaluation outcomes, and key lessons for adapting suicide prevention training to other high-risk, hard-to-reach industries. AgriBalance demonstrates that when training is relevant, practical, and culturally attuned, it can shift practice, empower professionals, and be an integral piece of the solution to reducing the incidence of suicide in our rural communities.