Suicide Prevention Bill

Introduction and First Reading

The Hon. S.G. WADE (Minister for Health and Wellbeing) (18:11): Obtained leave and introduced a bill for an act to reduce the incidence of deaths by suicide in this state, to establish the Suicide Prevention Council, to provide for the preparation and implementation of suicide prevention plans, to encourage the training of persons and organisations in suicide prevention and postvention, and for other purposes. Read a first time.

Second Reading

The Hon. S.G. WADE (Minister for Health and Wellbeing) (18:12): I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

I note, Mr President, how apt it is that you should be the person to give me the call on this bill, acknowledging your strong interest in this area and your involvement in the preparation of the bill.

I am pleased to introduce the Suicide Prevention Bill. It is significant that we introduce this bill to the parliament this week. This Friday 10 September, is World Suicide Prevention Day. Recognised by the World Health Organization, this day is about raising awareness of suicide in our communities, and working together towards reducing suicide and eventually a world without suicide.

Closer to home, Suicide Prevention Australia notes that almost 10 million Australians know someone who has been impacted by suicide. The Marshall Liberal government has a strong commitment to suicide prevention. From opposition we committed to, and in government we delivered, the Premier's Council on Suicide Prevention, and the Premier appointed the Premier's Advocate for Suicide Prevention. Mr President held that role, and I acknowledge his strong leadership in this area.

A priority of the mental health services plan 2020-25 is towards zero suicide. This is a long-term, evidence-informed investment approach across all South Australia's local health networks and primary health networks over a four-year period. The bill seeks to establish a sustained approach to suicide prevention through whole-of-community and whole-of-government action to reduce the rate of suicide in South Australia. The bill is the first of its kind for any jurisdiction in Australia, and will set a precedent for how suicide prevention is addressed in Australia. The objects of the bill are:

to reduce the incidence of suicide in the state;

to promote best practice suicide prevention policies across the state;

to articulate the role of the state in implementing suicide prevention strategies;

to provide for training and education in relation to suicide prevention;

to provide for the identification of priority population groups and implementing suitable initiatives to prevent suicide within such groups; and

to provide a framework to ensure that suicide prevention response is a priority across all levels of government and community.

These objects establish the whole-of-community and whole-of-government framework for suicide prevention and set out the focus of action through the components of the bill. The bill provides for a Suicide Prevention Council. This will be a statutory body that will take over the role and responsibility of the Premier's Council on Suicide Prevention, which was primarily established as a ministerial committee.

The proposed statutory based Suicide Prevention Council will have 13 members, who collectively have the knowledge, skills and lived experience to enable the council to carry out its functions and a requirement to ensure at least one member who, firstly, has experience of leadership in suicide prevention initiatives or services in a non-government organisation, has experience in a leadership position in the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and the multicultural community, is a veteran with lived experience of suicide or experience in supporting veterans with this lived experience, is a member of the LGBTIQ+ community with lived experience of suicide or has leadership experience in this community, has lived experience of suicidal behaviour, is a clinical professional with experience in providing care to people with lived experience of suicide or who may be at risk of suicide, is a person with experience in suicide prevention commissioning from primary health networks or is a researcher with expertise in suicidology or suicide prevention or mental health.

This membership is complemented by a member of parliament, not being a minister of the Crown, appointed by the minister on the nomination of the Premier and ex officio members, including the Chief Public Health Officer, the Chief Psychiatrist, the Chief Executive of Wellbeing SA, the Commissioner for Aboriginal Engagement, the Commissioner for Children and Young People and the Commissioner for Aboriginal Children and Young People and a Mental Health Commissioner. This membership provides an opportunity to significantly reflect the interests of priority groups disproportionately affected by suicide or attempted suicide.

This bill sets out the functions and powers of the Suicide Prevention Council, which are primarily to prepare and maintain the State Suicide Prevention Plan and to make recommendations on policies and programs intended to reduce deaths by suicide and attempted suicides and enhance postvention responses. There are further functions and powers described, including to receive reports from prescribed state authorities in relation to their suicide prevention plans and to promote and support the work of suicide prevention networks. The Suicide Prevention Council may establish committees to advise it or carry out functions on its behalf and will have the power to delegate a function or power to specified persons or a committee.

The bill establishes the State Suicide Prevention Plan, what it must include and the consultation requirements. The State Suicide Prevention Plan is also required to contain a part relating to suicide prevention for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to reflect the need to address and reduce the rates of suicide and suicide attempts in these communities. The bill establishes a duty on state authorities, as defined, to have regard to and give effect to the State Suicide Prevention Plan and for state authorities to have suicide prevention action plans and what must be included in these plans to particularly give effect to the State Suicide Prevention Plan.

Annual reporting is required by the Suicide Prevention Council, state authorities and on the operation of the State Suicide Prevention Plan, establishing a high level of accountability, including across government, for reporting on the effectiveness of suicide prevention efforts of the council and state authorities.

The bill also establishes a significant suicide prevention public health measure which enables the minister to make recommendations relating to suicide prevention, requiring either specific action or action of a specified kind to be taken or stopped to reduce the risk of suicide occurring at a particular place or places of a particular kind, or amongst particular groups of people and that certain voluntary steps be taken in relation to the packaging, manufacturing or sale of controlled lethal means of a particular kind in the state. Certain consultation requirements apply before declaring something to be a controlled lethal means or make recommendations.

While the minister may publish noncompliance with recommendations, there is also a requirement for ensuring procedural fairness and review by the tribunal. The minister, the Chief Public Health Officer or the Chief Psychiatrist may require a state authority to provide a report or specified persons or bodies to provide information or documents reasonably required for the performance of functions under the act. A penalty may apply where a person refuses or fails to comply with a notice.

The bill also establishes a requirement to share information between certain persons and bodies for the purpose of the act and establishes the South Australian suicide register. In so doing, there are strong confidentiality provisions that ensure the protection of personal information and indicate how information will be made available.

This bill has been subject to extensive consultation. Letters inviting submissions reached 576 individuals and organisations, including the Hon. David Coleman, Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister for Mental Health and Suicide Prevention; all members of the South Australian parliament; relevant unions; professional associations; government agencies; members of the Premier's Council on Suicide Prevention; the Government Issues Group; suicide prevention networks; members of the Lived Experience Register; chief executives and clinical mental health leads of local health networks and the South Australian Ambulance Service; primary health networks; chief executives and chairs of national mental health organisations, including, amongst others, Suicide Prevention Australia, Beyond Blue, the National Mental Health Commission, Lifeline Australia, the Black Dog Institute; priority population group community organisations; and South Australian non-government organisations involved in providing mental health services or advocacy.

Publicity was provided through SA Health media such as Facebook, and the bill was available for feedback on the state government's YourSAy website from 22 December 2020 to 17 February 2021 with 218 respondents through the website. There were also 30 participants through webinars and 42 written submissions received from a range of national and state non-government organisations, state government agencies, community organisations, professional bodies and community members, especially three people with experience of suicide.

Most of the feedback was supportive of the bill, with around 88 per cent of YourSAy respondents and 90.5 per cent of submissions supporting the introduction of legislation. As a result of the consultation and further advice from others, including the Premier's Council on Suicide Prevention, several changes were made to the bill in response to feedback. They included, among others:

adding the Commissioner for Children and Young People and the Commissioner for Aboriginal Children and Young People to the membership of the Suicide Prevention Council;

further detail on the experience collectively required by members of the council;

clarification that the bill does not apply to voluntary assisted dying;

strengthening and adding to the functions of the council; and

restructuring the wording on making recommendations relating to suicide prevention, particularly in relation to controlled lethal means.

There was feedback that did not relate to the proposed bill but raised issues such as strategic planning for suicide prevention, service responses when a suicide occurred and availability of services. This information has been made available for inclusion as part of the consultation on the State Suicide Prevention Plan.

Whilst suicide prevention has traditionally occurred without a law, this legislation supports a sustained and effective focus on suicide prevention that is not vulnerable to changes in government priorities. The intent of this bill is to keep this focus so that individuals, families and communities see transparent and accountable action that leads to change in the rate of suicide and suicide attempts. I would like to take this opportunity to read a statement made by the members of the Premier's Council on Suicide Prevention on this bill. I quote:

The Suicide Prevention Bill provides a solid foundation for a high level of efficacy by a consultative group of community members from varying expertise, priority population groups at higher risk of suicide and lived experience. It provides a mechanism for driving change in planning, policy and programs within a political and governance structure.

This Bill demonstrates a commitment by the Government in further advocating for the mental health and wellbeing of all South Australians, that we all have a role to play and a duty to prevent loss of lives by suicide.

The Bill represents a ground-breaking approach to tackling one of our community's most challenging social and health issues. Committing to legislative structures, processes and mechanisms for the ongoing pursuit of reducing suicide is a visionary ambition. It is not only to be welcomed by advocates and those with a personal experience of dealing with suicide but by the wider South Australian community. It demonstrates a leadership in public policy that is unrivalled across Australia and will show that the South Australian community is at the forefront of taking a progressive stance on suicide prevention that is unrivalled.

It has been a privilege to serve on the Premier's Council on Suicide Prevention making recommendations and providing advice in the drafting of this Bill. It is our hope that all South Australians will be supported by having a consistent approach and legislative structure which explicitly aims to reduce the incidence of suicide in South Australia.

I commend the bill.

Debate adjourned on motion of Hon. I.K. Hunter.