Male Suicides in Australia

Suicide Statistics for Males in Australia
Australian males are four times more likely than females to take their own lives.

Suicide rates for males aged 25-44 continue to rise. In 1990, the rate was 27 per 100,000. In 1998 it hit 37.

Australian Family Court Driving Fathers To Suicide

By Dr Muriel Newman MP

ACT New Zealand Social Welfare Spokesman Dr Muriel Newman today called on the Government to make provision for shared parenting in its Care of Children Bill - to avoid New Zealand mirroring Australia, where family law is driving many fathers to suicide. More...

Parental Payments Cost “Three Lives A Day”

Canberra Times, Sunday, 19th November 2000

As many as three men a day are committing suicide because the nation's child-support system is driving them over the edge, according to the Lone Father's Association Australia. More...

Support Payments “Drove Man To Suicide”

Canberra Times - Sunday, 19th November 2000

You've Pushed Him To The Grave, Ex-Partner Tells CSA Officer

Queenbeyan woman Kate Gibbs is convinced the pressure of making child support payments while being unable to build a new life of his own is what finally drove her former partner to commit suicide. More ...

Suicide Victim 'Hounded' Over Child Support

Canberra Times - Wednesday, 15th November 2000

It was "a tragic indictment of the system" that a Canberra man had committed suicide holding a letter of demand from the Child Support Agency, the ACT Coroner's Court was told yesterday.

Barrister Richard Thomas said the receipt of the letter two days before Warren Gilbert's death in August had “tipped him over the edge”. More...

Men Behaving Sadly

The Age - Wednesday, 8th December 1999

Why does nobody care about men killing themselves? There's immense public concern about youth suicide. Australia has spent more than $31million over the past four years to try to reduce our high suicide rates among the young. There's much angst about Aboriginal deaths in custody, and even gay youths are finally being acknowledged as a group at risk. But when it comes to blokes, ordinary adult men killing themselves in ever-increasing numbers, there's no interest.

Our health departments have spent the past few years studiously ignoring the growing evidence that adult men aged 25-44 are most at risk - as confirmed by figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics last week. In 1998, men in this age group had the highest suicide rate of all Australians, followed by men aged 15-24. Elderly men, 75 and over, who traditionally have the highest rate, in that year fell into third place.