Tuesday, 20th May National Suicide Prevention Conference 2025

Opening Remarks
8.57 - 9.00 - MC Housekeeping and introduction - Geraldine Mellet

9.00 - 9.05 - Welcome  to Country- Uncle Peter Wilkes 

9.05 - 9.09 - Acknowledgement to Lived Experience - Craig Hughes-Cashmore

9.10 - 9.15 - Session details coming soon

9.16 - 9.21 - WA Premier - Roger Cooks

9.22 - 9.27 - Welcome - Nieves Murray, CEO, Suicide Prevention Australia

9.28 - 9.33 - Prin Sponsor - WA MH - Maureen Lewis)

9.34 - 9.39 - Minister for Health 

• "Why Old Men Choose Suicide So Often?" - Diego De Leo

Presented by Commissioner Maureen Lewis, WA Mental Health Commission

Moderator:

Jorgen Gullestrup

Jorgen describes himself as a Plumber and Suicidologist.  He identifies as having lived experience of suicide and mental illness.  Jorgen migrated to Australia in 1988 in part to reinvent himself as a well person after a prolonged period of mental ill-health in Denmark.  In Australia he became an active union member and workplace health and safety activists.   He was an official of the Queensland plumber’s union for 13 years of which he was the Queensland Branch Secretary for six years.  In 2007 he was part of founding the MATES in Construction program a mental health and suicide prevention program operating across the Construction, Mining, Energy and Manufacturing industries in Australia and New Zealand.  He recently returned to MATES in Construction as National CEO after 3 ½ year as CEO of the Mental Heath Lived Experience Peak Queensland.  Jorgen has a keen and personal interest in both suicide prevention and workplace health and safety, he has served as Chair of the Queensland Health and Safety Board and has been on the Queensland Mental Health and Drugs Advisory Council for the past 6 ½ years.  Jorgen holds a master’s degree in suicidology and is a PhD candidate researching “Help offering amongst men in suicide prevention”.

Panellists:

Liam O’Brien - Assistant Secretary ACTU

Liam was re-elected as Assistant Secretary at the ACTU Congress in June 2024.

Before joining the ACTU Liam was the Victorian Assistant Secretary and National Vice-President of the Australian Workers’ Union (AWU). It was there where he fought for the rights of workers across the diverse range of industries that the AWU represents. As a national official he led the AWU’s work in the aluminium, aviation, glass and construction sectors.

As ACTU Assistant Secretary Liam is responsible for leading the movements policy, industrial and campaigning work on work health and safety and workers’ compensation matters. Liam is passionate about the rights of all workers to have safe, healthy and decent work, and is a member of Safe Work Australia (SWA) and the Asbestos and Silica Safety and Eradication Council (ASSEC).

Liam is also responsible for the skills and VET portfolio at the ACTU, and is a member of the Jobs and Skills Australia Ministerial Advisory Board.

He also holds a Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Politics, Philosophy and Economics, with a major in Economics.

He is the proud father of two kids and lives in Melbourne’s west.

Jennifer Low - Deputy WorkSafe Commissioner WorkSafe

Jennifer Low joined WorkSafe in 2025 as Deputy WorkSafe Commissioner, bringing extensive experience in regulatory policy, workplace health and safety, and strategic leadership. In this role, she supports the Commissioner in the achievement of WorkSafe and DEMIRS objectives and the development and delivery of work health and safety services in Western Australia.

Previously, Jennifer was the Director of Health, Safety, Resilience & Digital Policy at the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, where she led national advocacy efforts on WHS, workers’ compensation, and regulatory reform. She has also served on several national boards including Safe Work Australia and the Asbestos and Silica Safety and Eradication Council as well as the Commission for Work, Health and Safety in WA. Jennifer is committed to improving workplace safety through evidence-based policy and genuine stakeholder collaboration.

Jennifer holds qualifications in psychology, governance, training, and occupational health and safety and is a member of the Australian Psychological Society and Chair of the Sleep Health Foundation.

Prof Tony LaMontagne - Deakin University

Tony LaMontagne is Professor of Work, Health & Wellbeing at Deakin University in Melbourne.  His career has been dedicated to developing the scientific and public understanding of work as a social determinant of health, and translating this research into policy and practice to improve workplace and worker health.  Specific areas of interest include workplace mental health, improving job quality and psychosocial working conditions, and the design and evaluation of workplace interventions. His research has influenced policy & practice in workplace health both nationally and internationally, including OH&S authorities, mental health NGOs, the (Australian) National Mental Health Commission, the US Occupational Safety & Health Administration, the US Centers for Disease Control, the International Labour Organisation, and the World Health Organisation

Jordan Jackson - Assistant Director, Psychosocial Regulation at Comcare

Jordan Jackson is the Assistant Director of Psychosocial Regulation at Comcare and a 2025 LiFE Awards finalist. With a Master of Suicidology degree, Jordan's master's thesis, titled "Understanding Stigma - An Investigation into the Help-Seeking & Help-Offering Attitudes of FIFO Workers," has contributed significantly to the field.

Jordan serves as the Secretary of the HWSA Suicide Prevention Group and is an active member of the Suicide Prevention Australia WA Committee. His current role as Assistant Director of Psychosocial Regulation within Comcare sees him developing, leading and executing projects in relation to recommendations from the recent Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide. Passionate about workplace suicide prevention, Jordan is dedicated to developing practical, evidence-based tools to minimize the risk of suicide in the workplace.

Even Numbers - Poster Presentations 

Session runs for 45 Minutes

• Compassionate Care: Understanding How Lived Experience Workers Help Clinicians Care for Those Bereaved by Suicide - Julia O'Halloran
• Facilitating collaboration between peer volunteers and counsellors, and CaLD worker's insights related to postvention services - Saori Yamashita
• Impact of training Job Agencies to understand signs of suicide ideation in clients seeking work - Brad Isbister
• Veteran Connect: Enhancing Wellbeing Through Tailored Care Navigation and Support - Stuart Donaldson
• Digital suicide prevention interventions: effects of delivery setting, targeted approach, and lived experience input - Natasha Josifovski
• Co-Designing Solutions: The Role of Community Insights in Youth Suicide Prevention Resources - Jesse Park
• Building bridges: Fostering intergenerational dialogue on mental health and suicide in CaLD families - Michael Elwan
• Implementing a systems-based suicide prevention capacity building program. - Esther Sole
• Understanding international, practice-based experiences of implementing complex suicide prevention interventions: A qualitative exploration - Sadhvi Krishnamoorthy
• Navigating the shadows: A lived experience of suicidal ideation associated with female reproductive health - Kirsty Chambers
• "Embracing Tomorrow: The Evolving Narrative of Cultural Resilience and Suicide Prevention in CALD Communities"     - Estela Fuentes
• Reaching Young People on Social Media with limited advertising budget - Brad Isbister
• Implementing the Minds Together program for family and friends in aftercare services - Philippa PDP Ditton-Phare
• Fly-in Fly-out/Drive-in Drive-out construction suicide: Perspectives on drivers of suicide and responses to prevent it! - Jacinta Hawgood
• What proportion of adolescents would benefit the most from selective suicide prevention strategies in Australia? - Eryn R J Wright
• Conceptualising the Mental Wellbeing of Male Construction Workers in New Zealand - Mohsin Ali
• MATES Respond Postvention and Critical Incident Peer Support in the Building and Construction Industry  - Nicholas Thompson
• Influence of culturally-specific risk and protective factors on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander suicide mortality - Mandy Gibson
• Age, period, and cohort trends of substance poisoning, alcohol-related disease, and suicide deaths, 1980-2019 - Ria E Hopkins
• Collaborating to co-design the Changing the Landscape Statement - Maya Ellazam
• The impact of suicide prevention training on emergency department clinicians behaviour.  - Melissa Branjerdporn
• Building Collective Rituals: LGBTIQA+ experiences of suicide loss   - Anna McFee
• Engaging diverse perspectives to develop comprehensive suicide prevention and response training for Victorian healthcare staff - Shaina Serelson
• A transformative journey of continuous evaluation and innovation in suicide postvention. - Alexis AL Lamperd
• Entering a new paradigm in the evolution of suicide bereavement peer work   - Hope Carberry
• Enhancing support for individuals with complex trauma histories who are experiencing suicidal distress. - Mark Bekerman
• Working with men engaged in the correctional system to create peer support for inmates - Jonathan Bedloe

• Involving children and young people in evaluation: Equity through active participation - Sharon SMB Marra-Brown
• batyr’s program evolution demonstrates collaboration with young people to build national mental health prevention programs. - Jake Farriss
• Evaluating the Luminos Project: a new model for youth suicide prevention - Ashleigh Lin and Kirsten Panton

• Workplaces: Implications of burnout on staff retention and mental health within the suicide prevention sector. - Natalie Flatt. Ph.D

• Lived Experience of Suicide Informed and Inclusive Culture Change Framework - Simon Pont, Bronwen Edwards and Philippa Ditton-Phare
• A lived experience perspective on suicide prevention for autistic people - Jesse Sheers

• Creating a place-based suicide prevention community action plan in Cape York - Gill Townsend
• Strengthening Rural Communities: A Collaborative Workforce Model for Crisis Support - Cassandra Talbot and Glenn Cotter
• Riding the Wave: small WA coastal towns create waves of change for positive mental health. - Liz Lockyer and Isabel Ross

• Lifeways: leveraging collective strengths to mobilise the evidence and drive concerted research translation in Australia - Lennart Reifels, Alison Asche, Dr Fiona Shand and Claudia Pagliaro
• Understanding risk factors for suicidal behaviour in a military context: A concept mapping approach - Kairi Kolves

• Building on Aboriginal Communities' Resilience Initiative: suicide prevention and Aboriginal community led service delivery - Kerry Smith, Casey Naden and Lachlan Madden
• Frequent callers still not a 'problem to solve' evaluation of an LGBTIQ+ Peer Support Helpline - Maria Tchan
• Empowering Futures: Aboriginal Community-Led Strategies for Suicide Prevention - Kesi-Maree Prior

• Suicide Prevention in Policing: Enabling Peer-Support through Skills Training - Scott Weber
• Health Professional Students: Developing capacity to self care, peer support and prepare for workforce  - anat wilson and Jakqui Barnfield
• Igniting hope and sparking change insights from the 2023-2024 mates in construction industry well-being survey - Lauren E Donnan

• Blue Tree Project: A catalyst for hope in regional communities across Australia. - Kendall Whyte

Presented by Natoinal Suicide Prevention Office

• Strengthening the approach to suicide prevention at a national level - Ina Mullin

• You must have pre-registered to attend.
• Please register before Wednesday 14 May.

Refreshments and Nibbles provided. 

• Bridging the Language Gap: Culturally Responsive Suicide Prevention Training - Bethany Farley
• 4ME & MEN EVERYWHERE empowering regional men to co-design a mental health/suicide prevention localised campaign - Jo Drayton
• AgriBalance Training – effectively addressing a gap by upskilling AgriBusiness/AgriFinance professionals to identify risk - Jo Drayton
• An Interdisciplinary Deep Dive into Trauma Informed Care - Clayton Spence
• Safe and structured lived experience engagement in suicide prevention education: Lessons from video-based programs - Daniel Mobbs
• A scoping review of data linkage studies on veteran suicidality - Carla Meurk
• A scoping review on multimorbidity and suicidality among military veterans - Carla Meurk
• Exploring Work-Related Suicide: Insights from Recent Reviews and Future Directions - Jamie Mallinder
• Empowering peer workers: innovative strategies in suicide prevention training - Dom Pezzutto
• Connecting stigma and suicidality in older lgbtqia+sb australians - Nivanka Fernando
• Building Resilience in Rural and Remote Communities: Bringing Together the NRL and Healthy Communities Foundation. - Cassandra Talbot
• Lived and living expertise: peer work, young people and suicide. - India Guerrieri
• Shifting the narrative on Male suicide, guided by a Lived Experience network - Tynan Narywonczyk
• Supporting you through suicide bereavement when there has been family and domestic violence - Karri L Ambler
• Building a movement for change a collaborative approach to suicide prevention in Far North Queensland - Gill Townsend
• Silence to support addressing suicide risks in domestic and family violence contexts - Gill Townsend
• Constructing a Safer Industry: Mental Health and Wellbeing in Western Australia's Construction Industry - Victoria Glassey
• Empowering the alcohol and other drugs workforce: A collaborative approach to suicide prevention. - Daniel Mobbs
• Goldfields Suicide Prevention Project  - Helen Mitchell
• Transforming Crisis Helplines: Addressing Gender-Affirming and Culturally Responsive Care for 2SLGBTQIA+ and Ethnoculturally Diverse Communities - Tara Collins
• Navigating tomorrow together: Sharing an integrated care approach with young people bereaved by suicide - Fiona M McCallum
• Men's Bush Trips - yarning on country - David Tucker and Justin Edom