Impact of COVID-19 on the sector: Survey to inform the National Suicide Prevention Adviser

Australia’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic is having far-reaching impacts on people, communities, organisations, agencies and service providers. These are challenging times where there is more need than ever to support the capacity of the suicide prevention sector. Suicide Prevention Australia is using this survey to understand and gather intelligence about the impact the COVID-19 pandemic is having on program and service delivery. We will share this information with the National Suicide Prevention Adviser, Christine Morgan, and her team. The National Suicide Prevention Adviser, together with Suicide Prevention Australia, will use this information to develop ways to support the capacity of the suicide prevention sector to deliver services during this challenging period. These may include opportunities to share knowledge about new ways of working, particularly through the use of technology; receive advice about transitioning services and programs into different modes; and to boost the ability of providers to scale their services according to need. Given the continual changing landscape of the COVID-19 pandemic, this survey will be run on a monthly basis to ensure a current depiction of challenges and support needs are captured.