Suicide among people receiving Specialist Homelessness Services

Released by AIHW on Wednesday, 5 March 2025

The following summary is based on data released by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) from the National Suicide and Self-Harm Monitoring System (the System): Suicide among people receiving specialist homelessness services: A last year of life study.¹

The System was established as part of the national effort to address suicide and self-harm in Australia by improving the quality, accessibility and timeliness of data on deaths by suicide and on self-harming and suicidal behaviours.

For guidance on reporting on suicide and self-harm data, please refer to the Mindframe quick reference guide.

What is included in the release?

The data released by AIHW includes information about people who died by suicide between 2012-2022 and received Specialist Homelessness Services support in their last year of life, including:

• Time between their last service and suicide
• Age at death
• Labour force status
• Homelessness status.

Specialist Homelessness Services help support people who are homeless or at risk of being homeless. They are agencies that receive government funding to provide accommodation and other support services to people in need. Each agency is different, but other services can include supports like meals, showering and laundry facilities, counselling and legal services.

Other organisations not directly funded by governments also support and prevent homelessness. However, their data aren’t necessarily captured in this release.

Technical notes provide more detailed information about the release and data sets used.

What are the key findings?

Among people who died by suicide between 2012 and 2022 and accessed Specialist Homelessness Services in their last year of life:

• The crude suicide rate was 115 per 100,000 population. For context, between 2012 and 2022, general population suicide rates ranged between 11.3 and 13.4 per 100,000.² However, different data collection methods were used to calculate these rates, and a direct comparison is not advised.
• The crude suicide rate for males (173 per 100,000) was 2.3 times the rate for females (75 per 100,000).
• More than 1 in 3 (38%) people received Specialist Homelessness Service support at some point within a month of their death.
• People aged between 25 - 44 had the highest number of suicide deaths. This age group accounted for more than half of all suicides (55%). However, people using Specialist Homelessness Services are younger than the general population.
• Over half (53%) of people were unemployed at the end of the support period. Over 1 in 3 (38%) were not in the labour force which includes, for example, those engaged in unpaid duties, volunteer work, those retired or not able to work.
• Almost 1 in 5 (19%) experienced rough sleeping. Over 1 in 3 clients (38%) experienced ‘other’ types of homelessness, such as couch surfing or staying in temporary accommodation. Over 1 in 3 (36%) were at risk of homelessness but not classed as homeless.

What does this mean for policy and practice?

Safe and affordable housing is a globally recognised determinant of wellbeing. Ensuring access to adequate, safe and affordable housing, and basic services is a target under Sustainable Development Goal 11. While the Universal Declaration of Human Rights also includes the right to a decent standard of living, including housing.

The National Suicide Prevention Strategy 2025-2035 recognises access to housing and basic amenities as a social determinant of suicide. People experiencing homelessness or housing instability are also a priority population under the National Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Agreement.

A rapid report by the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute explores the role of housing insecurity and homelessness in suicide. It highlights the limited evidence on in this area, describing an urgent need for further research.

The data released by AIHW improves our understanding of suicide among people who use Specialist Homelessness Services. It provides insights into where suicide prevention efforts can be focused, including:

• Recognising Specialist Homelessness Services as key intervention points for suicide prevention.
• Developing approaches to prevent housing insecurity and homelessness.
• Supporting people experiencing housing instability to access secure and affordable housing.
• Ensuring comprehensive interventions that integrate housing, social and mental health supports.
• Developing approaches that address other social determinants of suicide, such as income and social protection, and employment and job security.
• Supporting services to identify and respond to the risk of homelessness (for example, health, legal and social services).