Statistics

First Nations Peoples

Message: First Nations Peoples are nearly twice as likely to die by suicide¹.

Breakdown: In 2019, 195 First Nations Peoples died as a result of suicide. The five-year trend to 2019 shows that the rate of suicide among First Nations Peoples is nearly twice that of non-Indigenous people (24.6 suicide deaths per 100,000 people compared with 12.9 deaths per 100,000 people). In 2019, the median age for First Nations Peoples suicide deaths was 30.5 years of age for males and 27.0 years of age for females. The median age for non-Indigenous suicide deaths was 43.9 years of age for males and 44.0 years of age for females. 

Deaths of First Nations Peoples males typically represent the majority of First Nations suicide deaths, with 70.3 per cent of all First Nations suicide deaths in 2019 accounted for by males.

Message: First Nations Peoples are nearly three times more likely to be psychologically distressed than non-Indigenous Australians.

Breakdown: About a third (31.7%) of First Nations Peoples experience high to very high levels of psychological distress, indicative of a probable mental health condition, compared to one in eight non-Indigenous Australians (12.3%).² This means they are 2.6 times more likely to experience high to very high levels of psychological distress than non-Indigenous Australians.

Message: Racism, both perceived and actual experiences, is increasing which affects wellbeing.

Breakdown: 33% First Nations Peoples have experienced verbal racial abuse in the last 6 months in 2018 compared to 37% in 2016^,3 and there is a ‘dose’ effect: the risk of high or very high levels of psychological distress increases as the volume of racism increases.⁴

Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Communities

Breakdown: The last known prevalence rates can be drawn from Australian Bureau of Statistics’ (ABS) 2008 analysis of a large national survey, which found that respondents born overseas recorded lower prevalence of some mental disorders, in comparison to respondents born in Australia¹. However, more recent research suggests that the majority of mental health research does not adequately include immigrant and refugee samples and more research is required to make conclusions about prevalence of mental health conditions in Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Communities².

Message: There is a need for increased funding for CALD early intervention mental health services.

Breakdown: Research from both Australia and overseas has consistently highlighted that immigrant and refugee populations are at higher risk of severe mental illness, and tend to have higher rates of diagnosis of psychosis upon presenting at acute inpatient units, than the general population. CALD consumers also tend to access mental health services through clinical emergency services at a severe, or crisis, stage of their condition, which drastically diminishes recovery prospects.³

Message: People from CALD backgrounds require culturally-suitable supports and interventions.

Breakdown: Research conducted within the Queensland Transcultural Mental Health centre found that due to stress and trauma related to leaving their country of origin and resettlement, migrants from Asia and North Africa were at greater risk of types of mental health conditions. Support and clinical interventions need to therefore be delivered in a culturally sensitive way to address the trauma related to such circumstances for these communities.⁴  A significant number of people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds do not seek support for mental health conditions or are reluctant to do so, including carers. Often, they miss out on suicide prevention services because information is not available in community languages, or there is no culturally appropriate service available. They may also find it difficult to use mainstream services because of language and cultural barriers. They may be confused about how services operate, or simply be unaware of the range of services and supports that are available.⁵

Message: The specific mental health risks for asylum seekers and refugees must become a priority for multicultural intervention approaches.

Breakdown: The process of settlement and acculturation can be a time of significant stress for both migrants and refugees. Common sources of stress include learning a new language, finding employment and housing, navigating unfamiliar health and education services, and adjusting to changing family relationships. For people of refugee background, these stresses may be compounded by having endured traumatic events, such as experiencing or witnessing harm, death or threats to others; family separation; time spent in detention and refugee camps; and long periods of limited access to basic needs such as food, water, shelter and safety.⁶ For people of migrant and refugee background, settlement and acculturative experiences can increase the risk of physical and mental health difficulties. For instance, a meta-analysis of 35 studies reported prevalence estimates for depression and anxiety of approximately 20% among migrants and 40% among refugees.^7,8

Message: It is important to recognise and address the specific mental health risk factors posed by discrimination.

Breakdown: Face Up to Racism: 2015-16 National Survey, an online survey of 6001 participants found that most Australians recognise that racism exists within Australia (79.3%). 34.8 per cent of participants had experienced racism on public transport or in the street. 32.8 per cent of participants had experienced racism in the work place. 32.8 per cent of participants had experienced within an educational institution.⁹ A study of 1,139 people from CALD backgrounds living in Australia, found that higher incidences of racial discrimination were associated with poorer mental health. Also, strategies which look to prevent occurrences of discrimination were found to be more effective in reducing mental and emotional distress for minorities, than interventions which focus on CALD community responses to discrimination.¹⁰

Message: Other social factors which contribute to poorer mental health in migrant communities must be addressed.

Breakdown: Other research through (Mental Health Research and Evaluation in Multicultural Australia) MHIMA outlined several other mental health risk factors, which create barriers for CALD populations to participate in areas of Australian society. These include language barriers, loss of family ties, cultural adjustment difficulties, and inability to use knowledge and occupational skills which lead to difficulty in gaining meaningful employment.¹¹

Message: There are known Protective Factors for mental health of immigrants and refugees

Breakdown: Factors know to improve mental health for immigrants and refugees are increased English speaking skills, better social support and being free to practise religious beliefs. Community belonging plays a key role in positive mental wellbeing.¹²

Children/Youth

Message: Half of all the mental health conditions we experience at some point in our lives will have started by age 14¹ 

Message: Over 75% of mental health problems occur before the age of 25. ³

Message: One in seven young people aged 4 to 17 years experience a mental health condition in any given year.

13.9% of children and young people (aged 4 to 17 years) met the criteria for a diagnosis of a mental disorder in the last 12 months.⁴

Message: One in ten young people aged 12-17 years old will self-harm, one in 13 will seriously consider a suicide attempt, and one in 40 will attempt suicide. ⁵

6.9% of children and young people (aged 4 to 17 years) had suffered from an anxiety disorder in the past 12 months ⁶

Message: Young people are less likely than any other age group to seek professional help.

Only 31% of young women and 13% of young men with mental health problems had sought any professional help.⁷

Message: Major depressive disorders are more common in young people than children.

The prevalence of major depressive disorder is higher in young people (12 to 17 years) than children (4 to 11 years) – 5% compared to 1.1%.⁸

Message: Almost one-fifth of all young people aged 11 to 17 years experience high or very high levels of psychological distress.

19.9% of all young people (11 to 17 years) had high or very high levels of psychological distress in the previous 12 months, however for females aged 16 to 17 years and young people with major depressive disorder, this was significantly higher (36.2% and 80.7% respectively).⁹

Message: One in ten young people aged 12 to 17 years have engaged in self-harm.

About three quarters of these adolescents themselves in the previous 12 months.¹⁰

Message: Suicide continues to be the leading cause of death for young Australians¹¹

In 2019, suicide accounted for two in five deaths among people aged 15-17 years (40 per cent) and more than one in three among those aged 18-24 years (36 per cent). This represents an increase of 25 per cent for both age groups over the last decade. Suicide remains the leading cause of death of children between 5 and 17 years, with 96 deaths occurring in this age group, at a rate of 2.4 deaths per 100,000 children. Eighty per cent of those deaths occur between the ages of 15 and 17 years, with a relatively even breakdown for males and females in this age category.

On average, a person who died by suicide in 2019 lost 36.7 years from their life. Conditions such as coronary heart disease account for more premature deaths than suicide, but fewer years of potential life lost.

Message: The rate of suicide among Indigenous young people is significantly higher than among non-Indigenous young people¹²

Over the five years from 2015 to 2019, one third (32.4 per cent) of all First Nations Peoples child deaths occurred due to suicide.  The age-specific death rate was 8.3 deaths per 100,000 First Nations Peoples children, compared to 2.1 per 100,000 for non-Indigenous children.

Between 2015 and 2019, suicide was the leading cause of death for First Nations Peoples children and young people, at a rate three times higher than non-Indigenous people. Children aged 15-17 accounted for 80 per cent of all child suicides, with males and females each accounting for approximately half of all child suicide deaths.

LGBTIQ+ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender or Intersex people^)

Message: In Australia, LGBTIQ+ people are far more likely to be psychologically distressed than non-LGBTIQ+ people.

Breakdown: One study of 3,835 LGBTIQ+ Australians found that they scored considerably higher than the national average on the K10 scale, with a score of 19.6 versus 14.5.¹

Three in ten people who identify as LGB are currently experiencing depression. Four times the rate of heterosexual people in Australia.

Breakdown: 30.0% of people aged 16-85 who identified as Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual or who used a different term such as Asexual, Pansexual or Queer had a 12-month Affective disorder². Compared to 6.5% of people who identify as heterosexual².

In Australia, almost half of people who identify as LGB are currently experiencing an anxiety condition – two and half times the rate of heterosexual people.

Breakdown: 44.7% of people aged 16-85 who identified as Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual or who used a different term such as Asexual, Pansexual or Queer had a 12-month Anxiety disorder². Compared to 15.6% of people who identify as heterosexual².

Message: There is some evidence that, within the LGBTIQ+ community, people identifying as transgender and people with intersex variations have some of the highest levels of psychological distress

Breakdown: The above-mentioned K10 score of 19.6 included a mean score for transgender males of 23.2 and transgender females of 23.2. This compares to a mean score for bisexual women of 21.8, a mean score for bisexual men of 20.5, a mean score for lesbian women of 19 and a mean score for gay men of 18.8.³

There is relatively little data about the mental health of people with intersex variations in Australia. However a small study in 2009 found intersex adults are markedly psychologically distressed, with rates of suicidal tendencies and self-harming behaviour on a level comparable to women in the community with a history of physical or sexual abuse.⁴ The National LGBTIQ+ Health Alliance has also stated that overseas research and anecdotal evidence in Australia indicate that intersex adults have rates of suicidal tendencies and self-harming behaviour well above those of the general population.⁵ An Australian study with people with intersex variations found that 42% of participants had thought about self-harm and 26% had self-harmed, and 60% had thought about suicide and 19% had attempted suicide. Responses about mental health conditions that they had been diagnosed with revealed depression was the most common, followed by anxiety.⁶ 

Message: LGBTIQ+ people are far more likely to attempt suicide than non-LGBTIQ+ people

Breakdown:  LGBTIQ+ people are between 3.5 and 14 times more likely to try and die by suicide as their non-LGBTIQ+ peers.⁷

Message: One in six young LGBTIQ+ people has attempted suicide and one third have harmed themselves

Breakdown: 16% of LGBTIQ+ Australians aged between 16 and 27 have attempted suicide and 33% have self-harmed.⁸ Looking at transgender young people specifically, around 3 in every 4 transgender young people have experienced anxiety or depression, 4 out of 5 transgender young people have ever engaged in self-harm, and almost 1 in 2 have ever attempted suicide (48%).⁹

^ A lesbian is a woman whose primary emotional and sexual attraction is towards another woman. Gay is a term mostly used to describe men whose primary emotional and sexual attraction is towards other men. However, it can be used to describe both men and women who are attracted towards people of the same sex. Bisexual refers to a person who is emotional and/or sexually attracted to people of more than one gender identity. Transgender (or sometimes trans or trans*) is an umbrella term used to describe a person whose gender identity or gender expression is different from that traditionally associated with the sex assigned at birth. Not all people who identify as transgender undergo medical procedures to change their bodies. Intersex is a general term used to describe a set of conditions where a person is born with reproductive organs or sex chromosomes that don’t fit with typical definitions of male or female.

* An affective disorder is defined by the ABS in this research as one or more of the following: depressive episode, dysthymia and bipolar affective disorder.

** An anxiety disorder is defined by the ABS in this research as one or more of the following: panic disorder, agoraphobia, social phobia, generalised anxiety disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder.

General statistics

Message: Over two in five people experience a mental health condition at some point in their life.

Breakdown: 43.7% of people aged 16-85 in Australia experienced a mental health disorder* at some time in their life. This is equivalent to 8.6 million people¹.

Message: Almost a third of people in Australia will experience an anxiety condition in their lifetime.

Breakdown: 5.6 million people (28.8%) in Australia have experienced anxiety disorder** in their lifetime¹.

Message: One in seven people in Australia will experience depression in their lifetime

Breakdown: 3.1 million people (15.8%) have experienced an affective disorder*** in their lifetime¹.

Message: One in five people in Australia have experienced a mental health condition in the past 12-months.

Breakdown: 21.4% or 4.2 million people had experienced a mental disorder at some time in their life and had sufficient symptoms of that disorder in the 12 months prior to the survey¹.

Message: One in 13 people in Australia experienced depression symptoms in 2020-21.

Breakdown: In 2020/21, 7.5% of people aged 16-85 years experienced an affective condition in the last 12 months. This is equivalent to 1.5 million people¹.

Message: One in six people in Australia experienced anxiety symptoms in 2020-21.

Breakdown: In 2020/21, 16.8% of people aged 16-85 years had experienced an anxiety disorder in the last 12 months. This is equivalent to 3.3 million people¹.

Message: One in seven people in Australia experienced high or very high psychological distress in 2020-21.

Breakdown: In 2020-21, 15.4% of Australians aged 16-85 years experienced high or very high levels of psychological distress. Females were more likely to experience high or very high levels of psychological distress than males (18.6% females compared with 12.0% males) ¹

Message: In 2020-21, 3.4 million people in Australia saw a health professional for their mental health

Breakdown: 17.5% of people aged 16-85 saw a health professional for their mental health. 12.9% saw a general practitioner for their mental health and 7.6% saw a psychologist¹.

Message: Help seeking is increasing with around half of people with a mental health condition seeing a health professional in 2020-21.

Breakdown: In 2020-21 more than half (54.7%) of females with a 12-month mental disorder saw a health professional for their mental health, compared with 37.0% of all males with a 12-month mental disorder¹. This is compared to 40.7% of females and 27.5% of males in 2007²

* A mental disorder is includes, anxiety, affective and substance use disorders.

** An anxiety disorder is defined by the ABS in this research as one or more of the following: panic disorder, agoraphobia, social phobia, generalised anxiety disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder.

*** An affective disorder is defined by the ABS in this research as one or more of the following: depressive episode, dysthymia and bipolar affective disorder.

^ Psychological distress refers to the K10 Kessler Psychological Distress Scale. Respondents answer questions relating to how they felt in the past 4 weeks on a number of indicators. High (scores of 22-29) and Very High (scores of 30-50) responses indicate higher levels of psychological distress.

Men

Message: Every day in Australia, approximately seven men die by suicide.¹

Message: In Australia, men are three times more likely to die by suicide than women. 

Breakdown: In 2021, an average of 6.5 men died by suicide every day across Australia. Three times as many men as women took their lives in 2021. There were 2,358 suicide deaths among males (a rate of 18.2 deaths per 100,000) compared to 786 female deaths (a rate of 6.1 deaths per 100,000)¹.

Message: Men are less likely to seek help for mental health conditions than women.

Breakdown: In 2020-21, 37% of men who experienced a mental disorder in the past 12 months saw a health professional for their mental health, compared with 54.7% of females². Overall, use of services for mental health has increased for males and females since 2007 where 27.5% of males and 40.7% of females sought help³.

Message: In Australia, one in seven men will experience depression in their lifetime.

Breakdown: 13.3% of Australian males aged 16 to 85 have experienced an affective disorder* over their lifetime². This is equivalent to 1.29 million men.

Message: In Australia, one in five men will experience an anxiety condition in their lifetime.

Breakdown: 22.3% of Australian males aged 16 to 85 have experienced an anxiety disorder** over their lifetime². This is equivalent to 2.1 million men.

* An affective disorder is defined by the ABS in this research as one or more of the following: depressive episode, dysthymia and bipolar affective disorder.

** An anxiety disorder is defined by the ABS in this research as one or more of the following: panic disorder, agoraphobia, social phobia, generalised anxiety disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Older Adults

Message: 10-15% of older adults experience depression, and approximately 10 percent experience anxiety.  ¹

Message: Rates of depression among people living in residential care are much higher, at around 30 percent.  ²

Message: People over the age of 65 hold more stigmatising views about depression than the rest of the population. ³

Message: Age discrimination can negatively impact upon older peoples’ mental health.

25% of people in Australia over the age of 50 have experienced some form of age discrimination and 60% of those stated that it had affected their self-esteem or mental health and/or caused them stress. Women are more likely than men to report that discrimination impacts upon their mental health. ⁴

Message: Age discrimination can affect mature age workers’ ability to remain in the workforce, jeopardising their financial security and independence.

One third (33%) of people who had been discriminated against gave up looking for work as a result of experiencing age discrimination.⁵

Message: Older women retire with much lower superannuation balances than men.

89% of women are worried about maintaining their standard of living in retirement.⁶

Message: Involuntary or unexpected job loss in later life is the form of retirement that has been most consistently linked to increased rates of depression.⁷

Perinatal

Message: A low mood is common for birth mothers following childbirth.

Breakdown: Low mood affects around 50% of new mothers in the first weeks after delivery (so-called baby blues), but this is usually mild and transient.¹

Message: 1 in 10 women will experience depression during pregnancy.

Australian research indicates up to 1 in 10 women will experience depression during pregnancy (antenatal depression).² Antenatal anxiety is thought to be just as common.

Message: 1 in 6 women will experience postnatal depression.

Australian and other studies have reported the 12-month period prevalence of postnatal depression as one in six (in the first postnatal year/year following the birth of their baby) ³

Message: 1 in 6 women will experience postnatal anxiety

The three-month postnatal period prevalence for any anxiety disorder was reported as one in six in one study while another reported a point prevalence of anxiety disorder of one in five in the third trimester of pregnancy⁴

Message: 1 in 10 fathers experience postnatal depression.

Research indicates that 1 in 10 fathers experience postnatal depression.⁵1 in 6 fathers experience anxiety during the prenatal period and 1 in 5 during the postnatal period.⁶ Paternal depression has also been found to show a moderate positive correlation with maternal depression.⁷

Message: Awareness that men can experience postnatal depression is low.

45% of fathers are not aware that men can experience postnatal depression as well as women; and 43% of first time fathers see anxiety and depression after having a baby as a sign of weakness.⁸

Regional and rural Australia

Message: Remoteness is a major risk factor contributing to suicide and the likelihood that someone will die by suicide appears to increase the further away from a city they live.

Breakdown: Data from 2010-2014 shows that, out of five zones of residence, residents of Major cities had the lowest rate of suicide deaths per 100,000 people while residents of the Very remote zone had the highest rate every year¹. During this period Major cities had a suicide rate of 9.8 per 100,000 people, residents in inner regional areas had a rate of 13.1, outer regional residents had a rate of 14.3, and remote residents had a rate of 19.2 per 100,000, and very remote residents had a rate of 23.7. ²

Message: Young people who live outside capital cities appear to be particularly at risk of suicide.

Breakdown: Young people outside capital cities are significantly more at risk of dying by suicide than their peers in capital cities. In 2010, 5.9 per 100,000 15-19 year-olds in capital cities died by suicide compared to 10.3 per 100,000 outside capitals. The same year, the suicide rate was 9.0 per 100,000 for 20-24 year-olds in capital cities compared to 16.5 for their peers outside capitals. ³

Message: People in outer regional, remote or very remote areas of Australia face more barriers to accessing health care than people living in major cities, making it harder for them to maintain good mental health.

Breakdown: In 2016-17, 20.5% of people in outer regional, remote or very remote areas of Australia waited longer than they felt acceptable to get an appointment with a GP, compared to 17.8% in major cities. People in inner regional and those in outer regional, remote or very remote areas were less likely to be seen by a GP within four hours the last time that they needed urgent care (65% compared to 60% and 54% respectively) and more likely to delay seeing a GP because of cost (4.6% compared to 3.9%).⁴

Suicide

Message: Suicide is a major public health issue. More than 3,000 people die by suicide in Australia each year. On average nine people die each day by suicide.

Breakdown: A total of 3,144 people took their own lives in Australia in 2021, at a rate of 12.0 deaths per 100,000¹

Message: Three quarters of people who died by suicide were male.

Breakdown: In 2021, an average of 6.4 men died by suicide every day across Australia. Three times as many men as women took their lives in 2021. There were 2,358 suicide deaths among males (a rate of 18.2 deaths per 100,000) compared to 786 female deaths (a rate of 6.1 deaths per 100,000).¹

Message: Suicide is complex and there is no single reason why a person takes their own life.
Breakdown: In 2021, 65.1% of all coroner-referred suicide deaths were found to have one or more psychosocial risk factors present such as personal history of self-harm, family disruption, or relationship problems with partner or spouse¹.

In 2021, mood disorders (including depression) were associated with 37.5 per cent of all suicides in Australia. Acute alcohol use was a risk factor in just over one fifth of suicides.

Message: Young and middle-aged people are more likely to die by suicide.

Breakdown: In 2021, 81.9% of people who died by suicide were under the age of 65¹.

Message: First Nations peoples are nearly twice as likely to die by suicide

Breakdown: In 2021,  219 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people died by suicide. The age standardised suicide rate for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people was 27.1 per 100,000, a decrease from the rate in 2020. However, the rate over the past decade is still trending up and remains more than twice the general population rate¹.

There is a lower median age for suicide for First Nation peoples (30.2) than for non-Indigenous people (44.8).

Women

Message: More than a third of women experience an anxiety condition in their lifetime

Breakdown: 3.5 million women (35.3%) in Australia have experience an anxiety disorder* in their lifetime¹.

Message: Almost a fifth of women experience an affective disorder in their lifetime.

Breakdown: 1.8 million women (18.1%) in Australia have experienced an affective disorder** in their lifetime¹.

Message: Females are more likely than males to experience depression and anxiety in their lifetime.

Breakdown: 18.1% of females aged 16 to 85 will experience an affective disorder in their lifetime compared to 13.3% of men. 35.3% of females aged 16 to 85 will experience an anxiety disorder in their lifetime compared to 22.3% of men¹.

Message: More women than men experienced high or very high levels of psychological distress^ in 2020-21.

In 2020-21, more women than men experienced high or very high levels of psychological distress (18.6% and 12.0% respectively). Women aged 16-34 years had the highest rate of psychological distress of any age group or sex in 2020-21¹.

* A mental disorder is includes, anxiety, affective and substance use disorders.

** An anxiety disorder is defined by the ABS in this research as one or more of the following: panic disorder, agoraphobia, social phobia, generalised anxiety disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder.

*** An affective disorder is defined by the ABS in this research as one or more of the following: depressive episode, dysthymia and bipolar affective disorder.

^ Psychological distress refers to the K10 Kessler Psychological Distress Scale. Respondents answer questions relating to how they felt in the past 4 weeks on a number of indicators. High (scores of 22-29) and Very High (scores of 30-50) responses indicate higher levels of psychological distress.

Workplace

Message: Ninety-one per cent of employees believe mental health in the workplace is important. However, only 52 percent of employees believe their workplace is mentally healthy.

Breakdown: The State of Workplace Mental Health in Australia report surveyed 1,041 employees (a mix of lower management and other employees) and found that although 91 percent of employees believe mental health in the workplace is important (88% believe physical safety is important). However, only 52 percent of employees believe their workplace is mentally healthy.¹

Message: Businesses receive an average return on investment of $2.30 for every $1 they invest in effective workplace mental health strategies, making investing in mental health a win-win situation for employers and employees.

Breakdown: A 2014 PwC report found that for every $1 employers spend on successfully implementing effective actions around mental health in the workplace, they gain an average of $2.30 in benefits. These benefits are through improved productivity, via reduced absenteeism and presenteeism, and fewer compensation claims.²

Message: Almost fifty per cent of employees have left a workplace due to a poor mental health environment, while 60% of employees working in a mentally healthy workplace were more committed to their job.

Breakdown: A study undertaken by Instinct and Reason of 1,025 employees found that almost half those surveyed (45%) have left a workplace because it had a poor environment in terms of mental health. Conversely, the study found that a mentally healthy workplace makes an employee more committed to their job (60% of those currently in such a workplace) and less likely to seek other employment (68%).³

Message: Seventy-one percent organisational leaders believe leaders are committed to promoting the mental health of staff, but only 37 per cent of employees believe that this is the case.

Breakdown: The State of Workplace Mental Health in Australia report surveyed 85 senior leaders and 1,041 employees (a mix of lower management and other employees) and found that 71 per cent organisational leaders believe leaders are committed to promoting the mental health of staff, but only 37 per cent of employees believe that organisational leaders are committed to promoting the mental health of staff.⁴

Message: Eighty one per cent of organisational leaders indicate their workplace has mental health support for their employees, but more than one third (35%) of employees don’t know they exist or have access to them.

Breakdown: The State of Workplace Mental Health in Australia report surveyed 1,126 employees (a mix of lower management and other employees) and senior leaders (CEO/Managing Directors or HR Managers) and found that 81% of organisational leaders indicated that their workplace has one or more policies, procedures or practices to support mental health, but many (35%) employees don’t know these resources exist or don’t have access to them.⁵

Message:  One in five Australians (21%) have taken time off work in the past 12 months because they felt stressed, anxious, depressed or mentally unhealthy.

Breakdown: The State of Workplace Mental Health in Australia report surveyed 1,041 employees (a mix of lower management and other employees) and found one in five Australians (21%) have taken time off work in the past 12 months because they felt stressed, anxious, depressed or mentally unhealthy. This statistic is more than twice as high (46%) among those who consider their workplace mentally unhealthy.⁶

Message: Thirty-five percent of employees state they would not want anyone to know about their experience of depression or anxiety.

Breakdown: The State of Workplace Mental Health in Australia report surveyed 1,041 employees (a mix of lower management and other employees) and found a reluctance among employees general to disclose their experience of depression or anxiety to employers. Thirty-five per of employees state they would not want anyone to know.⁷

Message: About one in 10 Australian workers has been bullied in the last six months.

Breakdown: A 2016 Safe Work Australia report found that 9.7% of respondents had experienced bulling in the last six months.⁸

Message:  The median workers’ compensation payment for mental health-related claims was $24,500 compared to $9,200 across all claim types between the 2008 and 2015 financial years.⁹

Breakdown: Safe Work Australia statistics show the median workers’ compensation payment for mental health-related claims was $23,600 compared to $8,700 across all claim types over the five years between 2008-09 and 2012-13. The figures also show that mental health-related claims resulted in 14.8 weeks off work, compared with 5.3 weeks for all claim types.