Coroner releases findings after investigating Deakin international student death

The death of a young woman living in Geelong has been investigated as part of a probe into a number of suicides among international students in Victoria.

A Coroner has found a Deakin student who died by suicide did not have contact with support services.

An international student who died by suicide while living in Geelong struggled with her studies and did not engage with support services, a coroner has found.

The Bangladesh-born student, known by the pseudonym KCM, died aged 29 in July 2020.

She was living with family in Geelong West and undertaking a Master of Public Health at Deakin University, after completing a medical degree in her home country.

The investigation into KCM’s death was conducted in parallel with coroner Simon McGregor’s investigations into four other suicides of international students during 2020.

The students, born in five different countries, attended four different universities across Victoria.

In his findings, Mr McGregor wrote Deakin University records indicated KCM had some difficulties with her studies and had failed a number of units.

“The standout feature for me was how little engagement KCM had with Deakin University in a health and wellbeing context,” he wrote.

“The only evidence in this regard was the letters Deakin University sent her on 8 July 2019 and 11 November 2019 when she was making unsatisfactory academic progress; they included detailed advice on her options and the various support services that were available for her to access.

“KCM declined to engage with those services, and she did not otherwise seek or receive support from Deakin’s counselling or medical services.

“On the evidence before me, KCM also did not engage with health services external to the university, nor did she disclose mental health issues, stressors or suicidality to her family or friends.”

He said he made no criticism of Deakin.

Mr McGregor said KCM’s lack of engagement with Deakin health and wellbeing services was echoed across the other four suicides he investigated.

“In each case the student had not contacted or been linked with relevant university services and was not engaged with any other health services in the community for mental health treatment and support,” he wrote.

Mr McGregor said none of the five international students, to the best of his knowledge, disclosed suicidality to family, friends or clinicians.

He said how to encourage international students to seek help was a challenge.

Mr McGregor recommended Victoria’s health department consider developing and maintaining a resource to assist universities in implementing and reviewing their programs targeted at international student wellbeing.

“The resource could be regularly revised in collaboration with the universities to share new research, program design and ideas for monitoring international student wellbeing and encouraging help-seeking,” Mr McGregor wrote.

If you need help, call Lifeline on 13 11 14.

Originally published as Coroner releases findings after investigating Deakin international student death