A study has revealed the high number of construction workers taking their own lives

The number of tradies taking their own lives has been revealed, with the vast majority never having sought help for their mental health.

Victoria’s construction worker suicide rate is the second highest in Australia, where one builder takes their life every two days.

There were 3621 suicides by male construction workers in Australia between 2001 and 2018, including 850 in Victoria, a new study from Mates in Construction has revealed.

Victoria was only second to New South Wales with 980.

The data shows out of 190 construction workers that take their own life each year, 93 per cent had never sought professional health.

(L-R) Tim O’Loughlin, Nick Kelly, Paul Leesment, Cody Fisher and Sam Mutsaers from Supreme Green Landscaping. Picture: Jake Nowakowski

They either did not know where to find help, did not want to, or were never encouraged to.

Trades make up more than 30 per cent of the workforce in Australia and more than 90 per cent of workers in the industry are men.

The number of female construction workers who died by suicide is low across the country and was not presented in the data due to the risk of identification.

Master Builders Victoria CEO Rebecca Casson said she is deeply concerned the building industry had the highest rate of suicide of any sector.

Ms Casson said many industry participants deal with substantial business-related stress and anxiety.

Supreme Green Landscaping director Paul Leesment (middle) says mental health is top of mind coming out of Covid. Picture: Jake Nowakowski

“From speaking directly with our members, we know that everyone in our industry is feeling the pressure, and it is evident that this is taking a toll on the mental health of many in our sector,” she said.

“These issues can flow through to their teams and families.”

Ms Casson said the industry’s mental health issues were alarming and often preventable.

“We know that those working in our industry are more than 50 per cent more likely to take their own lives, so we urge all tradespeople to prioritise their physical and mental health,” she said.

“Building and construction workers are six times more likely to die from suicide than an accident at work.

“Maintaining industry participants’ mental health in our sector is a shared responsibility, and everyone must play their part.”

Supreme Green Landscaping director Paul Leesment said it was a priority for his team to discuss the benefits of maintaining their physical and mental wellbeing.

“Mental health is at the top of our mind now coming out of Covid, and after learning that the owner of Metricon (Mario Biasin) passed away, it demonstrated to us that you never know who this can affect,” Mr Leesment said.

“Rather than waiting for something to happen, we thought we would pre-empt it by starting the conversation now and getting the professionals to address our young team.

“We have 25 male and female employees ranging in age from 16 to 60.

“And we know this issue can affect anyone at any age.”

Chief executive of construction industry fund Incolink, Erik Locke, said suicide affects workers in the Victorian industry more than any other workforce.

“Male construction workers under 25 years old are more than twice as likely to take their own lives compared to the general population,” Mr Locke said.

Incolink provides the only in-house counselling and critical response service in the industry, doing more than 5000 counselling sessions and 20-plus critical responses each year.

“We believe this is vital work for the industry, with the ultimate objective of getting the suicide numbers down and saving lives,” Mr Locke said.