Victoria Coroners Court reveals Aboriginal suicides hold steady, non-Indigenous rates fall

After a report revealed marked differences between indigenous and non-indigenous rates, not much has changed six months on.

The Black Lives Matter protest in Melbourne, in memory of the late George Floyd, killed by police in America. Picture: Alex Coppel.

The number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who committed suicide in Victoria remained consistent last year compared with 2019, while the number of non-indigenous Australians who committed suicide in the state dropped.

It followed the release of a groundbreaking report last year – which advocacy groups claimed demonstrated indigenous vulnerabilities to suicide – and was designed to help “improve suicide rates”.

But despite the report’s aim to prevent further suicides, the latest data from the Coroners Court of Victoria revealed 21 indigenous people took their own life in 2020 – the same number as in 2019.

State Coroner John Cain said suicide rates of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the state stayed high.

“Worryingly, suicide rates among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Victoria remain twice that of the state’s non-indigenous population,” Mr Cain said.

Coroners Koori Engagement Unit manager Troy Williamson said in 2020 Victoria “one of the country’s highest suicide rates among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.”

“More needs to be done and I hope this report can assist in the development of programs to improve outcomes for our people,” Mr Williamson said.

“Our communities have requested more public data, to put agency back in their hands and guide culturally safe responses to Aboriginal health and well being,” he said.

“We have worked hard to improve Identification of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander suicides and it is crucial that this information is given back to our people in support of self-determination.”

The data showed while the rate of indigenous suicide held steady at 21 last year, non-indigenous deaths by suicide dropped from 697 in 2019 to 677 in 2020.

Suicide rates were higher among men compared with women, accounting for 61.9 per cent of deaths compared with 38.1 per cent.

A month-by-month comparison also revealed a spike in deaths in August last year when there were five indigenous suicides reported.

Men between the ages of 45 and 54 were most at risk of committing suicide (30.8 per cent), followed by those aged between 25 and 34 (26.9 per cent).

Conversely, younger indigenous women aged between 18 and 24 were most at risk of suicide and accounted for 43.8 per cent of deaths. They were followed by women aged between 25 and 34 years old who accounted for 37.5 per cent of suicides.

Suicide rates are also higher in regional areas compared with metropolitan areas.

Victorian Aboriginal community Controlled Health Organisation chief Jill Gallagher said she was concerned Victoria had one of the country’s highest suicide rates among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in 2020.

“We know that when it comes to the mental health and well being of mob, it is crucial that we speak up for help without shame and support and listen to each other,” Ms Gallagher said.

The latest data is a “supplement” to a more comprehensive report, first released by the Coroners Court in June last year, which found more than half of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who committed suicide between 2009 and 2016 had contact with Victoria Police within 12 months of their death.

Another detailed report will be prepared by the Coroners Court and Koori Engagement Unit for release this June.