Caution:
This site includes information about child deaths, which some readers may find distressing. If you need support, free and confidential help is available.
We wish to convey our sincere condolences to the families and friends of the infants, children and young people in NSW who have died. It is our foremost responsibility to learn from these deaths and to use that knowledge to make a difference.
A death is classified as suicide when there is clear evidence that the child deliberately intended to end their own life and understood the finality of death. We recognise the sensitivity and complexity involved in determining intent for a child or young person.
We classify deaths as suicides where:
Findings collected
2009-2023
Page last updated
14 September 2026
In 2022 and 2023, 49 children aged 10–17 years died by suicide, an average mortality rate of 3 per 100,000 over the 2-year period.
Unlike other causes of death that continue to decline, suicide remains a leading cause of death among young people aged 15–17 years.
We found that:
In 2022 and 2023, 76% (37) of the children who died by suicide experienced a proximal event such as a relationship breakdown, an altercation with a family member or peer, suspension/expulsion from school or cyberbullying/sextortion.
In 2022 and 2023, 98% (48) of children who died by suicide had at least 1 individual factor such as interpersonal difficulties, mental health conditions, substance misuse and/or issues associated with sexual orientation/gender identity. Most of these young people had 2 or more individual factors and 10 young people had between 5 and 7 individual factors.
Family factors that have been associated with suicide include family breakdown or poor family cohesion, family conflicts or violence, and adverse or traumatic events in childhood. In 2022 and 2023, 67% (33) of children who died by suicide had at least 1 family-related factor.
In 2022 and 2023, 76% (37) of the children who died by suicide had at least 1 school-related factor such as absenteeism, suspension or expulsion, learning challenges, and engagement difficulties
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Over the 15-year period, the suicide mortality rate increased overall, with a sharp rise between 2010 and 2015.
From 2022 onward, the rate declined by 23% from its 2019 peak (3.81 deaths per 100,000), returning to pre-2015 levels.
Males had consistently higher rates compared to females; however, the rate for females has increased.
While young people aged 15–17 years continue to make up the majority of deaths, the rate for children aged 10–14 increased.
The rate for Indigenous children was higher than for non-Indigenous children.
Children living in regional and remote areas had higher rates compared to those living in major cities.
The average proportion over the 15 years for children (10–17 years) who died by suicide and had a child protection history was 45%.
Most young people who died by suicide were known to services and had been identified as at risk.
We have reviewed evidence about the relationship between school connectedness and suicide risk. Data from the NSW Register of Child Deaths, recent research and a 2024 NSW Coronial inquest highlight the importance of school connection as a protective factor for children and young people against suicide and other risks and indicate the need for further research in this area.
Read our detailed discussion in Chapter 10 of our Biennial Report 2022-2023
We commissioned the Australian Institute for Suicide Research and Prevention to review suicide clusters among school-aged children. The review examines the patterns and contributing factors in these clusters. It also considers how effective NSW prevention and postvention programs are in reducing risk and supporting recovery after a suicide death.
Read the Review of suicide clusters and evidence-based prevention strategies for school-aged children (2019)
Holding Hope: Preventing Suicide among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Young People in NSW
The CDRT commissioned the Ngarruwan Ngadju First Peoples Health and Wellbeing Research Centre at the University of Wollongong, in partnership with the Cygnet Centre for Peacebuilding and Transformation Ltd, and the Indigenous Education and Research Centre at James Cook University to investigate the factors that increase or reduce suicide risk for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people, document existing prevention and intervention programs and provide clear recommendations for more effective strategies. The research team were supported by a First Nations Advisory Group.
The three-year study (2021–2024) draws on in-depth case reviews of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people who died by suicide between 2011 and 2020, a comprehensive literature review and the voices of community members across five regional workshops. The study resulted in a research report and accompanying community report.
The report makes 23 recommendations for change with key recommendations for whole-of-government reform, cultural safety across services, investment in community-led programs and accountability mechanisms guided by Aboriginal leadership.
“The report highlights both the profound challenges and the enduring strengths within Aboriginal communities. It identifies systemic barriers such as racism, fragmented services and inequities in health, education and housing. It also points to missed opportunities where timely support could have changed outcomes and warns of the risks of labelling young people as ‘disengaged’, a framing that can obscure their behaviour as an expression of unmet needs,” Professor Clapham, Ngarruwan Ngadju First Peoples Health and Wellbeing Research Centre.
Our recommendations focus on evidence-informed prevention, cultural safety, and system collaboration.
The Mental Health Commission (as well as the Aboriginal Suicide Prevention Council and the Suicide Prevention Council, when advising the Commission) consider the findings of the Holding Hope: Preventing Suicide among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Young People in New South Wales report, including for the purpose of:
Noting the increasing rate of death by suicide for children younger than 15 years, and for female children their rates of self-harm, the NSW Government ensure that the statewide suicide prevention plan and statewide Aboriginal suicide prevention plan under the Suicide Prevention Act 2025, and any new mental health initiatives, contain measures focused specifically on children younger than 15 years and targeted towards addressing risk factors (including individual and societal).
Noting the increasing rate of death by suicide for children younger than 15 years, and for female children their rates of self-harm, the Australian Government ensure that any actions and initiatives that support the National Suicide Prevention Strategy 2025–2035, and any new mental health initiatives aimed at children and young people, contain measures focused specifically on children younger than 15 years and targeted towards addressing risk factors (including individual and societal).
This recommendation was closed without implementation.
The NSW Government should include in any suicide prevention plan specific measures targeted to school-aged children and young people across the spectrum of need. In particular, this should include:
The NSW Department of Education, the Independent Schools NSW, and Catholic Schools NSW conduct joint research to better understand and respond to school disconnection as a suicide and other related risk factor. This research should involve those with lived or living experience of school disconnection and/or youth suicide.
We recommend the NSW Government supports LGBTIQA+ young people and their families and carers by providing, maintaining and promoting awareness of an easily accessible consolidated resource of all publicly funded:
We recommend the Commonwealth Government supports non-discriminatory school environments by accepting the ALRC’s recommendation to prevent discrimination by all schools against students or staff based on those attributes protected by the Sex Discrimination Act 1984 (Cth).
Following completion of the NSW Law Reform Commission’s review of the Anti-Discrimination Act 1977, we recommend the NSW Government introduces legislative amendments to:
We recommend the NSW Education Standards Authority enhances inclusive school environments by reviewing their current policy, procedural, curriculum and training requirements for schools and staff, to ensure they sufficiently align with best-practice evidence for creating inclusive and affirming schools. This includes ensuring:
Consistent with the objective of the Suicide Prevention Act 2025, we recommend the NSW Mental Health Commission (through the Suicide Prevention Councils) considers the need for targeted aftercare services, including for LGBTIQA+ young people, to help prevent further suicidal behaviours within their Statewide Suicide Prevention Plans.
We recommend the NSW Government (in consultation with relevant stakeholders) assesses the availability and accessibility (including barriers such as requiring parental consent contrary to the mature minor principle) of counselling services across[1] all service sectors that are available to LGBTIQA+ young people in NSW, including services that receive NSW and Commonwealth Government funding, within 2 years. This should include services:
[1] The mature minor principle states that ‘an adolescent under the age of 18 years is capable of giving informed consent when he or she achieves a sufficient understanding and intelligence to enable him or her to understand fully what is proposed’.
In implementing the NSW Health LGBTIQ+ Capability Framework 2025–2029, we recommend NSW Health provides all mental health clinicians that it employs/funds and who work with young people, with resources on the provision of clinical care and support to LGBTIQA+ young people.