This report reveals that young people in distress or experiencing suicidal ideation need alternatives to emergency departments.

The report is based on consultations with 85 young people, 13 youth suicide prevention and mental health organisations, and a review of published research. The report outlines a set of recommendations for government to implement to better respond to youth suicide and self-harm.

The report includes 7 recommendations for the Australian, state and territory governments, including: 

• All state and territory governments should allocate funding for programs to design and trial a number of youth-specific alternatives to emergency departments (ED) for young people in suicidal or mental health crisis.
• The Australian Government should support state and territory efforts to develop youth-specific alternatives to ED.
• Following evaluation of the youth-specific alternatives to ED, state and territory governments should select one or more of the trialled models to be rolled out to provide state- or territory-wide coverage with funding equivalent to the savings of anticipated diversions from ED.