Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples experience disproportionally high rates of suicide and other health inequities. Suicide is the fifth-leading cause of death among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and has increased by approximately 30% from 2018 to 2023. Being a highly complex issue, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander suicide prevention requires an approach that incorporates Indigenous knowledges with multiple evidence-based strategies, as opposed to a single strategy.

This report outlines the requirements of an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander systems approach to suicide prevention and proposes a framework and implementation guidelines for such an approach. It redefines a systems approach to suicide prevention as one which focuses on multicomponent systems (for example, health, social services, education and justice systems; as well as community controlled organisations, Primary Health Networks, and governments/policymakers) that work together with specific strategies to prevent suicide. 

The primary aim of the systems approach model is to promote flourishing social and emotional wellbeing (SEWB). Actions that promote strong SEWB are suicide-prevention activities. 

The framework prioritises cultural knowledge by drawing on the strong evidence base of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Suicide Prevention Evaluation Project (ATSISPEP) and final report: Solutions that work: what the evidence and our people tell us, as well as other relevant literature.