Responding to a suicide
Experiencing the death of someone to suicide can have a devastating effect on individuals and communities.
If your secondary school is currently responding to, or recovering from, a suicide or attempted suicide, contact your Be You state or territory manager on the numbers below. Our Be You Consultants can support your school as you care for the affected students, staff and families.
- ACT: 0448 362 994
- NSW: 0475 838 049
- NT: 0447 926 799
- QLD: 0455 079 803
- SA: 0447 927 659
- TAS: 0448 613 934
- VIC: 0458 559 736
- WA: 0427 128 271
Be You Consultants are available during the hours of 9am–5pm, Monday to Friday.
It's important for schools to undertake immediate risk management processes, follow emergency management protocols and contact your relevant department or school authority prior to contacting Be You.
Suicide Response Toolkit
This toolkit aims to support and assist schools in responding to the suicide of a student. It’s a practical guide that offers suggestions about managing such a traumatic event.
The toolkit is divided into five sections for easy reference, including an index of terminology, a checklist, and an expanded section on how to respond to a suicide. These sections cover the tasks that need to be attended to:
You can also download the Complete Toolkit [PDF, 15.4MB]
Be You Fact Sheets
The toolkit is supported by nine Fact Sheets to which provide guidance on some of the key activities that occur after a suicide. You can download the Fact Sheets below:
- Supporting young people after a suicide [PDF, 4.4MB]
- Grief: how young people respond to suicide [PDF 269KB]
- Family liaison, funerals and memorials after a suicide [PDF, 321KB]
- Staff grief after a suicide [PDF, 253KB]
- Suicide in schools: information for families [PDF, 287KB]
- Understanding suicide: information for the community [PDF, 348KB]
- Responding to a death that can’t be referred to as a suicide [PDF, 272KB]
- Media and social media [PDF, 288KB]
- Boarding schools: what to do after a suicide [PDF, 364KB]
In addition, there are four Fact Sheets available if you have Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students at your school:
- Grief: how Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people might respond to suicide [PDF, 2.4MB]
- Remembering a young person: memorials and important events in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities [PDF, 1.9MB]
- Suicide in schools: information for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families [PDF, 2.1MB]
- Self-care for school staff working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people in remote areas [PDF, 2.4MB]
- Suicide contagion for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people [PDF, 2MB)
Resources
These resources help you to plan and respond to a suicide:
- Immediate suicide response: principal's checklist [PDF, 2.0MB]
- Suicide Response Plan template [PDF, 238KB]
- Best Practice Model overview [PDF, 161KB]