Home - Australian Government - Australian Institute of Health and Welfare - logo
Caution: If at any point you feel worried about harming yourself while viewing the information on this website – or if you think someone else may be in danger – please stop reading and seek help.
Help and support
Suicide & self-harm monitoring

Ambulance attendances: Suicidal ideation, and suicidal and self-harm behaviours

On this page In this section

Key findings About the National Ambulance Surveillance System Ambulance attendances for suicidal and self-harming behaviours in Australia Ambulance attendances by state and territory Ambulance attendances over time Ambulance attendance rates by age and gender Ambulance attendances for suicide death and suicide attempts, by modality Data considerations Download data tables

Key findings

  • In the first 3 months of 2024 there were 29,886 ambulance attendances for suicidal and self-harming behaviours across NSW, Qld, Vic, Tas, NT and ACT combined – similar to the same period in 2023 (29,581) and equating to an average of more than 330 attendances per day.
  • In 2023, females aged 15 to 19 years had the highest rates of ambulance attendances for suicidal ideation (933 per 100,000 population), suicide attempt (671) and non-suicidal intentional self-injury (605), compared with other age-gender groups. 
  • From January 2021 to March 2024 ambulance attendance rates for suicide attempt and self-injury were considerably higher for females than males in NSW, Vic and Qld. For example, in NSW for March 2024 rates for suicide attempt were 11.3 (per 100,000 population) for females and 7.5 for males. 

About the National Ambulance Surveillance System

The National Ambulance Surveillance System (NASS) is a partnership between Turning Point at Monash University and state and territory ambulance services in New South Wales (NSW), Victoria (Vic), Queensland (Qld), Tasmania (Tas), the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) and the Northern Territory (NT). The NASS uses ambulance electronic patient care records (ePCR) to code data on attendances relating to alcohol and other drugs (AOD), mental health, and suicide and self-harm for participating states and territories.

Ambulance attendances for suicidal and self-harming behaviours in Australia

The most recent ambulance attendance data from the NASS show that, in the first quarter of 2024 (1 January to 31 March 2024), across all participating jurisdictions (NSW, VIC, Qld, Tas, NT and ACT):

  • There were 29,886 ambulance attendances for suicidal and self-harming behaviours in the first three months of 2024 - an average of more than 330 attendances per day. This compares to 29,581 for the same period in 2023; 26,901 for 2022; and 30,893 for 2021.
  • The quarterly crude rate (which accounts for changes in population size between years), of ambulance attendances for suicidal and self-harming behaviours was 134 per 100,000 population, compared with 135 for the same period in 2023, 126 in 2022 and 146 in 2021.
  • The highest proportion of ambulance attendances for suicidal and self-harming behaviours was for suicidal ideation (55%), followed by suicide attempt (26%), non-suicidal self-injury (18%) and suicide death (1%). These proportions are consistent with previous years.

Ambulance attendances by state and territory

How do rates of ambulance attendances for suicidal ideation, suicide attempt and self-injury differ between states and territories?

Caution should be exercised when comparing rates between jurisdictions as multiple factors, such as the availability of ambulance services, out-of-pocket fees, and access to 24-hour health centres can differ between jurisdictions. These factors may impact on ambulance attendance rates. For further information on comparing state and territory data is available in the Technical notes.

The visualisation below displays the average monthly rate (per 100,000 population) of ambulance attendances for suicidal ideation, suicide attempt, and self-injury by state or territory for 2021 to 2024. In the first 3 months of 2024:

  • Qld had the highest average monthly rate of ambulance attendances for suicidal ideation (36 per 100,000 population), followed by NT (35), NSW (27), ACT (20), Tas (18) and Vic (14).
  • Qld and NT had the highest average monthly rates of ambulance attendances for suicide attempt (17), followed by Tas (14), ACT (10), Vic (9.2) and NSW (9.1).
  • NT had highest average monthly rate of ambulance attendances for self-injury (15), markedly higher than all other states and territories in the NASS, with rates of 11 in Qld, 8.7 in Tas, 8.5 in NSW, 7.4 in ACT and 5.2 in Vic.

Average monthly rate of ambulance attendances for suicidal ideation, suicide attempt and self-injury by state or territory, January 2021 to March 2024

The interactive data visualisation shows the average monthly rate of ambulance attendances for suicidal ideation, suicide attempt and self-injury categorised by state and territory. Year and attendance type can be selected.

The interactive data visualisation shows the average monthly rate of ambulance attendances for suicidal ideation, suicide attempt and self-injury categorised by state and territory. Year and attendance type can be selected.

Ambulance attendances over time

Ambulance attendances for suicidal and self-harming behaviours by state and territory over time

Between March 20218 and March 2024:

  • Trends by state and territory generally followed the same pattern.
  • Large dips in attendance rates for suicidal ideation were observed in NSW in June 2021 and from April to August 2022, along with smaller dips in suicide attempt and self-harm. Turning Point have advised that this is likely due to a combination of undercounting due to industrial action and/or technical issues in June 2021, April, July and August 2022 and seasonal effects, where lower attendance rates are typically observed across all jurisdictions in the winter months, particularly June and July (Ryan Baldwin 18 February 2025).

Ambulance attendances for suicidal ideation, suicide attempt and self-injury, March 2018 to March 2024

The interactive time series visualisation shows ambulance attendances for suicidal ideation, suicide attempt and self-injury to show patterns over time. Crude rate or number of attendances, state or territory, and an option to show or hide error bars can be chosen.

The interactive time series visualisation shows ambulance attendances for suicidal ideation, suicide attempt and self-injury to show patterns over time. Crude rate or number of attendances, state or territory, and an option to show or hide error bars can be chosen.

Ambulance attendance rates by age and gender

Are there gender differences in attendance rates by state and territory over time?

Over the period from March 2018 to March 2024:

  • Ambulance attendance rates for suicidal ideation were similar for males and females
  • Attendance rates for suicide attempt and self-injury were considerably higher for females than males, except in Tas, ACT and NT, where small numbers and large margins of error make it difficult to detect differences by gender.

The results for suicide attempt and self-injury by gender are consistent with hospital data, which show females have higher rates of hospitalisation for intentional self-harm than males.

Ambulance attendances for suicidal ideation, suicide attempt, and self-injury by gender, March 2018 to March 2024

The interactive timeseries visualisation shows ambulance attendances for suicidal ideation, suicide attempt and self-injury categorised by gender (females and males) to show patterns over time. Crude rate or number of attendances can be chosen, with an option to show or hide error bars. Selection for different state or territories and type of attendance are also available to view.

The interactive timeseries visualisation shows ambulance attendances for suicidal ideation, suicide attempt and self-injury categorised by gender (females and males) to show patterns over time. Crude rate or number of attendances can be chosen, with an option to show or hide error bars. Selection for different state or territories and type of attendance are also available to view.

Do attendance rates differ by age and gender over time?

During the period from January 2021 to March 2024:

  • Females aged 0 to 24 years had the highest rates of ambulance attendances among all age-gender groups for suicide attempt and self-injury (21 per 100,000 population for both attempt and self-injury in March 2024, compared with 6.7 and 7.0, respectively, for males aged 0 to 24).
  • The highest rates of attendance for suicidal ideation were among males aged 25 to 44 years and females aged 0 to 24 and 25 to 44 years. For instance, in March 2024, the monthly attendance rate for suicidal ideation for males aged 25 to 44 was 34, compared with 30 for females aged 0 to 24 and 25 to 44. 
  • Among males, those aged 25 to 44 years had the highest rates of attendances for suicide attempt (11 in March 2024, compared with 7.5 for males aged 45 to 64 years, 6.7 for males aged 0 to 24 years and 3.5 for males aged 65 years and over in the same period).
  • For both males and females, the lowest rates of attendances were seen in the oldest age groups (65 years and over for suicidal ideation and suicide attempt and 45 years and over for self-injury).

Ambulance attendances for suicidal ideation, suicide attempt, and self-injury by age and gender, January 2021 to March 2024

The interactive time series visualisation shows ambulance attendances for suicidal ideation, suicide attempt and self-injury to show patterns over time. Crude rate or number of attendances, state or territory, and an option to show or hide error bars can be chosen.

The interactive time series visualisation shows ambulance attendances for suicidal ideation, suicide attempt and self-injury to show patterns over time. Crude rate or number of attendances, state or territory, and an option to show or hide error bars can be chosen.

Age and gender variations

The visualisation below explores ambulance attendances by gender and age group in greater detail with annual crude rates for 5-year age intervals from 10 to 85 years and over for the most recent full-year data (2023) with all participating jurisdictions combined. Consistent with the findings over time, young females appear to be particularly at risk for suicidal ideation, suicide attempt and self-injury. 

In 2023:

  • Females aged 15 to 19 years had the highest rates of ambulance attendances for suicide attempt among all age and gender groups (671 per 100,000 population). Followed by females aged 20 to 24 years (383). Similar patterns were observed for suicidal ideation and self-injury.
  • Females aged 10 to 29 years exhibited higher rates of ambulance attendances for suicide attempt, compared with males in the same age range. For example, the rate for females aged 15 to 19 years (671) was more than 3 times that of males in the same age group (180) and the rate for females aged 20 to 24 years (383) was more than twice that of males in the same age group (185). 

Similar patterns were observed for suicidal ideation and self-injury, although the magnitude of difference between females and males for suicidal ideation was less.

Ambulance attendances for suicidal ideation, suicide attempt, and self-injury by age and gender, 2023

The interactive data visualisation shows the distribution of ambulance attendances for suicidal ideation, suicide attempt and self-injury for 2022. The data are divided according to age (5-year age groups) and gender (male and female) to highlight variations. Crude rate (per 100,000) or number of attendances and attendance type can be selected, with an option to show or hide error bars.

The interactive data visualisation shows the distribution of ambulance attendances for suicidal ideation, suicide attempt and self-injury for 2022. The data are divided according to age (5-year age groups) and gender (male and female) to highlight variations. Crude rate (per 100,000) or number of attendances and attendance type can be selected, with an option to show or hide error bars.

Ambulance attendances for suicide death and suicide attempts, by modality

Monitoring the modality used in a person's suicide attempts or death by suicide can play an important role in prevention of similar events in the future. These data are provided to inform discussion around restriction of access to means of self-injury as a policy intervention for the prevention of suicide and self-harm.

Please consider your need to read the following information. If this material raises concerns for you or if you need immediate assistance, please contact a crisis support service, available free of charge, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Please consider the Mindframe guidelines if reporting on these statistics. 

The visualisation presented below illustrates the proportion of ambulance attendances related to suicide attempts and suicide deaths categorised by modality, from January 2021 to March 2024 in the combined jurisdictions of NSW, Vic, Qld, Tas, ACT, and NT. The modality types include alcohol and other drugs; hanging; and other. The category of 'other' encompasses wound/laceration/penetrating injury, inhalation, firearm, drowning, jumping from height, vehicular impact, poison, burning, asphyxia, as well as instances classified as other or unknown. Differences between modality types are highlighted below:

  • Ambulance attendances for suicide attempts are predominantly associated with alcohol and other drugs, followed by other, then hanging (64%, 41% and 4.0% respectively for March 2024).
  • Ambulance attendances for suicide deaths are most frequently attributed to hanging, followed by other, and then alcohol and other drugs (62%, 34%, and 8.2% respectively for March 2024).

The proportion of ambulance attendances for suicide attempt exhibits minimal variation over time. In contrast, the proportion for suicide death shows larger fluctuations due to the smaller number of ambulance attendances, leading to larger month-to-month variations.

Ambulance attendances for suicide attempt and suicide death by modality, January 2021 to March 2024

The timeseries visualisation shows the proportion of ambulance attendances for suicide attempt and suicide death from 2021, categorised by modality.

The timeseries visualisation shows the proportion of ambulance attendances for suicide attempt and suicide death from 2021, categorised by modality.

Data considerations

The completeness of ambulance attendance data in the NASS can be affected by events and technical issues that are outside of the control of Turning Point. These include industrial action, information technology issues and problems with transfer of data. Every attempt possible is made to fully retrieve lost data. When interpreting the data and visualisations presented on this page, note that:

  • NSW data for June 2021 were lower than expected due to industrial action and technical issues with case recording devices.
  • Industrial action occurred in NSW in April 2022, which could have resulted in lower numbers.
  • NSW data for July and August 2022 were lower than expected (by around 10% and 7%, respectively), due to a data synchronisation issue at NSW Ambulance Service.
  • Industrial action occurred in Vic from 18 March to 23 September 2024, resulting in around 75% fewer cases being received.

Other issues have affected NASS data to a lesser extent over time. A full list can be found in Data sources - National Ambulance Surveillance System (NASS)

Download data tables

Supplementary tables

Ambulance attendances for suicidality and self-harm – 2024 March 

Download data

Search

Viewing the monitoring data

Caution: Some people may find parts of this content confronting or distressing.

Please carefully consider your needs when reading the following information about suicide and self-harm. If this material raises concerns for you contact Lifeline on 13 11 14, or see other ways you can seek help.

The information included here places an emphasis on data, and as such, can appear to depersonalise the pain and loss behind the statistics. The AIHW acknowledges the individuals, families and communities affected by suicide each year in Australia.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (First Nations) readers are advised that the National Suicide and Self-harm Monitoring System includes information about the suicide and self-harm of First Nations people.

The AIHW supports the use of the Mindframe guidelines on responsible, accurate and safe suicide and self-harm reporting. Please consider these guidelines when reporting on statistics on the monitoring of suicide and self-harm.

Exit now