If you really care about someone you need to be able to ask the hard question: 'Are you suicidal?'
That's the message from the inaugural National Stop Suicide Summit in Sydney.
Hosted by Lifeline, Monday's meeting is looking beyond the traditional approach to mental health for new solutions by tapping into technological innovation and cross-sector initiatives.
Lifeline Australia chief executive Pete Shmigel said if you are worried about someone you need to have the courage to speak up.
"The best we can do is go out of our way and give a crap about people we work with and ask the hard question - are you suicidal?" he told AAP.
Suicide was at "10-year-plus high levels", with more than 3000 suicide-related deaths in Australia in 2015.
Mr Shmigel said the government needs to provide help for companies to do more to prevent suicide.
"There's a lot of goodwill from businesses, but there's a role for the government too," he said.
While there was no clear reason Australia was experiencing such high suicide rates, Mr Shmigel put it down to loneliness.
"It's disconnection and isolation. That can be very, very dangerous," he said.
"Disconnection is the root cause and connection is the root solution."
The summit discussed fresh ways to talk about suicide and how to help people in crisis. It pushed the importance of making sure services to help people at crisis point were available in workplaces and on public transport.
"It's about getting smarter about getting the message across," Mr Shmigel said.
"If we can get them through that moment, we can usually get them out of it."
Representatives from industries including finance, agribusiness, retail and sport joined suicide prevention experts and academics for the inaugural summit.
Readers seeking support and information about suicide prevention can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14.
Suicide Call Back Service 1300 659 467.
MensLine Australia 1300 78 99 78.
Multicultural Mental Health Australia www.mmha.org.au.
Local Aboriginal Medical Service available from www.vibe.com.au.
