The crisis-support and suicide-prevention group Lifeline says an average of eight Australians take their own lives every day.
That puts the number of deaths at a 10-year high, with more than 3,000 suicide-related deaths in Australia in 2015.
While there is no clear reason Australia is experiencing such high suicide rates, Lifeline chief executive Pete Shmigel says loneliness plays a major role.
"In one way or another, the people who are suicidal feel isolated, lonely. That can result from relationship breakdown or family estrangement or financial pressure or addictions, or, indeed, sometimes from mental-health issues themselves. So if disconnection is at the heart of the problem, Lifeline argues that connection is the solution."
Mr Shmigel says that connection needs to include all walks of life.
"For Lifeline, we would argue that that theme of connection and compassion needs to filter through everything that we do practically. So, whether that is greater support for crisis lines that are helping people in that darkest moment, whether it is looking after people coming out of hospital after their first attempt -- they're probably the most susceptible group that we have -- making sure that there is respite care for them and follow-up care for them."
He says companies, for one group, must do more to prevent suicide.
"Creating a culture and creating skills within workplaces and otherwise so that you can actually understand what is somebody is going through, that you feel empowered to ask them the question about, you know, 'How can I help?' et cetera. For me, it's all about compassion but how you actually practically deliver that compassion through training, through crisis support and through follow-up."
Travis Dillon, head of one of Australia's biggest agricultural businesses, Ruralco, is one business leader who introduced training-and-awareness programs for his employees.
Mr Dillon has told the ABC the initiative is already making a difference.
"So other than just being a corporate partner of Lifeline, where we put Ruralco's money in, we also do training-and-awareness programs across the country. We've rolled those out in the last six months, whereby we get someone from Lifeline along to present and train staff and also customers and anyone else in the community that wants to come along to the event. We held one in Gunning a few weeks ago, and we had a quarter of the town turn out for the training-and-awareness programs. So we definitely think it's an issue in rural Australia, and, from what we've seen, it resonates."
Mr Dillon says creating awareness of suicide is critical.
"We don't want to be experts in suicide. What we want to be able to do is recognise the signs. So, our training is both online and in a classroom-type environment, but the program isn't really about anyone becoming an expert on suicide. It's about raising the awareness and knowing how to have those initial conversations."
Pete Shmigel, from Lifeline, says, if a person really cares about someone, that person needs to be able to ask the hard question: "Are you suicidal?"
"You know, our experience and the research and the data show that, when you ask somebody who's suicidal that question, they just find it liberating. They do want to talk about it. They want to answer it. Look, the core thing with suicide is people feeling a tremendous amount of internal pain, and we have to give them an opportunity to express that pain."
For support and information about suicide prevention, contact Lifeline on 13 11 14.
