The number of people who take their own lives each year is double that of the national road toll, but a program being trialled in the Northern Territory offers hope.
Jeff Kennett, the chairman of beyondblue, says 18.1 people per 100,000 commit suicide each year in the NT, which is almost twice the national average.
A two-year, $800,000 counselling program called The Way Back will provide consistent support for those who have attempted suicide in the hope they can be healed and will not try to do it again.
"There are many people who leave hospital after a suicide attempt who still have the initial angst or issue that drove them to attempt to take their life," the former Victorian premier said in Darwin on Monday.
"So we're going to try to provide continuous care, not every day but on a regular basis, until we are as convinced as possible that the cause that led to the attempt has been removed, and that person is feeling better and ready to readdress the world."
If the NT trial succeeds, it will be introduced across Australia, with the West Australian government already asking to be next, Mr Kennett said.
Patients across the Top End will be referred into the program by the Royal Darwin Hospital, and will be assigned support workers to check in with them, remind them of appointments and make transport arrangements to ensure they continue to receive help.
"It's a sad thing that Australia, being such a lucky country, has so many people who feel their families will be better off without them, and their families never are, or that their communities will be better off without them, and the community never will be," Mr Kennett said.
"We won't stop all suicides, but I hope we can start getting to those who are thinking about it."
* Anyone who feels they may need assistance should call Lifeline on 131 114 or the Suicide Callback Service on 1300 659 467.
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