When Work Kills and No One Counts the Dead

An open letter about workplace suicides was published to support World Mental Health Day in 2024. The research work of some of the signatories has continued and appeared in a 2026 editorial in Volume 46 of “Crisis – The Journal of Crisis Intervention and Suicide Prevention“, calling for action. [This article, unavoidably, discusses suicide]...

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Workplace Suicides Becoming Australia’s Next Regulatory Flashpoint

You should have heard by now that Safe Work Australia (SWA) has come through with guidance on having work-related suicides included in each jurisdiction’s occupational health and safety (OHS) legislation as incidents that will require notification to the local OHS regulator. If you haven’t, get a new OHS or Human Resources (HR) adviser because the …

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How BS30480 Challenges Tokenistic Mental Health Programs

British Standards Institute has just published BS30480, a standard called “Suicide and the workplace – Intervention, prevention and support for people affected by suicide – Guide”. It has come at the right time to show that the changes in psychological health at work in Australia are not in isolation. Note: this article discusses workplace suicide …

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Every Worker Deserves A Good Life

Work-related suicide is more insidious in some ways than non-work suicide, as it is institutionally stigmatised to the extent that its reality has been denied. There is an additional level of complexity when an employer is in control of the work, and a strong economic ideology often denies the influence of work factors. The tide …

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When Work Kills: Unmasking Suicidality in Corporate Australia

For over twenty years, John Bottomley has been researching the influence of work factors in suicide. His early research is rarely referenced, and although only a small sample was studied, his findings were significant. New research, published recently in the Journal of Industrial Relations, adds an essential perspective as Australia continues to progress (painfully slowly) …

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Psych Health and Safety Conference 2025: A Step Forward

The 2025 Psych Health and Safety (PHS) Conference, held in Sydney and hosted by FlourishDx, marked a significant evolution from its inaugural event. With over 200 delegates, a larger venue, enhanced facilities, and a more polished exhibition space, the conference built on its foundational success. Centred around four key themes—evidence-based practice, leading mentally healthy workplaces, …

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Another case study on a readily preventable work-related suicide

On August 29, 2019, Scott Jordan returned to his Ballarat home from work. He noticed his wife’s car was not parked in its usual location. Scott walked through to the shed looking for Karla Jordan and found her dead by suicide with a notebook on the floor nearby. The Victorian Coroner’s Prevention Unit “considered Ms …

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