The Australian Government has committed an additional A$6.9 million over two years to strengthen mental health and suicide-prevention support in industries where workers face elevated risk. The funding will support MATES in Construction as it seeks to expand its work in New South Wales.
The investment is directed towards workplace-based support rather than a new general-purpose service. MATES provides suicide-prevention training, peer support, counselling and case management for workers in construction, mining, energy and manufacturing. The programme’s approach is to make practical help accessible in the work settings where workers spend their time.
Its expansion in New South Wales follows the extension of the National Suicide Prevention Leadership Support Program, which invests in organisations and initiatives working to reduce suicide and suicidal distress across Australia. The new commitment adds targeted support for a programme already operating in several high-risk sectors.
Peer support is central to the model
MATES combines formal training with support from workers who are prepared to look out for colleagues. Since 2022, it has delivered suicide-awareness training to more than 69,000 workers across high-risk industries. More than 8,000 workers have become on-site peer supporters, known as Connectors.
Connectors are intended to help identify when a colleague may be struggling, open a conversation and link that person with further support. This role does not make a co-worker a clinician. It gives workers a point of contact and a route towards counselling or case management when they need more than informal help.
The programme’s workplace focus is particularly relevant in sectors with predominantly male workforces. Men account for around 85 to 90 per cent of construction workers. Male construction workers are estimated to have a suicide rate almost twice that of other employed Australian men. These figures describe a serious disparity, but they do not determine any individual worker’s circumstances or needs.
Funding aimed at wider reach
The additional funding is intended to help MATES reach more workers in New South Wales. The commitment is spread over two years, and its stated purpose is to strengthen existing mental-health and suicide-prevention support. It is not a report of a completed expansion, nor does the announcement specify a final number of additional worksites or workers to be reached.
For a worker, the practical value of an on-site network is that support can begin with a conversation among people who understand the setting. The training, peer contact and links to counselling or case management form different parts of a support pathway. Awareness training can help people recognise that someone may be struggling, while access to professional services provides a next step when a conversation alone is not enough.
Construction, mining, energy and manufacturing are all included in the programme’s existing scope. The announcement identifies expansion in New South Wales as the immediate focus of this funding, rather than announcing a new national service or a change to the programme’s remit. It also places the MATES investment within a broader government effort on mental health support.
That wider effort includes Medicare Mental Health Centres, which have provided more than 570,000 free appointments, and Medicare Mental Health Check-In, a free national digital mental-health service. These services offer different routes to care; the worker-focused investment is specifically intended to reinforce support in high-risk workplaces.
The funding announcement was made during Mental Health Month. Its central development is the two-year A$6.9 million commitment to MATES in Construction, with expansion in New South Wales as the stated objective. The announced amount, duration and programme describe the commitment; further details about delivery and reach have not been specified.
