New Zealand Launches Suicide Prevention Action Plan 2025–2029

Social Issues Jun 24, 2025 Tim Baker

Aotearoa has launched a bold new plan to tackle one of the country’s most urgent public health issues: suicide.

The Suicide Prevention Action Plan 2025–2029 builds on the 2019 “Every Life Matters” strategy and sets out a focused, time-bound series of actions aimed at saving lives and improving outcomes for vulnerable communities.

Four Priority Areas

The plan outlines clear areas of investment and intervention:

  • The plan outlines clear areas of investment and intervention:
  • Expanding access to suicide prevention and postvention services — including support for those bereaved or after a suicide attempt.
  • Growing the workforce of trained mental health professionals and peer supporters across Aotearoa.
  • Early intervention and awareness, particularly in youth, Māori, Pacific, LGBTQIA+, and rural communities.
  • Stronger data, accountability and evaluation to ensure real impact and continuous improvement.

Key Milestones

Some of the major deliverables include:

  • Youth mental health campaigns launching by July 2025.
  • Peer support workers placed in 8 hospital emergency departments.
  • New Suicide Prevention Fund for youth and rural communities by December 2025.
  • Six regional crisis recovery hubs (“crisis cafés”) opening by mid-2026.
  • Full strategy evaluation due by mid-2029.

Investment

The plan brings $36 million in new funding over five years, with $16 million of that arriving from 2025/26. This is in addition to the $20 million per year already allocated to suicide prevention initiatives.

Why It Matters

Despite years of effort, New Zealand continues to have one of the highest youth suicide rates in the OECD. In 2023–2024 alone, 617 lives were lost to suicide — a staggering and heartbreaking toll. The new plan acknowledges the scale of the challenge, while offering real steps forward in prevention, support, and healing.

The approach is also deeply informed by lived experience and community voices, including those from Māori and Pacific communities, people with mental distress, and whānau affected by suicide.

Our View at Kiwis For Good

We welcome the direction this plan takes — particularly the emphasis on early intervention, workforce support, and youth-focused initiatives.

But we also believe the work must go deeper: tackling social isolation, poverty, trauma, and the lack of meaningful belonging many young people experience today. We’ll continue advocating for grassroots, wraparound services that meet people where they are — and lift them higher.

How You Can Help

  • Stay informed.
  • Talk to the young people in your life.
  • Support grassroots efforts like The Hero’s Journey.
  • Challenge the systems that aren’t working.

 Every life truly does matter — and together, we can build a future where fewer people fall through the cracks.

 

Kiwis for Good: why should you contribute? PoliticsSocial IssuesCulture Kiwis for Good: why should you contribute? As the body of psychological science continues to expand, new methods of treating mental disorders and improving quality of life are being excavated. Activities which were previously considered purely recreational or physical in benefit, such as writing and physical exercise, are now being established as effective means with which to treat things like depression and anxiety. Read Christine’s Story Social Issues Christine’s Story Hi, my name is Christine. I am a partner, daughter, cousin, granddaughter, sister, mother of two, and a proud bonus mum to another two. Read An Exposé: Study 329, Antidepressants, and New Zealand’s Youth Suicide Crisis Social IssuesTechnology An Exposé: Study 329, Antidepressants, and New Zealand’s Youth Suicide Crisis The alarming prevalence of antidepressant use among New Zealand’s youth demands urgent scrutiny. According to Ministry of Health data obtained by Kiwis For Good, in 2021, over 10,000 prescriptions for the antidepressant paroxetine were written for individuals under 30, including 1,330 for those under 19. These figures are particularly concerning given the dark history of paroxetine, a drug at the centre of one of the pharmaceutical industry’s most notorious scandals: Study 329. Read Bungee Jumping's Forgotten Pioneer BusinessSocial IssuesTechnologyCulture Bungee Jumping's Forgotten Pioneer The first time I met David Kirke, New Zealand's forgotten pioneer and the worlds first bungee jumper. Who you ask? Most people in New Zealand would never have heard the name David Kirke the man that created the now quintessentially Kiwi extreme sport with an illegal jump from the Clifton Suspension Bridge in 1979 at the city of Bristol, England. Read The Link Between Antibiotics and Depression: What You Need to Know Social Issues The Link Between Antibiotics and Depression: What You Need to Know Antibiotics are hailed as life-saving drugs, essential in fighting infections. Yet, recent research suggests that these medications may have an unexpected downside—an increased risk of depression. While antibiotics combat harmful bacteria, they also disturb the gut’s delicate balance, which may have a profound impact on mental health. Read My Recovery from Abuse - Jessica Emily Social IssuesCulture My Recovery from Abuse - Jessica Emily Kiwis For Good are proud to introduce Jessica Emily. Jessica has been featured in Woman’s Day and various other publications sharing her journey. She is a leading Empowerment/Mental health Coach, public speaker and recovery enthusiast. Read
Help Us Help Others!

Your donations are incredibly important for us, and enable us to use our initiatives to help our fellow Kiwis.

Donate today
Join Our Newsletter

For the latest news and projects, keep up-to-date with our newsletter. We promise not to spam you; we get enough of that ourselves!