What’s behind the high rate of suicide in Australia’s construction industry?

The construction industry is a pillar of Australia’s economy, employing more than a million people.

But construction work is also among the most dangerous industries.

According to Safe Work Australia, construction had the third-highest fatality rate of any sector in 2023. With 3.4 deaths per 100,000 workers, it far exceeded the national average of 1.4.

Many workers also sustain serious injuries, resulting in a 33% higher compensation claim rate than the all-industry average.

Yet despite these well-known physical hazards, the leading cause of death among construction workers is not falling from heights, electrocution, or being struck by heavy machinery.

By a wide margin, it is suicide.

This raises urgent questions: why is suicide so prevalent in this sector, what progress has been made in addressing it and what more needs to be done?

How big is the issue?

Each year, the construction industry loses around 190 workers to suicide. A construction worker is five to six times more likely to die by suicide than from an onsite incident.

Men suicide at higher rates than women, but construction workers are nearly twice as likely to take their own lives as other employed Australian men of the same age.

The rate of suicide, adjusted to allow fair comparison between age groups, is 26.6 deaths per 100,000 male construction workers, compared with 13.2 per 100,000 for other employed men.

This pattern is not unique to Australia. In the United States, construction workers make up only 7.4% of the workforce, yet account for almost 18% of all workplace-recorded suicides.

In the United Kingdom, suicide rates in construction are almost four times the national average. In New Zealand, male construction workers have rates nearly double the general population.

Although rates of suicide are relatively high in the construction industry, rates of suicidal thoughts are similar to other industries. By implication, certain features of the construction sector make those thoughts far more dangerous.

What’s behind the trend?

The nature of work in the sector and its culture appear to play a part in these trends.

Working conditions may also be a factor, as suicide risk is not evenly distributed among workers. Lower-skilled workers such as labourers are most vulnerable.

Job-related pressures are likely to account for this uneven distribution of risk.

Many construction workers have limited control over their work, face job insecurity, workplace bullying and periods of unemployment or underemployment.

Long hours, transient work arrangements and frequent travel often mean extended time away from family and support networks.

Apprentices are particularly exposed. Almost a third report having had suicidal thoughts in the previous year, with similar numbers reporting bullying and reduced wellbeing.

Many do not trust their supervisor as a source of mental health support.

Cultural factors compound the problem.

The industry’s male-dominated environment – 88% of construction workers are men – reinforces traditional masculine norms of self-reliance and reluctance to seek help, which are associated with higher risk of suicide.

A recent review of 32 international studies into this issue identified five recurrent suicide risk factors in the construction industry.

Job insecurity was the most frequently cited, followed by alcohol and substance abuse, lack of help-seeking, physical injury and chronic pain.

Together, these factors form a combustible mix.

What has been done and has it worked?

Although suicide rates remain high among Australian construction workers, the numbers have fallen markedly in the past two decades.

This is a reflection of the combined impact of national mental health initiatives, male-specific interventions and targeted industry programs.

Following the 2003 Cole Royal Commission, which identified suicide as a leading cause of death in Queensland construction industry, the sector began treating the issue as an urgent safety priority.

MATES in Construction, launched in 2008, is a flagship program. Built on worker-to-worker peer support, it has trained more than 300,000 people, backed by nearly 22,000 volunteer “connectors” (who help keep someone safe in a crisis and connect them with professional help) and 3,000 suicide intervention-trained workers.

The strength of this initiative lies in its capacity to build trust through its relatable peer workforce. It frames suicide as an industry-based injustice to be solved collectively through “mateship”.

Evaluations show the initiative reduces stigma, boosts mental health literacy, and increases help-seeking.

Other peer-to-peer support network programs – such as Incolink’s Bluehats Suicide Prevention, which provides education, training and support to workers – are further contributing to this declining trend.

From 2001 to 2019, the construction industry’s suicide rate declined by an average of 3% a year, double the drop seen in other male workers.

What remains to be done?

Although the disparity in suicide rates between construction and other industries has narrowed, it is still substantial. To reduce it further, prevention efforts will need to be extended and enhanced.

Workplace initiatives must continue to expand their reach and build a culture in which struggling workers feel supported to seek help and their peers feel capable of offering it. Programs must also target younger and less skilled workers, who are at elevated risk.

Similarly, awareness among families about the heightened risks in this sector could help them identify warning signs earlier and support workers in seeking help.

Efforts must continue to remedy workplace conditions known to contribute to suicide risk, like job insecurity, long hours and remote work.

It is particularly important to do so during industry downturns when insecurity rises.

Finally, we must reckon with the impact of high rates of musculoskeletal pain among construction workers.

Pain is associated with two major risk factors for suicide – poor mental health and substance misuse – so efforts to address it might play a role in reducing suicide’s terrible human cost.

If you or someone you know is struggling, help is available. In Australia, you can contact Lifeline at 13 11 14 for confidential support.