Generation Z Australians aged 16 to 25 are experiencing significantly higher rates of suicidal thoughts, plans, self-harm and suicide attempts than older generations, according to a major new study.

Drawing on data from the 2020–2022 National Study of Mental Health and Wellbeing, the analysis shows that Gen Z reports the highest lifetime and recent incidence of these behaviours — with the youngest onset ages among all age groups.

The study found that among Gen Z respondents, more than twenty percent disclosed having had suicidal thoughts, around nine percent admitted to making a suicide plan, about twenty percent reported self-harm, and roughly six percent said they had attempted suicide.

These figures exceed the lifetime averages for all adults in the broader 16–85 age range, which were 16.6 percent for suicidal ideation, 7.5 percent for suicide plans and 4.9 percent for suicide attempts.

Researchers highlight particular risk factors for younger people that differ from those affecting older cohorts.

For Gen Z, exposure to peer or online suicide, living through parental violence, economic insecurity, frequent digital connectivity, climate anxiety and recent societal disruptions such as the COVID-19 pandemic appear strongly associated with mental distress.

These pressures intersect with everyday stresses including rising living costs, uncertain job markets and social isolation.

Complementary data from the country’s largest youth crisis support service corroborates the findings: in 2025, a growing proportion of child callers — including pre-teens — expressed suicidal thoughts, marking a troubling trend toward increasingly younger onset of suicidality.

Experts say the shift signals an urgent need for earlier intervention, more robust community mental health resources, and expanded access to safe, supportive environments for young people.

Public-health professionals are calling for a broad, multi-layered response encompassing schools, social services and digital regulation.

They emphasise that while mental illness remains a factor for some, the drivers of this spike among Gen Z are multidimensional — and demand solutions beyond traditional healthcare settings to address social isolation, digital exposure, economic and environmental stressors.

Young people’s lives and futures are at stake.

Without swift, coordinated efforts to shore up mental-health support and build social resilience, the youngest generation of Australians may continue to bear the consequences of a mounting mental-health crisis.