{"id":145390,"date":"2026-07-01T09:01:09","date_gmt":"2026-07-01T01:01:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/research\/?post_type=hdr-r-projects&p=145390"},"modified":"2026-07-01T09:01:09","modified_gmt":"2026-07-01T01:01:09","slug":"preventing-suicide-among-tafe-students","status":"publish","type":"hdr-r-projects","link":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/research\/hdr-r-projects\/preventing-suicide-among-tafe-students\/","title":{"rendered":"Preventing suicide among TAFE students"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Here at Curtin we have developed a world-first predictive algorithm built into the World Mental Health surveys, that is five times more accurate than current approaches at identifying students at increased risk of suicide in the next twelve months. We have developed an innovative suicide prevention program, training clinical psychology trainees to proactively reach out to identified students to conduct safety planning and offer support. We called this program COMPAS \u2013 Checking on Mental Health: Providing Alternatives to Suicide. Our research shows this is associated with a 41.7% reduction in suicidal behaviour over the next year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite increasing commitment to addressing mental health needs of tertiary students, the TAFE sector has been largely ignored. This is despite 70% of TAFE students studying trades for industries known to have elevated suicide rates (e.g., mining, construction). New Standards for Registered Training Organisations (including TAFE) were released in July 2025 and require a training organisation to demonstrate they:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  1. identify the wellbeing needs of students and <\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. advise students of the availability of wellbeing support services. Simply identifying support services and making students aware of these is clearly inadequate to support student wellbeing. Implementing COMPAS for TAFE students will help address this gap.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Aim  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    To expand the COMPAS program to TAFE students<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Objectives <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    This project will extend COMPAS to TAFEs across WA. 60% of TAFE students are aged 14-24, including high school students (Years 10-12) and early school leavers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Significance <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Across Australia, 5.1 million students are studying vocational courses at TAFE (Tertiary and Further Education; Vocational Education and Training\/VET). 60% of these students are aged between 15 and 44 years, the age at which suicide is the leading cause of death. Of concern, across 2022-2023, 35.9% of TAFE students reported high proneness to suicidal behaviour, 20.3% had a suicide plan, 6.2% were currently suicidal, and 8% had attempted suicide. This is twice the national average, yet suicide prevention has not been a priority at TAFEs. Expanding COMPAS to TAFE thus has huge potential to support the mental health of young students and prevent suicide among youth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Ideal Candidate <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    We are looking for a self-motivated PhD student who is also a team player. Someone who is passionate and compassionate, about working in the suicide prevention space. Excellent written and verbal communication skills, familiarisation with software packages, and data analysis (e.g. SPSS, R, STATA). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Additionally, the applicants should meet the eligibility criteria for entry into a PhD program at Curtin University. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    This project is open to Domestic applicants only.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Internship <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Through this project you will also have an internship opportunity.  Partnerships with Lifeline WA, headspace, Youth Focus, Men’s Talk, and Beyond Blue may offer internship opportunities to the successful candidate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Scholarship  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    If you are identified as the preferred candidate for this project, you may be considered for an RTP scholarship<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Enquires and How to Apply <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    For enquires about this opportunity contact Professor Penelope Hasking at Penelope.Hasking@curtin.edu.au<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    To formally apply submit an Expression of Interest<\/a> to Professor Penelope Hasking during the Central Scholarship round (July 1st – July 31st 2026) <\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":125,"featured_media":0,"template":"","faculties":[49],"hdr_types":[5487],"research_areas":[42],"class_list":["post-145390","hdr-r-projects","type-hdr-r-projects","status-publish","hentry","faculties-health-sciences","hdr_types-rtp-scholarship","research_areas-healthy-communities"],"acf":false,"featured_image":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/research\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hdr-r-projects\/145390","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/research\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hdr-r-projects"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/research\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/hdr-r-projects"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/research\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/125"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/research\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hdr-r-projects\/145390\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/research\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=145390"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"faculties","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/research\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/faculties?post=145390"},{"taxonomy":"hdr_types","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/research\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hdr_types?post=145390"},{"taxonomy":"research_areas","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/research\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/research_areas?post=145390"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}