By: Mark Parton MLA
Canberra Liberals Leader and Shadow Minister for Men’s Health, Mark Parton MLA, has introduced the Suicide Prevention Bill 2026 to create a stronger legislative framework for coordination, planning and accountability across the ACT.
The Bill treats suicide prevention as an ongoing government responsibility rather than a series of disconnected initiatives. It would require a Territory-wide suicide prevention plan, supported by plans across directorates and agencies including ACT Policing, modelled on frameworks already operating in New South Wales and South Australia.
It would also establish a Suicide Prevention Council to provide advice, encourage collaboration and ensure the experiences of people affected by suicide inform policy and practice.
Suicide Prevention Australia CEO Nieves Murray welcomed the Bill, saying: “Suicide Prevention Australia wholeheartedly welcomes the introduction of this Bill to Parliament and the important progress it represents for suicide prevention in the ACT.
We commend Mark Parton and his office for the work undertaken to bring this legislation forward and for recognising the importance of embedding suicide prevention as a long-term priority across government.”
Ms Murray urged bipartisan support, stating: “We now urge all members of Parliament, across political parties, to support the Bill and work together to see it become law.
Suicide prevention is not about politics, it’s about people. It is an issue that deserves and requires bipartisan support with all parts of government coming together around a shared responsibility to save lives.”
She added that South Australia and New South Wales have demonstrated the value of embedding suicide prevention in legislation, and that “the Australian Capital Territory now has an opportunity to build on that progress, strengthen accountability and ensure suicide prevention remains a sustained priority beyond political cycles. This is an important opportunity to deliver significant reform for the people of the ACT.”
“Suicide prevention is too important to be left to good intentions alone,” Mr Parton said. “We need a coordinated approach, clear responsibilities and genuine accountability. This Bill requires government to plan, work together, listen to lived experience and report publicly on progress.”
The Bill also proposes a framework for collecting and using information about suspected and confirmed deaths by suicide, with appropriate safeguards, to strengthen the evidence base for prevention.
Mr Parton said the legislation must respond to the needs of all people at risk while recognising the particular challenge of suicide among men and boys.
“No single law can prevent every death by suicide. But we can put stronger structures in place to make government more coordinated, more transparent and more accountable,” he said.
Mr Parton committed to introducing the Bill in April 2026 following the creation of the shadow Men and Men’s Health portfolio.
The Bill will be debated at a later date.The Canberra Liberals will move to protect Canberra employers and workers from ACT Labor’s hospitality and services tax, which would make it even more expensive for businesses in the hospitality and other services sectors to employ people and pay them well.
The Long Service Leave (Portable Schemes) Amendment Bill 2026 would prevent the expansion of Labor’s so-called ‘portable long service leave’ scheme before 1 July 2027, and require an independent evaluation demonstrating that the expansion is unlikely to harm business viability or employment before proceeding.
“The Labor Party, at both a local and federal level, has driven too many businesses and employers to breaking point. They’re exhausted and they’re tired of being treated as nothing but a source of revenue,” Mr Cocks said.
Canberra’s hospitality sector remains under significant pressure. Nationally, more than one in eight cafés, restaurants and takeaway businesses closed in the 12 months to July 2026, average restaurant and café profit margins have fallen to just 2.5 per cent, and ABS figures show spending in the ACT’s hotels, cafés and restaurants continuing to fall.
The latest inflation figures add further pressure, with inflation climbing to 4.3 per cent and the prospect of further interest rate rises.
“Businesses are being squeezed from every direction. Customers are watching every dollar, operating costs keep rising, and the economic outlook is getting worse,” Mr Cocks said.
“It would be entirely irresponsible for Labor’s to add even more to the cost of employing people, alongside even more paperwork and compliance obligations on employers, and it’s workers who will end up paying the price.
“Good jobs depend on viable businesses. Every café, restaurant or salon that closes means lost livelihoods, fewer opportunities for workers and another loss for our local communities.
“Canberra needs a government that makes it easier to employ people, invest here and succeed here, rather than one that keeps making it harder.”