Suicide rates among Indigenous people in the Kimberley region of Western Australia are among the highest in the world. During the period 2001–2010, age-adjusted suicide rates among Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians were respectively 21.4 and 10.3 per 100 000 population per year.

As staff of the regional state government-funded mental health service provider, Kimberley Mental Health and Drug Service (KMHDS), we undertook a retrospective audit of an internal suicide and self-harm database that revealed much higher suicide rates among Indigenous residents of the Kimberley. The database is based on referrals to the service, augmented by data on self-harm presentations provided by the police, regional hospitals and non-government agencies.

doi: 10.5694/mja15.01368