Michael Gardner The National Suicide Prevention Conference 2024

Michael Gardner

Dr Michael Gardner is the Head of the National Suicide Prevention Office, a specialist unit created to assist governments implement a more comprehensive and coordinated national approach to suicide prevention. He is committed to driving reform and is passionate about ensuring that our approach to suicide prevention is focussed on protecting social wellbeing, addressing drivers of distress, and delivering integrated, practical supports that recognise and respond to every individual’s particular history and circumstances. Michael’s work draws on his diverse career in research, community service provision, government and public service, and is informed by his own extensive lived experience. He served as the Australian Government’s Senior Adviser for Mental Health and Suicide Prevention between 2018 and 2022, guiding responses to the Productivity Commission Inquiry into Mental Health, the 2020 bushfires, and the COVID-19 pandemic.