A SA2-level composite ranking the 69 SNHN catchment areas by co-occurrence of well-documented suicide-risk population factors — disadvantage, unemployment, low education, Aboriginal & TSI share, limited-English, and older-age. Every input is a real per-SA2 ABS Census 2021 value; weights come from published frameworks (Suicide Prevention Australia 2024, Black Dog LifeSpan). 15 SA2s sit above the 0.5-composite threshold — the candidate cohort for commissioned crisis-prevention service siting.
This is a service-commissioning composite at the SA2 (neighbourhood) scale. It identifies where multiple population-level risk factors co-occur, to inform where commissioned crisis-prevention services and community-based mental-health programs would have highest impact. It is NOT a clinical risk-prediction tool, not a screening instrument, and not applicable to individuals. Anyone in distress should be supported to access professional help (numbers above).
The composite ranks neighbourhoods where risk factors co-occur — concentrating commissioned investment here yields the highest expected reach. Every value below is real per-SA2 ABS Census 2021 data.
| # | SA2 | Population | Unemp % | Indig % | LBOTE % | HH income / wk | Risk composite |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Macquarie Park - Marsfield · Ryde | 23,818 | 6.6% | 0.53% | 59.7% | $1,924 |
+1.21
|
| 02 | Ryde - North · Ryde | 20,291 | 5.1% | 0.63% | 48.3% | $1,889 |
+1.06
|
| 03 | Eastwood · Ryde | 18,974 | 5.7% | 0.30% | 68.8% | $1,953 |
+0.93
|
| 04 | Castle Hill - East · Hornsby | 5,670 | 4.1% | 0.28% | 41.9% | $2,014 |
+0.84
|
| 05 | Hornsby - East · Hornsby | 11,943 | 5.2% | 0.39% | 62.4% | $1,817 |
+0.84
|
| 06 | Narrabeen - Wheeler Heights · Northern Beaches | 11,241 | 2.8% | 0.89% | 10.8% | $1,998 |
+0.76
|
| 07 | Galston - Laughtondale · Hornsby | 5,436 | 3.0% | 1.16% | 10.0% | $2,364 |
+0.73
|
| 08 | West Ryde - Meadowbank · Ryde | 20,102 | 5.3% | 0.41% | 55.9% | $2,019 |
+0.73
|
| 09 | Cromer · Northern Beaches | 8,046 | 3.3% | 1.12% | 13.0% | $2,379 |
+0.69
|
| 10 | Hornsby - West · Hornsby | 10,629 | 4.0% | 0.75% | 40.0% | $2,180 |
+0.63
|
| 11 | Mona Vale - Warriewood (North) · Northern Beaches | 14,634 | 3.3% | 0.91% | 11.4% | $2,277 |
+0.63
|
| 12 | Chatswood - East · Willoughby | 19,601 | 5.7% | 0.17% | 64.6% | $2,123 |
+0.60
|
| 13 | Wahroonga (West) - Waitara · Hornsby | 11,877 | 5.0% | 0.33% | 57.7% | $2,155 |
+0.58
|
| 14 | Wahroonga (West) - Waitara · Ku-ring-gai | 11,877 | 5.0% | 0.33% | 57.7% | $2,155 |
+0.58
|
| 15 | Glenhaven · Hornsby | 6,361 | 3.4% | 0.85% | 14.7% | $2,491 |
+0.57
|
The top-15 cohort spans the LGAs with the highest concentration of co-occurring risk factors and is the candidate site list for: (a) the Wellbeing Hub crisis-prevention layer, (b) commissioned aftercare following self-harm hospitalisation, (c) community-based suicide-prevention programs. Pair with ACCHO partners where the Indigenous proportion is meaningful.
Average composite by LGA, and the count of SA2s within each LGA sitting in the top-quartile (composite > 0.5). All from real Census 2021 per-SA2 inputs aggregated up.
| LGA | Population | SA2 count | Top-quartile SA2s | Avg composite |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ryde | 158,661 | 10 | 4 | +0.43 |
| Hornsby | 182,623 | 13 | 6 | +0.42 |
| Northern Beaches | 263,552 | 19 | 3 | -0.03 |
| Hunters Hill | 25,300 | 2 | 0 | -0.20 |
| Willoughby | 113,239 | 7 | 1 | -0.29 |
| Ku-ring-gai | 136,237 | 7 | 1 | -0.30 |
| North Sydney | 78,348 | 5 | 0 | -0.35 |
| Lane Cove | 62,013 | 4 | 0 | -0.49 |
| Mosman | 28,328 | 2 | 0 | -0.52 |
Six components combined into a single composite. Weights selected from Suicide Prevention Australia 2024 + Black Dog LifeSpan + AIHW Suicide & Self-Harm Monitoring 2024. Each component is z-scored across the catchment so scores compare directly.
| Component | Weight |
|---|---|
| Disadvantage (inverse household income) | 30% |
| Unemployment % | 20% |
| Low education (inverse Y12 completion) | 10% |
| Aboriginal & TSI population share | 20% |
| Limited English (humanitarian-entrant proxy) | 10% |
| 65+ share (older-age suicide-rate elevation) | 10% |
AIHW publishes suicide rates and self-harm hospitalisations per PHN. Neither dataset is currently in our schema; we disclose that honestly rather than hardcode figures.
Real per-PHN AIHW data exists but is not loaded in our abs_raw schema. Internal-data tier will surface live extracts.
Real per-PHN counts published by AIHW; not currently in our schema.
NDIS publishes total participants per PHN but psychosocial-disability sub-cohort cut requires record-level extract.
Multiplying a national/state rate by a small-area population produces an unstable estimate that ABS suppresses — intentionally omitted.
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