Parents want action on suicide

Geoff Diver's daughter will never pick out a bridesmaid dress with her sister.

Ruby Nicholls-Diver won't have a wedding day.

The 18-year-old took her own life in 2011.

Four of Kerrie Keppa's children have been "polar opposites" since they lost their brother in September 2014.

Ms Keppa talks publicly about his suicide out of fear. She doesn't see herself as strong.

Cheryl Frank is one of the luckier ones.

Her 27-year-old son Joseph was brought back to life by a police officer who found him near death on his bed.

Now 30, he manages his mental illness with care plans and a solid friendship group.

Their stories aren't unusual and they're tied together by a common element.

The system, somewhere, failed.

The parents have come together to call on members of political parties to promise action on suicide prevention in the next parliament.

As part of the call, leaders in mental health and suicide prevention are asking MPs and candidates for the July 2 election to sign a pledge acknowledging the impact on families and communities.

The health groups on Tuesday released suicide data, from 2009 to 2012, for 28 electorates - the worst of four areas experienced 562 deaths over the three years.

Those who have signed the pledge, which include Labor senator Katy Gallagher and Liberal senator Zed Seselja, also promise to support better collection and analysis of data about suicide.

"We need 2016 data and in real time, like any area of serious public health, so we can respond at a community level," Professor Ian Hickey, co-director of the Brain and Mind Centre, said on Tuesday.

The groups aren't calling for just more money, but better systems - particularly in regional Australia.

Hours earlier Prof Hickey received a phone call from Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, who was pressed on his support for the pledge while campaigning in the Victorian electorate of Corangamite.

Corangamite has one of the highest suicide rates of the 28 electorates, with 111 deaths over the three years.

Mr Turnbull has supported development of digital strategies to improve suicide rates, but didn't publicly back the pledge.

However, he acknowledged suicide had an "enormous" cost on the community while turning the focus to his wealthy electorate of Wentworth - which includes the well-known suicide cliff known as The Gap.

"I can assure you it's a tough issue. We will leave no stone unturned in our efforts to improve, protect and advance the mental health of Australia," he told reporters.

Ms Frank says the healthcare system - which let down her mentally ill son by assessing him as low-risk days before his suicide attempt - is underfunded and understaffed.

"It's like an ethnic clearance. They're letting these people die because it's easier to manage them when they're no longer in the system," he told AAP on Tuesday.

"What can we say when there are experienced clinicians being paid to do the job who are turning people away?"

It's a similar story for Mr Diver, whose daughter tried to have herself admitted for a week before being released hours before her death.

Ms Keppa says she speaks up because "someone has to do something".

"We need everybody to know, the loss from suicide doesn't leave us," she said.

"I hear often suicide has a ripple effect. It's a fallacy. It's not a ripple - it's a tsunami, forever."

* For support and information about suicide prevention, call Lifeline on 13 11 14