From the Ground Up, Tasmanians are growing hope, connection, and change!
The Tasmanian Suicide Prevention Forum is a day for connection, learning, and collaboration. It brings together community members, people with lived experience, and professionals from across the state to strengthen our collective response to suicide prevention.
This year’s theme, From the Ground Up, focuses on how hope, connection, and support are cultivated locally and nurtured through small, meaningful actions in our towns, neighbourhoods, and families. It highlights the strength of grassroots initiatives and the lived experiences that shape sustainable, community-led approaches to suicide prevention.
Join us and help our communities continue to grow and flourish – From the Ground Up!
The Details
- Date: Thursday 19 March 2026
- Location: Crowne Plaza Hobart, 110 Liverpool Street, Hobart
- Time: 8:30am registration, 9:00am – 5:00pm
- Included: Morning tea, lunch, and afternoon tea
- Early Bird Registration (closes January 19): $120 per ticket
- Full Registration (January 20 – February 20): $150 per ticket
- Concession: $69
Free Tickets
We don’t want cost to be a barrier. Complimentary tickets are available for students and community members. To request a free ticket, email tspcn@reltas.com.au
TSPCN Members
Members receive a 10% discount. If you didn’t receive your discount code, please get in touch. Not a member yet? Scroll to the bottom of the page or visit our Join Network page to sign up.
Speakers
Our speaker lineup is growing! Meet our confirmed speakers for the Tasmanian Suicide Prevention Forum. Read their bios to learn more about their work and the perspectives they’ll bring on the day. More speakers will be announced shortly.
Professor Jo Robinson AM leads the Youth Suicide Prevention Research Unit at Orygen, the Centre for Youth Mental Health at the University of Melbourne. She is also Scientific Director of the Orygen Policy Centre.
Prof Robinson’s work focuses on the development, and testing, of novel interventions that specifically target at risk youth across settings, on evidence synthesis, and on the translation of research evidence into practice and policy. Her work has a strong focus on the potential of social media platforms in suicide prevention. This includes the development of the #chatsafe guidelines, the first evidence-based best practice guidelines for safe peer-peer communication about suicide online.
Prof Robinson also has a keen interest in policy development and evaluation and has led the development of several major policy reports and briefings and is regularly called upon to provide advice to both state and federal government. She was Co-Chair of the Federal Government’s Anti-Bullying Rapid Review, and is a member of the Expert Advisory Group for the Development and Implementation of the Suicide Prevention Strategy for Victoria and former member of the Expert Advisory Group for the Development of the National Suicide Prevention Strategy. She was also a member of the Expert Advisory Group for the Special Advisor to the Prime Minister on Suicide Prevention and Co-chair of a Technical Advisory Group for the Development of the National Stigma Strategy.
She is President and former Vice-President of the International Association for Suicide Prevention and co-chair of an International Taskforce into Suicide Prevention in Women and Girls. She is a member of the Self-injury Advisory Group for Meta and was an advisory board member for the Oprah Winfrey production The Me You Can’t See.
Nurturing the Next Generation | The factors impacting suicide risk in young Australians: findings from the Right Here Right Now study.
Jo will explore the key risk and protective factors influencing suicide risk among young Australians today, drawing on findings from the Right Here Right Now study. She will share insights specifically relevant to Tasmania and highlight emerging digital strategies, including the #chatsafe guidelines, along with other innovative interventions her team is currently testing.
Dr Laura Grattidge is a rural health researcher, program evaluator and lived-experience advocate with over 20 years’ experience working across community, government and research settings. Her work focuses on rural mental health, wellbeing and youth suicide prevention, with a strong commitment to community-led and place-based approaches.
In 2025, Laura completed her PhD exploring how rural communities can play a stronger role in suicide prevention. This work is informing the development of Best Practice Guidelines for Youth Suicide Prevention in Rural Communities, shaped by lived experience and local knowledge.
Laura has worked alongside communities across Tasmania, co-leading evaluations including the National Suicide Prevention Trial and Tasmania’s first community implementing the Live4Life rural youth mental health and suicide prevention model in Break O’Day. Grounded in her own lived experience, she is passionate about genuine relationships, partnerships building on strengths and suicide prevention that is practical, compassionate and hopeful, turning evidence into action that genuinely supports young people and their communities.
Nurturing the Next Generation | A conversation on supporting young people in Tasmania with Professor Jo Robinson AM and Dr Laura Grattidge
Laura will join Professor Jo Robinson AM on stage for a conversation exploring youth suicide prevention in Tasmania. Drawing on her research and lived experience, Laura will ask questions and share insights to guide the discussion, highlighting practical, compassionate, and locally informed approaches that support young people and their communities.
Warren Davies is a nationally recognised leader in mental health and a respected specialist in workplace and community wellbeing. Known as The Unbreakable Farmer, Warren brings a powerful combination of lived experience, practical frameworks, and authentic storytelling that resonates with individuals, leaders, teams, and organisations across every sector.
A central theme in Warren’s work is capacity before crisis — the principle that resilience is not the starting point, but the outcome of strong foundations built at the grassroots level. Warren’s engaging and relatable approach sparks change, shifts thinking, and inspires meaningful conversations that continue well beyond the event.
Warren is a proud Ambassador for Blue Tree Project (BTP), where he has completed multiple regional tours, speaking in isolated and rural communities across Australia. Through this work, he has inspired powerful conversations, strengthened local connection, and encouraged individuals, particularly those doing it tough in regional areas, to speak up, seek support, and support one another.
His work alongside BTP reflects his deep commitment to reaching people where they are, especially in communities often overlooked or under-resourced.
Resilience from the Ground Up | Capacity Before Crisis
In this session, Warren will share practical insights and strategies for building resilience and wellbeing, both for individuals and communities. Warren will highlight the power of grassroots action, showing how small, local initiatives can spark meaningful change. This is brought to life through a video from Kendal Whyte, telling the story of the Blue Tree Project, a single idea that has grown from the ground up into a nationwide movement, using blue-painted trees to start conversations, reduce stigma, and strengthen community connection. Attendees will leave inspired by stories of resilience and practical approaches to creating wellbeing and connection in their own communities, proving that meaningful change truly starts from the ground up.
Miranda Stephens is a Clinical Psychologist, internationally accredited mindfulness teacher, Clay Conversationist and a co-founder of Mindfulness Programs Australasia. Miranda is a northwest tassie local and is passionate about equity and access to mental health services in rural areas as well as the power of group programs. She’s also passionate about pottery (among lots of other things) and loving being a new grandmother!
Growing Presence | Mindfulness tools and grounding practices to support focus and wellbeing
Miranda Stephens will guide attendees through a short and interactive exploration of practical mindfulness techniques. Her session includes a brief introduction to the foundations of mindfulness, alongside three grounding breathing practices delivered at different points throughout the day. These gentle pauses are designed to help participants reset, reconnect, and arrive with greater calm, focus, and presence. Ideal for anyone looking to weave steadiness and clarity into both their work and daily life.
Sustainable Change from the Ground Up
(4 community groups | 10 minutes across 1 hour)
This session highlights what’s happening on the ground in communities across Tasmania, showcasing how grassroots initiatives take root, grow over time, and can be nurtured for sustainable long-term impact. It also explores how collaboration strengthens efforts across local, regional, and statewide contexts.
As part of this year’s Tasmanian Suicide Prevention Forum, we are proud to spotlight four community groups from across the state. In a series of short, informal 10-minute talks, each group will share a real story from their local area, the challenges they are responding to, the initiatives they are leading, and the ways communities are coming together to build safety, connection, and sustainable change.
This session is an opportunity to hear both the practical actions being taken and the human stories behind them. Join us to acknowledge grassroots leadership and be inspired by Tasmanians creating meaningful change in their own communities.
Q&A to follow
*We will be announcing the community groups involved in the coming weeks.
The Village
The Village is a vibrant, community-focused space within the Forum where local organisations, services, and grassroots initiatives come together to showcase their work, share resources, and connect with attendees. Learn more and register your interest.
