Australian fatherhood experts have called for dads to be included in national efforts to screen new parents for depression.

Screening mothers for mental illness before and after birth is now standard practice in Australia, but the mental health of dads is not routinely assessed at any point. 

NB: This article was first published in December 2018. It has not been updated to reflect the ALP's response to the launch of the new National Men's Strategy on 11 April 2019. 

Labor has committed to take action to improve men's health if it wins the Federal election due to be held in the first half of 2019. The commitment came on Day Three of the ALP National Conference in Adelaide. 

Could Governments do better for men and boys? The facts are compelling. Our sons are less educated than our daughters. Our brothers die younger than our sisters. Our fathers are more likely to die at work than our mothers. Our male friends are more likely to die by suicide than our female friend.

The resources we invest in suicide prevention need to take account of the differences between men and women, according to Australia’s peak body for men’s health, the Australian Men’s Health Forum (AMHF).

The call for “gender inclusive” suicide prevention strategies comes as Government figures revealed that the number of men and women taking their own lives in Australia rose by nearly 10% in 2017.

The National Men’s Health Gathering, Australia’s leading men’s health event, will take place in Parramatta, NSW, from 12-14 November 2018.

Last held in 2015, The Gathering has been connecting people who are committed to improving the lives of men and boys, for more than 20 years.

Work on developing a new National Male Health Strategy is now underway, with public consultations expected to take place in late 2018/early 2019. The Federal Health Minister, Greg Hunt, hosted a National Male Health Forum at Parliament House in Canberra in August, to kick start discussions on the strategy.