A new campaign launched today by suicide prevention group R U OK? is targeting FIFO workers with a focus on promoting mutual support even among colleagues who aren’t the best of mates.

The Afield initiative uses images of professional rugby and football players from rival teams offering support to one another.

Health Ministry official Andrea Mitchell launched the program today in Perth, calling the message a vital step towards normalising conversations in male-dominated industries.

“Men are three times more likely than women to take their own life and we need to help men support one another,” Mitchell said.

“Workmates are in a unique position to identify when someone’s withdrawing or out of sorts and ask them how they’re going.”

Launch of the campaign follows a spate of FIFO suicides which has in turn prompted a Western Australian Parliamentary inquiry, new awareness efforts from the WA Mental Health Commission and mining industry initiatives aimed at addressing workers’ reluctance to ask for help.

“As fly-in, fly-out or drive-in, drive-out practices become more common, more workers are being separated from their family and friend support networks,” R U OK? managing director Brendan Maher said.

“We need these Australians to step up and look out for each other because it’s one of the best ways to cope with life’s ups and downs when away from home.”

R U OK? says 2400 Australians commit suicide each year, making it the biggest killer of people under 44 years old.

The number of people making suicide attempts was estimated at 65,000 per year.

The stresses related to FIFO work schedules and the inherent safety risks of mine sites make this issue particularly problematic for the resources sector.

PricewaterhouseCoopers research has found that 22.7% of mining industry workers suffered from some mental health condition, while more than half were found to have a substance abuse issue.

However, the WA Chamber of Minerals and Energy has said that an extensive Commonwealth parliamentary inquiry into FIFO received no evidence supporting the claim that mental health issues were higher in FIFO populations compared to the wider workforce.

The Afield campaign was kicked off today at head office of global helicopter services company Bristow.

“We need to challenge the idea that people need to maintain a tough exterior and we can do that by encouraging all staff to help workmate’s open up about life’s troubles,” Bristow human resources manager for Australian operations Keir Williams said.

“This will also support the existing work carried out by employee assistance programs and human resource managers to create resilient and safe workplaces.”

Support is available for those who may be distressed by phoning Lifeline 13 11 14.