Parliamentary Inquiry to Look at Impacts of Loneliness

A NSW Parliamentary Inquiry into the rising issue of loneliness across the state to begin this year. 
 
Minister for Mental Health, Rose Jackson has written to Chair of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Social Issues, the Hon Dr. Sarah Kaine, to request the Committee undertake an Inquiry into Loneliness in New South Wales. 

The inquiry will examine the extent, causes, and impacts of loneliness, and identify steps the government and community can take to reduce its prevelance and impacts. 

Loneliness occurs when a person experiences distress from greater levels of social disconnection than they desire. While isolation or being alone does not necessarily mean a person is lonely, recent studies have highlighted loneliness as a growing experience. 

 
In 2022, a Community Wellbeing Survey, by the Mental Health Commission found that nearly 40 percent of NSW residents experience loneliness at varying degrees, with those facing mental health challenges almost twice as likely to feel isolated. 

Sydney has also been identified as the city with the most singles with 1.7 million Sydneysiders living alone or currently single. 

Loneliness is not just an emotional burden, with studies highlighting its link to premature death, poor physical and mental health, and increased psychological distress. 

The Committee will work with mental health experts, advocates, and those with a lived experience of loneliness while undertaking this Inquiry. 

The Minister for Mental Health Rose Jackson said the inquiry would help Parliament delve deeper into lonliness, which has emerged as a public health issue since the COVID-19 pandemic.  

“While some people call loneliness the silent epidemic, it doesn’t have to be suffered in silence,” she said. If you are experiencing loneliness, please speak up and reach out—there are supports available across NSW.” 

Elisabeth Shaw is the Chief Executive Officer of Relationships Australia – NSW. 

“Humans are social beings,” she said. 
 
“ We vary in how much human contact we need, but we all need others to survive and thrive, emotionally and physically. Intimate or familial relationships, friends, neighbourhoods, workplaces, and interest groups all play a part.”