Switchboard chief executive Joe Ball said the funding would strengthen the work the organisation was already doing, as well as create opportunities to work with suicide prevention trial sites with an LGBTIQ focus.

The funding also supports work around bereavement.

"Switchboard is really committed to talking about suicide," Joe Ball said.

"We want to have these conversations across Victoria."

Central Victorian LGBTIQ advocacy group LOUD welcomed the support for Switchboard, particularly in terms of any services that were going to be delivered in regional and rural communities.

Victorian mental health minister Martin Foley said the funding reflected the increased risk of suicide faced by LGBTIQ people.

"Sadly LGBTIQ people have the highest rate of suicidality of any population," he said.

"While the vital work of the Royal Commission into Victoria's Mental Health System continues, we will continue partnering with vulnerable and at-risk communities to deliver programs which address their specific needs."

In other news: GPs paid less for seeing more mental health patients, doctor says

A white paper released today by Suicide Prevention Australia identified the LGBTIQ community among the populations at greater risk of suicide.

People bereaved by suicide, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and people who had problems with alcohol and other drugs were among the other priority populations.

"It is clear from the research that numerous issues and factors influence suicidal ideation and suicide," the document said.

"The last decade has seen a peak in the rates of suicides that cannot continue. An immediate priority for the suicide prevention sector is to investigate and understand how to best support vulnerable people before reaching crisis point."

The report suggested key periods in which support might be required included the six months immediately following job or relationship loss.

"Further research is needed to understand what type of supports have the greatest impact, with the ultimate objective being a world without suicide," it stated.

Research into evidence-based best practice responses to LGBTIQ suicide was also among the goals Switchboard aimed to achieve with the funding announced today, Joe Ball said.

In other news: Changing a birth certificate to reflect gender is about to get easier

The Suicide Prevention Australia white paper identified a sense of connection as one of a number of protective factors that made it less likely a person would consider, attempt or die by suicide.

That included connections to other people, family, community and social institutions.

LOUD board member Harry McAnulty said the advocacy group would welcome the prospect of a peer service, similar to one Switchboard offered, being rolled out in the region.

Board chair Suellen Pepperell said isolation could be more keenly felt by members of the LGBTIQ community.

The Suicide Prevention Australia white paper also listed access to effective mental health care as a major protective factor against suicide.

However, the document made a point of differentiating mental health from suicide.

"While mental health and suicide intersects, suicide is a unique issue," it said.

"People do not need to be experiencing mental illness to be suicidal."

In other news: A new slant on learning about sexuality

An average of six men and two women take their own lives in Australia each day.

The white paper said deaths by suicide could rise to 3800 or more a year by 2030, if the worsening rates of suicide of the last decade continued.

But there was also hope for improvement.

Both the Suicide Prevention Australia document and the state government's funding announcement coincided with World Suicide Prevention Day.

Switchboard provides support to LGBTIQ people and their families, friends and allies. Services are available from 3pm - 12am daily online at switchboard.org.au and by calling 1800 184 527.

Support is also available from Lifeline on 13 11 14 or BeyondBlue on 1300 224 636. If life is in danger, call 000.

Have you signed up to the Bendigo Advertiser's daily newsletter and breaking news emails? You can register below and make sure you are up to date with everything that's happening in central Victoria.