Contrary to government claims, suicide rate in Australia could be in the upswing, at least in the past few years, according to a number of mental health experts.

Professor Ian Hickey, executive director of the Brain and Mind Research Institute at Sydney University, debunked the recent report issued by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) showing that deaths attributed to suicides have gone down by 17 per cent over the past decade.

In 2001, the rate was 12.7 per cent per 100,000 deaths and was whittled down to 10.5 per cent in 2010, the ABS reported on Tuesday.

But Professor John Mendoza, former chair of the National Advisory Council on Mental Health, dismissed the latest ABS figures as product of government spin and "a dishonest representation," of what actually transpired especially in cases of suicide rates in New South Wales.

Prof Mendoza scored the ABS report for presenting NSW as having only suicide rates of 8.6 per cent in every 100,000 deaths between 2005 and 2010, which he claimed overlooked "the fact that NSW has the worst record for reporting suicide deaths in a timely way."

The new ABS media release, however, presented declining suicide incidences in long-term and in national scale, according to ABS spokesman James Hinkins.

No distorted facts were carried by the new ABS study, Mr Hinkins stressed, which also highlighted the reality that suicide indeed is the leading cause of death among Australian in the 15 to 34 age bracket.

"We have a very robust cause of death collection. And while there may be challenges in terms of determining causes of death, especially suicide deaths, we have a very consistent process to ensure that we can capture the coroner's findings when they're made," ABC reported Mr Hinkins as saying on Wednesday.

Yet the ABS report outlining suicide rates in the country was not straightforward enough, according to Prof Hickey.

He is firmly convinced that "there's a trend towards the number increasing at the moment," especially from 2005 onwards with bit of slides in between.

Prof Hickey agreed with assertions coming from Prof Mendoza that the NSW has underreported its suicide rates largely because of personal and cultural considerations.

"Many situations with families and culturally sensitive situations, young people, the coroner and particularly those that are affected are very reluctant to come to the conclusion, even when it's fairly obvious that there has been an actual suicide," he explained.

He also conceded that there was an inherent hurdle to achieve a well-coordinated national data in collecting and reporting suicide incidences since "coroner practices are different in each state. The timing of reporting is different. And the final conclusion of cases is different."

In spite of such issues, Prof Hickey stressed that "you don't need spin ... you don't need a Pollyanna approach," when reporting and presenting actual suicide rates.

"You need accurate reporting in order that there can be the appropriate public policy responses, politicians can make investments, health services can respond, communities can put together supportive action that's required to reduce suicide," he added.

Federal authorities need to view mental health in equal standing with other cases of alarming health conditions such as HIV infections and outbreaks of transmittable diseases, Prof Hickey said.