School counsellors are over-burdened and not able to reach every student they should, the New Zealand Association of Counsellors says.

New Zealand’s teen suicide statistics are alarmingly high, continuously ranked as one of the worst in OECD countries.

Suicide is the second leading cause of death in 10-19-year-olds in New Zealand.

Sarah Maindonald, a spokesperson for NZAC, said it's not uncommon for a single school counsellor to be responsible for seeing up to 1700 students.

"When you've got a councillor who's only got enough time to see students at the point of crisis they miss the alarm bells for others," she said.

She said preventative measures are absolute when counsellors are that stretched across schools.

Communities need to be educated on what to look for in someone who may be contemplating suicide, Ms Maindonald added.

She said the Association hopes to support and advise the government on getting more counsellors into schools for prevention work at a younger age.

Behaviour of help-seeking needs to be normalised when children are younger for it to be a natural behaviour when they're older, she said.

The Chief Coroner released annual provisional suicide statistics earlier this week, which showed an increase to 579 from the previous highest total of 564 suicide deaths last year.

But the suicide rate per head of population remains just lower than five years ago, meaning the rate of people dying by suicide has remained consistent.

Are you affected by an issue in this article? Here's where to get help:

Lifeline - 0800 543 354 
Suicide Crisis Helpline (open 24/7) - 0508 828 865 (0508 TAUTOKO)
Depression Helpline - 0800 111 757 
Samaritans - 0800 726 666 
Youthline (open 24/7) - 0800 376 633. Text 234 for free between 8am and midnight, or email [email protected].

0800 WHATSUP (0800 9428 787), Open between 1pm and 10pm on weekdays and from 3pm to 10pm on weekends. Online chat is available from 7pm to 10pm every day at www.whatsup.co.nz.

Healthline - 0800 611 116
For more information about support and services available to you, contact the Mental Health Foundation's free Resource and Information Service on 09 623 4812 during office hours or email [email protected]

If it is an emergency and you feel like you or someone else is at risk, call 111.