One in 10 young Australian males contemplated suicide last year, a mental wellbeing study has found.

Researcher Jane Burns said the saddening revelation, to be included in a report to be released on Monday, reflected a mental health system that was failing young males. The survey found that nearly 70 of the 700 interviewed thought about taking their own lives and one in five felt ''life is hardly worth living''.

A saddening revelation: 12 per cent of men aged 22 to 25 contemplated suicide last year. Credit:Jessica Shapiro

The study, conducted by The Young and Well Cooperative Research Centre, interviewed males aged 16 to 25 across Australia on subjects including suicidal ideation to how they used technology to seek advice and help.

It found the number of young men who had thoughts of taking their lives climbed to 12 per cent among those between 22 and 25. In this group, when young men are often finishing education and thinking about finding full-time work, 8 per cent of respondents reported that they had ''made plans'' to take their own lives; 2 per cent had attempted to do so.