Movember ends with Australian Tax Office staff getting half a mo to honour men who died too young

The Half-Mast Mo is like a half-mast flag flown for those lost, a homage to the men who should have been also enjoying Movember but died too young due to preventable and treatable illness and disease.

And the losses are stark.

The Movember Foundation says in November alone an expected 468 men would be lost to prostate cancer, testicular cancer and suicide.

The good news is that generous Mo Bros and Mo Sistas are helping to prevent those deaths.

In the last 13 years, Movember has funded more than 1200 men's health projects around the world, by men growing moustaches and raising money and women adding to the coffers with other projects.

By 2030, the foundation expects to reduce the number of men dying prematurely by 25 per cent.

Proving the Australian Tax Office does have a heart, its staff have gone above and beyond this Movember.

On Thursday, on the Australia-wide team leaderboard, the ATO in Canberra was leading the public service division and No.12 nationally, raising close to $33,000.

The ATO team got their half mo shaved at Tommy Gun's barber shop at the Canberra Centre on Thursday.

John Shepherd, team captain of One ATOMo, said it was a bit of silliness pointing to a serious message.

"Everyone has their own personal stories around cancer and family and mental health and Movember is a good, fun thing to commit to and support a really good cause," he said.

Mr Shepherd said women at the ATO had also strongly supported Movember by wearing stick-on moustaches or other projects such as committing to walking a certain distance each day to do their share of the fundraising.

After their fairly short session at Tommy Gun's, the men went back to the office, walking through the lunchtime crowds, proudly sporting their half a mo.

Most planned to keep it on for the whole day. But maybe not Mr Shepherd.

"I've got a meeting at Parliament House with four ministers at four o'clock so it might not last the day," he said, with a laugh.

Donations to Movember are still being accepted post-November and you can direct yours to the ATO team at https://au.movember.com/team/2285412