Lifeline welcomes Federal Government funding to safeguard the wellbeing of Australians
On Saturday, the Morrison Government announced a $52.3 million investment to help ensure Lifeline can respond to the sustained increased needs of the community for the next four years.
Lifeline Chief Executive Officer Colin Seery thanked the Federal Government for the critical injection of funding on top of the core annual funding of $15.5 million to sustain the organisation’s voice and digital services.
“This Federal Budget prioritises the mental health needs of all Australians and acknowledges the strength of Lifeline in empowering communities to be suicide-safe through connection, compassion and hope.”
“It is absolutely essential that we ensure our services have the resources they need to help all Australians who need us. In ensuring that, this contribution from the Morrison Government will save lives.”
Mr Seery said that call and digital contact volumes remained well above pre-pandemic levels and that factors contributing to this include the government’s efforts to reduce the stigma of mental ill health and suicidality and greater awareness of and improved accessibility of services.
“Evidence and experience demonstrates the impact of successive disasters, such as we have seen with bushfires, COVID, droughts and floods, is compounding and long lasting.
“Calls to Lifeline reached historic highs during the peaks of the pandemic and continue to remain high compared to where we were two years ago. But that doesn't just mean that more people are finding themselves in crisis, it also means that more people are reaching out for and getting the help they need, when they need it, and that's the crucial first step that can make all the difference”, said Mr Seery.
“Our focus is on ensuring people have the support they need around them, which is why we now offer around the clock crisis support via phone, text and webchat.”
“This funding means we can keep building on the help we offer, it means we can continue to be innovative, like with our roll out of remote working solutions so more people in more places around Australia can volunteer for Lifeline from their own home.”
Lifeline is Australia’s leading suicide prevention service, operating the 13 11 14 telephone line within 41 centres around the nation. The service expects to respond to over one million requests for support this year, creating an average of 120 safety plans to keep a person experiencing suicidal ideation safe every day.