Lifeline provides one off crisis support to people who could benefit from immediate and short-term assistance to cope with crises or distress. Lifeline does not provide long-term or ongoing assistance.

Lifeline’s one-off service means that a crisis supporter will be unaware of what has taken place following their interaction with the help seeker. This includes when Lifeline escalates a situation to emergency services due to issues of risk. Due to these challenges and others, Lifeline places high importance on providing debriefing and supportive supervision to all staff and volunteers.

Help seekers contact Lifeline with a variety of issues and crisis situations. This may include relationship issues, loneliness, family concerns, substance issues, suicidal thoughts, self-harm, domestic and family violence situations, and child safety concerns. Crisis supporters help to address a range of feelings including anxiety, depression, loneliness and disconnection.

All support services experience a small proportion of unwelcome interactions from people who are misusing the service to harass or intimidate. Debriefing and supervision play a pivotal role in seeking support during or after these often-challenging interactions.

Yes, all volunteer roles require a National Police Check conducted by Lifeline and where required, a Working with Children Check for your home state/territory. The cost of the police check is covered by Lifeline and a Working with Children Check for volunteers is free.

Many of our volunteers fit shifts around full-time jobs, study, or family life. Evening, overnight, and weekend shifts are available.

That's completely normal. Our training is designed to build your confidence step by step — and you're never alone. Support is always available.

If you would like to volunteer again, please contact your local Lifeline Centre to find out what you need to do. If you have been away from volunteering as a crisis supporter for a long time, you many need to do some training again.

We're looking for people who are:

• empathetic and open-minded
• emotionally resilient and reflective
• good listeners
• committed to learning and growth
• available for training and ongoing shifts.

If you would like to do your placement with Lifeline, please contact your local Lifeline Centre to find out what you need to do. Doing your placement with Lifeline will depend on the capacity of the Centre to be able to supervise your placement.

If you are going overseas, or maybe you have a stressful time coming up, eg university exams or work commitments, it is best to start the training after you have completed those commitments. The training is a continuous commitment, with internship and placements required so you can practice the skills you have learnt.

Yes, you will be trained to become a phone crisis supporter. This is to ensure you'll be confident, skilled, and able to provide support to Lifeline's help seekers in their time of need.

The Crisis Supporter Workforce Training (CSWT) course includes the nationally recognised training skill set known as the CHCSS00113 Crisis Support Skill Set. This skill set is delivered by a local Lifeline Centre on behalf of Lifeline Australia, Registered Training Organisation (RTO) provider number 88036.

Upon successfully completing the CHCSS00113 Crisis Support Skill Set, you will receive a nationally recognised Statement of Attainment for the following 3 units of competency, awarded by Lifeline Australia:

• CHCCCS003 Increase the safety of individuals at risk of suicide
• CHCCCS019 Recognise and respond to crisis situations
• CHCCCS028 Provide client-centred support to people in crisis

Lifeline has 43 centres around Australia in regional, remote and metropolitan areas.

To volunteer at your nearest Lifeline Centre or Lifeline shop, please contact your local Lifeline Centre to find out more about becoming a volunteer.

In recognising the valuable time commitment of volunteers, and the important role of crisis supporters, Lifeline Centres provide the Crisis Supporter Workplace Training (CSWT) course at a substantially subsidised cost. The student contribution goes towards the cost of delivering this nationally recognised training known as the CHCSS00113 Crisis Support Skill Set. This skill set consists of endorsed units of competency and is delivered by a local Lifeline Centre on behalf of Lifeline Australia, registered training organisation provider number 88036.

Upon successfully completing the CHCSS00113 Crisis Support Skill Set, you will receive a nationally recognised Statement of Attainment for the following 3 units of competency, awarded by Lifeline Australia:

1. CHCCCS003 Increase the safety of individuals at risk of suicide
2. CHCCCS019 Recognise and respond to crisis situations
3. CHCCCS028 Provide client-centred support to people in crisis

For more information on training costs, please contact your local Lifeline Centre.

Our service operates 24/7 to meet the demand of our help seekers. The service experiences key peak times, during the evenings and on weekends. When considering volunteering with Lifeline, we would appreciate you considering these times to ensure our service continues to serve our help seekers in these key peak times.