Get help
Help, now and next.
The numbers below are real people, 24 hours a day. Further down: how to get an assessment, what happens when you call, and how ongoing care works in Australia.
Right now
Anyone, any hour.
- Emergency 000 Someone is in danger, or can't keep themselves safe. Say "mental health emergency".
- Lifeline 13 11 14 24 hours. Anyone, about anything. Text 0477 13 11 14 or chat at lifeline.org.au.
- Suicide Call Back Service 1300 659 467 24 hours. For anyone thinking about suicide, worried about someone, or bereaved.
- 13YARN 13 92 76 24 hours. For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, run by trained Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander supporters.
- Beyond Blue 1300 22 4636 24 hours. Mental health support for anyone, including people supporting someone else.
- Kids Helpline 1800 55 1800 24 hours. For anyone aged 5 to 25.
- SANE 1800 187 263 Weekdays. For people with complex mental health needs, including psychosis, and their families.
- Carer Gateway 1800 422 737 Support and emergency respite for people caring for someone, including a family member with mental illness.
- Interpreter 131 450 Translating and Interpreting Service, 24 hours. Ask them to connect you to any of these lines.
By state and territory
The line that can send someone.
Each state runs a 24-hour public mental health line staffed by clinicians. They assess over the phone and can arrange an urgent assessment, a visit from an acute team, or an appointment. This is the number to call when you need more than a conversation.
- New South Wales NSW1800 011 511Mental Health Line. 24 hours.
- Victoria VICNo single statewide number. Each area runs its own 24-hour triage line. Find your area's triage line, or call SuicideLine Victoria on 1300 651 251, 24 hours.
- Queensland QLD1300 642 2551300 MH CALL. 24 hours.
- Western Australia WA1300 555 788Mental Health Emergency Response Line, Perth metro. Peel 1800 676 822. Rural and remote: RuralLink 1800 552 002.
- South Australia SA13 14 65Mental Health Triage. 24 hours.
- Tasmania TAS1800 332 388Mental Health Services Helpline. 24 hours.
- Australian Capital Territory ACT1800 629 354Access Mental Health, 24 hours. Also 02 6205 1065.
- Northern Territory NT1800 682 288NT Mental Health Line. 24 hours.
Numbers checked against state health department listings in October 2026. If one doesn't connect, call Lifeline on 13 11 14 and ask them to help you reach your state service.
What happens when you call
It's a conversation, not a trap.
Mental health lines are answered by nurses, psychologists, social workers or other clinicians. They will ask what's happening, for how long, whether anyone is in danger, and what has helped before. It is fine to read from notes or from a card.
What can happen next:
- Advice and a plan for tonight, with a time to call back.
- An appointment with a community team or an early psychosis service, often within days.
- A visit from an acute team, who can assess at home.
- A recommendation to go to an emergency department, sometimes with the team calling ahead.
- In an emergency, they may call 000 themselves.
You can call about yourself or about someone else. If you are calling about someone else, you don't need their permission to give information. See confidentiality, and what it does and doesn't stop.
Ongoing care
How care for psychosis works in Australia.
Start with a GP
A GP is the door to everything else. They can check for medical causes, prescribe, refer, and write a mental health treatment plan, which gives you Medicare-subsidised sessions with a psychologist. Ask for a long appointment.
Early psychosis services
For people aged roughly 12 to 25 in a first episode. headspace Early Psychosis runs in several regions, and state services run similar programs. They offer a whole team, for about two years, built around getting life back on track.
Community mental health teams
Public, area-based teams that provide ongoing care for people with psychosis: a case manager, a psychiatrist, home visits when needed. Entry is usually through the state line or a hospital.
Private psychiatrists and psychologists
Referral from a GP. Waits can be long and costs vary. Ask specifically for experience with psychosis.
Peer workers and community organisations
People with their own lived experience, employed to support yours. Available through many public services, and through organisations such as Mind Australia, Neami, Wellways and Flourish.
Your own plan
Whichever services you use, the plan is yours. Early signs, who to call, what helps, treatment preferences. Bring it to appointments and ask your team to work from it.
Build a Safety Net Plan
At the emergency department
What to expect, and what to bring.
Emergency departments are loud, bright and slow, which is hard when you're unwell. Knowing the shape of it helps.
- Triage first. A nurse asks what's happening and decides how urgent it is. Say clearly that it's a mental health emergency and whether there has been any risk of harm.
- Then a wait, sometimes long. Ask if there is a quieter space. Many hospitals have one.
- Then an assessment by a mental health clinician, and often a medical check too.
- Then a decision: home with a plan and follow-up, a short stay, or admission.
Bring
- The Safety Net Card, or any written note of early signs, what helps and who to call.
- A list of medications, or the boxes.
- Any advance statement, and the name of your nominated support person.
- A phone charger, water, and one calm person if you can.
Staff see hundreds of people. A card that says "this is what helps me" in your own words changes how the next hour goes.
Your rights
Saying in advance what should happen.
Every state and territory has a Mental Health Act that sets out when someone can be treated without their consent, and the safeguards around it. Several also recognise written statements made while well.
- Advance statements. A written record of your treatment preferences, made while you are well. In Victoria, clinicians must consider an advance statement and explain in writing if they depart from it. Other states have related mechanisms, such as advance health directives. Ask your team or your state's mental health commission what applies where you live.
- Nominated support person. Someone you choose to be informed, consulted and to speak for your preferences. Victoria recognises this role in law. Elsewhere, naming the person in writing and telling your team still carries weight.
- Independent advocacy. Every state has mental health advocacy or legal services that can help you understand and exercise your rights.
- Carers' right to give information. Families can always provide information to a treating team, even when the team can't share information back.
The Safety Net Plan includes a treatment preferences section written to sit alongside a formal advance statement. It is not a legal document itself. Your clinician or state service can help you make one that is.