Funding to deliver mental health services for emergency service workers and their families

The Mental Health Support for Emergency Services Workers Program provides $3 million in funding to an organisation to deliver mental health services to assist current and former, paid and voluntary emergency services workers who have been involved in disaster response, and their families.

The Mental Health Support for Emergency Services Workers grant opportunity is part of the Supporting Local Emergency Management Capability program. The program was announced as a measure in the 2024-25 Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook.

The purpose of the program is to deliver best practice mental health services (including clinical services, referrals, awareness raising, prevention and wellbeing activities) directed towards the prevention, treatment and control of recognised mental health conditions, targeting current and former, paid and voluntary emergency services workers that have been involved in disaster response and their families.

The objectives of the program are to provide emergency services workers and their families with free support through an inclusive and accessible, national program of appropriate psychological and relevant wellbeing services aligned with the stepped care model. These services will support the prevention, treatment and control of recognised mental health conditions, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as well as suicidal ideation (where it is linked to a recognised mental health condition).

The intended outcome of the program is to:

• prevent, treat and reduce the severity of symptoms of recognised mental health conditions, including psychological distress and PTSD
• improve suicide prevention outcomes, and
• improve future resilience to mental health conditions

for emergency services workers who have been involved in disaster response and have accessed the service, and their families.

The program will fund one eligible applicant up to a maximum of $3 million.

The program will run over 12 months from 1 January 2026.