The Distress Support Service provides free, compassionate, short-term support for anyone aged 18 years and over experiencing distress.
It's aimed at helping people address difficult circumstances in their lives early on and equipping them with tools and skills to manage their distress.
The service provides two levels of support in the community. The first level is delivered by participating local organisations and services who will act as Community Engagement Points. Staff at these Community Engagement Points are trained to respond compassionately to someone in distress, and to offer referral to the second level of support, the Short-term Support Service.
At the Short-term Support Service, the person will receive practical, non-clinical support to understand the causes of their distress and equip them with tools to manage it. This support will be provided for two to three weeks, with connection to longer-term supports in the community, if needed.
Within Victoria’s mental health and wellbeing system, the Distress Support Service is bridging the gap between self-managed distress and more intensive services. It offers people an option to receive early support, without them having to present to a mental health, general health or emergency service.
The service will be offered in 2 locations across 2025-27:
- Darebin, offered by ermha365, in partnership with the Victorian Aboriginal Health Service and Switchboard Victoria.
- Shepparton, offered by Mind Australia, in partnership with Primary Care Connect.
Programs in both areas include an Aboriginal support worker who can support First Nations people and help foster connection with Country, culture and community.
The $5 million Distress Support Service (known nationally as the Distress Brief Support program trial), is jointly funded by the Australian and Victorian Governments. The Australian Government contributed $2.4 million, and the Victorian Government contributed $2.6 million to this new, specially designed program. It delivers on Royal Commission recommendation 27.3 to develop an intensive 14-day support program for people experiencing distress.
Reviewed 08 September 2025
Health.vic
-
- Hospitals & health services
- Public hospitals in Victoria
-
- Rural health
- Improving Access to Primary Care in Rural and Remote Areas Initiative
- Rural x-ray services
- Rural health regions and locations
- Rural and regional medical director role
- Victorian Patient Transport Assistance Scheme
- Rural and isolated practice registered nurses
- Urgent care in regional and rural Victoria
-
- Private health service establishments
- Private hospitals
- Day procedure centres
- Mobile health services
- Fees for private health service establishments in Victoria
- Design resources for private health service establishments
- Professional standards in private health service establishments
- Legislation updates for private health service establishments
- Complaints about private health service establishments
- Cosmetic procedures
- Guideline for providers of liposuction
- Private hospital funding agreement
-
- Primary & community health
- Local Public Health Units
- Integrated care
-
- Maternal and Child Health Service
- Nursery Equipment Program
- Maternal and Child Health Service Framework
- Maternal and Child Health Service resources
- Child Development Information System
- Early parenting centres
- Maternal Child and Health Reporting, Funding and Data
- Baby bundle
- Sleep and settling
- Maternal and Child Health Workforce professional development
- Aboriginal Maternal and Child Health
-
- Public health
-
- Cemeteries and crematoria
- Cemetery trust member appointments
- Cemetery search
- Cemeteries and crematoria complaints
- Cremations
- Exhumations
- Governance and finance
- Cemetery grants
- Interments and memorials
- Land and development
- Legislation governing Victorian cemeteries and crematoria
- Cemeteries and crematoria publications
- Repatriations
- Rights of interment
-
- Medicines and Poisons Regulation
- Patient Schedule 8 treatment permits
- Schedule 8 MDMA and Schedule 8 psilocybine
- Schedule 9 permits for clinical trials
- Documents and forms to print or download
- Legislation and Approvals
- Frequently Asked Questions - Medicines and Poisons Regulation
- Health practitioners
- Licences and permits to possess (& possibly supply) scheduled substances
- Medicinal cannabis
- Pharmacotherapy (opioid replacement therapy)
- Recent updates
- SafeScript
-
- Environmental health
- Improving childhood asthma management in Melbourne's inner west
- Climate and weather, and public health
- Environmental health in the community
- Environmental health in the home
- Environmental health professionals
- Face masks for environmental hazards
- Human health risk assessments
- Lead and human health
- Per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)
- Pesticide use and pest control
-
- Immunisation
- Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) immunisation
- Seasonal influenza vaccine
- Immunisation schedule and vaccine eligibility criteria
- Ordering vaccine
- Immunisers in Victoria
- Immunisation provider information
- Cold chain management
- Adverse events following immunisation reporting
- Vaccine error management
- Vaccination for infants and children
- Vaccination for adolescents
- Vaccination program for adults
- Vaccination for special-risk groups
- Victorian coverage rates for Victoria
-
- Infectious diseases guidelines & advice
- Infection control guidelines
- Disease information and advice
- Advice to the cruise industry: reporting infections
- Notifiable infectious diseases, conditions and micro-organisms
- Notification procedures for infectious diseases
- Infectious diseases surveillance in Victoria
- Germicidal ultraviolet light
- Protecting patient privacy in Victoria
-
- Tobacco reforms
- Tobacco reform legislation and regulations
- Quitting smoking and vaping
- Tobacco and e-cigarette retailers
- Making a report or complaint
- Resources and factsheets
-
- Mental health
-
- About Victoria's mental health services
- Area-based services
- Statewide and specialist mental health services
- Mental Health and Wellbeing Locals
- Mental Health Community Support Services
- Support and intervention services
- Language services - when to use them
- Access to mental health services across areas
- Transport for people in mental health services
-
- Alcohol & drugs
-
- Alcohol and other drug treatment services
- Overview of Victoria's alcohol and drug treatment system
- Community-based AOD treatment services in Victoria
- Drug rehabilitation plan
- Hospital-based services
- Forensic services
- Pharmacotherapy treatment
- Services for Aboriginal people
- Services for young people
- Statewide and specialist services
- Compulsory treatment
- Family and peer support
-
- Alcohol and other drug service standards and guidelines
- Alcohol and other drug client charter and resources
- Alcohol and other drug treatment principles
- Service quality and accreditation
- Alcohol and other drug program guidelines
- Specialist Family Violence Advisor capacity building program in mental health and alcohol and other drug services - Victoria
- Drug alerts
-
- Ageing & aged care
- My Aged Care assessment services
-
- Dementia-friendly environments
- Designing for people with dementia
- Maintaining personal identity
- Personal enjoyment
- Interior design
- Dining areas, kitchens and eating
- Bedrooms and privacy
- Bathrooms
- Gardens and outdoor spaces
- Assistive technology
- Staff education and support
- Strategies, checklists and tools
- References
-
- About us
- Our Strategic Plan 2023-27 (2025 update)
-
- Our organisation
- Our secretary
- Leadership charter
- Our department
- Our vision and values
- Gifts, benefits and hospitality policy
- Our ministers
-
- Health workforce
- Working in health
- Information sharing and MARAM
- Victorian Public Healthcare Awards
- Aboriginal healthcare workers
- Allied health workforce
- Education and training
- Enterprise agreements
- Worker health and wellbeing
- Our campaigns