The Distress Support Service aims to help people aged 18 years and over address difficult circumstances in their lives early on. It offers people an option to receive early support for their distress, without needing to go to a mental health, general health or emergency service.
In Victoria, the program will be piloted over a 3-year period (2025-27).
The Distress Support Service provides free, short-term support that is compassionate and easy to access in the community.
It can also equip them with practical tools and skills to begin to manage their distress and link them to longer-term supports in their community, if needed.
Information for consumers, families and carers, see Distress Support on the Better Health Channel.
Locations
The Distress Support Service is being trialled in 2 locations:
- Darebin, offered by , in partnership with the Victorian Aboriginal Health Service and Switchboard Victoria.
- Shepparton, offered by Mind , in partnership with Primary Care Connect.
Tailoring care to the community
Staff who work at select community-based organisations, known as Community Engagement Points, are trained to recognise signs of distress. They will provide the person in distress with a warm and compassionate response and offer a referral to the Short-term Support Service.
Short-term Support Service
At the Short-term Support Service, people will receive free, practical support from non-clinical staff for two to three weeks. The service is tailored to each individual and will help them build tools and skills to begin to manage the cause of their distress.
If needed, the Distress Support Service will also connect people with long-term supports in the community. This may include a referral to a Mental Health and Wellbeing Local or a GP to seek access to a mental healthcare plan.
The short-term support teams in both Darebin and Shepparton include an Aboriginal support worker that can work with First Nations people.
Building and strengthening existing supports
The Distress Support Service (known nationally as the Distress Brief Support program trial) is jointly funded by the Australian and Victorian Governments.
The Distress Support Service delivers on the Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System recommendation to develop an intensive 14-day support program for people experiencing distress (recommendation 27.3).
The pilot program is an initiative under the Victorian suicide prevention and response strategy 2024-2034 (initiative 2.19), building on and strengthening existing supports across the suicide prevention and response continuum.
The Victorian suicide prevention and response strategy 2024-2034 is a 10-year strategy that aims to reduce the rate of suicide, support those impacted, provide a strong foundation of collaboration between government, service providers and community, and boost protective factors that can save lives.
Read more about the Victorian suicide prevention and response strategy 2024-2034
Reviewed 08 September 2025