Bert Van Manen (Forde, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) notes that:

(a) yourtown has been providing vital services for young people across Australia since 1961, with a focus on mental health and wellbeing, long-term unemployment, prevention of youth suicide, child protection, as well as support for those experiencing domestic and family violence;

(b) for over 30 years yourtown has been providing free professional counselling and support 24 hours a day, seven days a week for children and young people aged five to 25 in Australia, through its Kids Helpline service;

(c) Kids Helpline is the critical safety net for children and young people needing mental health support and is often the only mental health service available after hours, or for those living in rural and remote areas;

(d) Kids Helpline's provision of professional, free counselling support ensures equality for all children and young people, regardless of their location or circumstances; and

(e) in the 2021-22 financial year, Kids Helpline was contacted directly by over 443,000 children and young people from across Australia, with millions more using resources and content across multiple channels;

(2) recognises that:

(a) the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated communication and social issues for young people;

(b) Kids Helpline experienced a significant surge in calls for support during lockdowns;

(c) for the first time in its over 30-year history, more than 50 per cent of callers now require counselling, when previously they were referred on to external supports; and

(d) demand for Kids Helpline service remains high and now exceeds capacity; and

(3) calls on:

(a) all Members of Parliament to continue to raise awareness of the important services available to young people through Kids Helpline 24/7, by calling 1800 55 1800 or online through kidshelpline.com.au; and

(b) the Government to support further growth in Kids Helpline's services, in order to meet the ever increasing demand for support.

One of the great organisations in our community is yourtown, an organisation which, since 1961, has been helping young people realise they have the ability to tackle whatever life throws at them. With services including Kids Helpline, Parentline, domestic and family violence support, mental health support and employment support, yourtown understands that every young person in Australia deserves a safe place to be, where they are respected and free to be themselves without judgement.

In particular, yourtown has been providing free professional counselling and support 24 hours a day, seven days a week for children and young people aged five to 25 in Australia through its Kids Helpline service since its inception in 1991. Kids Helpline's provision of professional and free counselling support ensures equality for all children and young people regardless of their location or their circumstances. In fact, Kids Helpline is the only service of its kind in Australia which is free to all children and young people. They describe themselves as being the national wellbeing and mental health safety net for children and young people, which I find quite an apt description. This statement is further cemented when you delve into their facts and figures.

Over its 32-year history, Kids Helpline has responded to over 8.6 million calls from children and young people. Unfortunately, as I'm sure we all know in this place, these calls have only increased in frequency over recent years. Lockdowns over the past few years have exacerbated communication and social issues for young people. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of young Australians is evident through the increased demand for support, with Kids Helpline experiencing a significant surge in calls. In the 2021-22 financial year, over 443,000 contacts were made with Kids Helpline. Every 71 seconds, a young person reaches out to Kids Helpline for support. Sadly, just one in three calls can be answered. More than 50 per cent of these callers now require counselling, when they were previously referred on to external supports. This is first-time counselling calls that have been the predominant form of calling throughout Kids Helpline's entire history—an astonishing statistic.

As with many other health and wellbeing networks, Kids Helpline has established a number of virtual assistance resources which include not only their counselling and crisis support services and ongoing case management but, importantly, peer-to-peer support, early intervention sessions with schools, self-help resources through their website and the 'niggle' app. These online resources have proved to be invaluable, particularly as a result of the pandemic. Yourtown CEO Tracy Adams and her team have clearly made and continue to make incredible progress in addressing the mental health needs of children and young people who contact Kids Helpline in trying circumstances. However, to meet this demand and the expected increases in the future, yourtown needs further support.

The previous coalition government provided $26.8 million to Kids Helpline in 2021, including an immediate $2.8 million to deal with the impacts of the pandemic as part of our broader commitment to mental health. Since then, demand for this service has continued to rise. That is why today I'm calling on the federal government to step up and assist yourtown in supporting the further growth of the Kids Helpline services in order to meet the ever-increasing demand for support. Such a commitment is vital to ensuring that children and young people have someone to support them in times of deep stress. With calls at record highs, there are still too many young people who are unaware of the services Kids Helpline provides and who are, sadly, missing out on highly beneficial help and guidance.

I want to encourage all members and senators in this parliament to continue to raise awareness of the important services available to young people 24/7 through Kids Helpline. They can reach the service by calling 1800 551 800 or online at kidshelpline.com.au. For everyone watching or listening, I encourage you all to donate and assist yourtown in their fundraising efforts. You can do so by visiting yourtown.com.au. Thank you to everyone at Kids Helpline for the tremendous work you do for our community.

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