Anne Ruston (SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Families and Social Services) Share this | Hansard source

I'm really pleased to say that the evaluation research results have shown that more than half of Australians, when surveyed, had recognised and remembered the campaign and acknowledged that they had seen it. That is really important, because increased awareness means that people will know automatically where they can get the support should they find themselves in need of it. As an example, in the middle of this year the 1800RESPECT hotline had received 86,000 contacts in the three-month period leading up to 30 July 2020. At the same time last year, they'd received around 55,000 calls in the same period—a significant increase. MensLine also indicated that they had received an increase in calls.

We know that more Australians know there is support out there, and that is a good thing, because we want them to know that they are not alone and the support services are there for them if they find themselves in a situation of needing them. I would encourage anybody who finds themselves in a difficult situation to reach out to one of these two hotlines for support.