Good news yesterday in the mental health services space – Vulnerable Australians will be able to get help 24 hours a day via text following Lifeline receiving a $1.5m cash injection from the federal government in a move that is expected to particularly benefit young women.

Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt and Suicide Prevention Minister David Coleman announced the new round of funding on Monday, in a bid to ramp up mental health support during the pandemic.

The funding and service expansion arrives after Lifeline has received calls and digital contact in record numbers, recording 3726 calls on New Year’s Day and 609 digital contacts – including text and web chat – in a single night.

Lifeline chief executive Colin Seery says when the pandemic struck, his team “quickly found out we really needed to expand the service as quickly as we could”.   That’s a great outcome and Mr Seery joins Luke Grant to explain how it works.

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