About Lifeline
Lifeline is Australia’s leading suicide prevention service. We are a national charity providing all Australians experiencing a personal crisis with access to 24-hour crisis support. We are here for you.
Our history
Lifeline Founder, Reverend Dr. Sir Alan Walker
Lifeline was founded in 1963 by the late Reverend Dr. Sir Alan Walker.
Sir Walker had received a call from a distressed man who later took his own life. Determined not to let isolation and lack of support be the cause of more deaths, Sir Walker launched a 24-hour crisis support line. This service (13 11 14) now answers over a million calls a year from Australians in emotional distress or crisis.
Lifeline’s services are now made possible through the efforts of 1,000 staff and 10,000 volunteers, operating from over 60 locations nationwide.
Services and resources are provided through face to face, phone, text, and online mediums. Through our commitment to ensuring that no person in Australia has to face their darkest moments alone, we continue to work towards ensuring our services are available to any Australian who needs us at any time, and on any platform they feel most comfortable seeking our support.
"Australians are turning to Lifeline for support more today, than at any other time in our history. With more than eight Australians dying by suicide every day and Lifeline receiving a call every 30 seconds, our service is more important than ever."
John Brogden, Former Lifeline Australia Patron
Changing the conversation around suicide
As a thought leader in suicide prevention, Lifeline creates new knowledge, advocates for life saving supports and develops evidence-based programs to keep Australians safe.
Our corporate governance
Centred around transparency and accountability, our governance framework underpins everything we do.