Mental health support for emergency services workers
Emergency services workers help communities impacted by disasters.
The Australian Government has committed $3.6 million to the Mental Health Support for Emergency Services Workers grant program.
The program will fund mental health services for:
- current or former, and
- paid or voluntary emergency services workers and their families.
The funding will:
- include $3 million to be provided to a single organisation through a competitive grant process
- ensure emergency services workers can access mental health support from 1 January 2026 until 31 December 2026.
Applications are now open until 5pm, 23 September 2025. Find out more on Grant Connect.
In the 2025-26 Budget, the Australian Government provided $3.2 million to extend mental health support for emergency services workers while the details of the competitive program were determined. This brings total Australian Government funding to:
- $16.6 million for Fortem Australia. They will continue to deliver support for first responders and their families until 31 December 2025;
- $9.5 million for the Black Dog Institute. They will continue to deliver the National Emergency Worker Support Service until 31 December 2025; and
- $3.4 million for the Australian Psychological Society. They will deliver the Disaster Response Network until 31 January 2026.