source : the age
The rate of young Victorians reaching out for help while at immediate risk of suicide or child abuse is rising to levels seen at of the height of the COVID pandemic, however the state government is refusing to fund those answering their calls.
The Victorian government has rejected Kids Helpline’s plea for $4.5 million to meet rising demand from the state’s children, despite the federal, NSW, Queensland and Western Australian governments already contributing to the life-saving service.
During 2025, Kids Helpline responded to 5190 children and young people needing immediate crisis interventions, the most serious calls received that require urgent contact with emergency services or child protection authorities due to imminent danger.
The rise in crisis calls is a 350 per cent increase since 2018, and approaches the COVID-lockdown surge of 5823 urgent crisis responses during 2021, according to the latest Kids Helpline Impact Report.
Overall, Kids Helpline responded to 128,998 contacts from children and young people in 2025, including more than one in four from Victoria, which was also the state with the highest rate of children needing immediate counselling support.
As it is currently funded, the service says it is unable to meet the rising demand and its latest report reveals only 58 per cent of young people reaching out for help gained a response.
Of the most serious Victorian calls made last year, which required an immediate intervention, 38 per cent related to a suicide attempt, 28 concerned child abuse, and 10 per cent stemmed from escalating mental health concerns.
Yourtown chief executive Tracy Adams, the not-for-profit organisation which operates the 24/7 Kids Helpline, said four out of five distressed Victorian children seeking help were in major cities, and almost a third were 19 to 25-year-olds.
“We’re seeing rates similar to the pandemic levels that has us worried,” Adams said.
“We see those numbers particularly around the two big key ones, suicidality and child abuse, where a young person is at such imminent risk of harm, either at their own hand or at the hand of someone else.”
While the Victorian government provided crisis funding for Kids Helpline during the pandemic, as well as during other major disasters such as bushfires, Adams said repeated pleas for ongoing contributions have been ignored, including a request for $4.5 million in the recent state budget.
“We have community partners, we have corporate partners, we have the federal government, and we have a number of states, but those states do not include Victoria,” she said.
“Victorian young people are the second-largest users of Kids Helpline and growing. More than 75 per cent of all contacts to Kids Helpline from Victoria come outside business hours. Kids Helpline is a critical piece of service infrastructure in the state of Victoria, but it’s not receiving funding.”
According to its latest report, Kids Helpline received 31 per cent of its funding from the NSW government ($4.3 million), Queensland ($3.3 million) and Western Australia ($1 million), while the Commonwealth government provides 26 per cent. Community and corporate supporters provide the remaining running costs.
A Victorian government spokesperson said Kids Helpline was largely funded by the Commonwealth, and the state was focused on supporting other forms of mental health support for young Victorians.
“No other jurisdiction in the country is doing as much to reform the mental health system as Victoria,” the spokesperson said.
Shadow mental health minister Emma Kealy said a Coalition government would get mental health reforms back on track and support frontline health services and workers.
“You really have to question Labor’s priorities when money is flying out the door for machete bins, yet Premier Allan refuses to fund a youth mental health service for a fraction of the cost.”
- Kids Helpline: 1800 55 1800; Lifeline: 13 11 14
Start the day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.
