The Australian Government is funding a National Indigenous Critical Response Service to respond to the needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people affected by suicide-related trauma or other critical traumatic incidents.

The Critical Response Service will be progressively rolled out across Australia
over three years.

• In 2017 the Service will operate in the Northern Territory, South Australia and Western Australia.
• In 2018 the Service will expand to Victoria and Queensland.
• In 2019 the Service will cover New South Wales, Australian Capital Territory and Tasmania.

The aims of the Critical Response Service are to:

• provide Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander individuals and families affected by suicide-related, or other trauma, with immediate and culturally appropriate response and support;
• improve the coordination of postvention response services for affected individuals and families. It operates alongside and does not replace existing services; and
• strengthen community capacity and resilience in high-risk communities, including how to recognise and handle critical incidents and promote better service system coordination.

How it works

In providing immediate response and support, the Critical Response Service will utilise Critical Response Advocates from local communities, who assess individuals’ and families’ needs and then provide practical and social support. This includes facilitating connections with a range of support services as needed, monitoring through-care over time and referring on to social, health or other services where appropriate.

The Critical Response Advocates will not provide counselling or other clinical support.

Critical Response Advocates

The Critical Response Advocates can be contacted to provide individuals and families with practical help and social support, while remaining compliant with the Privacy Act 1988.

The Critical Response Advocates may be notified of an incident and a need for assistance via a dedicated telephone line which can be accessed 24 hours a day. A dedicated 1800 number has been set up and is now active to receive calls. This number is 1800 805 801.

The Critical Response Advocates are not counsellors but advocate, assist and support affected individuals and families. The Advocates can:

• assess the needs of affected individuals, families or communities;
• facilitate connections to appropriate local service providers;
• coordinate interventions and services in a culturally appropriate way;
• assess the capacity of local services to meet needs;
• assess community capacity to cope with trauma;
• coordinate access to a range of support services and refer on to social health or other services where appropriate such as professional counselling and psychological support services; and
• monitor through-care over time.

For incidents and assistance Contact Critical Response Advocates on 1800 805 801 or 0455 252 678

For further information on the Service – contact Adele Cox, Project Director on 0488 033 417 or email adelecox@internetexpress.net.au