Griefline's Helpline will close on 18 March 2025

MELBOURNE, Australia - March 11, 2025 - PRLog --

• Despite years of strategic planning and working to diversify our income streams, we are unable to continue operating this essential service.  
• The Government assured us that we would receive the funding required to continue current operations, yet the grant offer is for future financial years and half of what is needed.
• We were only invited to apply for funding last night, and all Forecast Opportunities are subject to revision, withdrawal, or cancellation.
• With an election imminent, there is no certainty that any grant agreements will be finalised before the Government enters caretaker mode.

Griefline is not closing

While this is a heartbreaking loss, we want to make it clear that Griefline is not closing. We will continue to provide:

• Professional bereavement counselling through the Integrating Grief Program (IGP) in NSW and Victoria
• Nationwide bereavement and voluntary assisted dying (VAD) support groups
• A range of digital grief resources, accessible 24/7

But the gaping hole left by the loss of our helpline remains.

A promise broken

For the past two weeks, the Government assured us that funding needed to continue delivering our essential, early-intervention grief support service would be provided.

During Senate Estimates on 26 February 2025, Senator McCarthy stated:

"I know that the health minister has also reached out to Griefline. I know that  there will be support for Griefline."

When asked how much funding would be provided, the Senator responded:

"They will get the support that's required to keep going."

But this is not the case.

To continue delivering our safe, high-quality, and person-centred helpline service, we require:

• $400,000 to continue operating until 30 June 2025,  
• $865,000 per year beyond that.

The funding we received for this financial year is $220,000, leaving a shortfall of $645,000 - a gap we had been flagging since January 2024 while actively working with sector partners and developing our learning program, Griefline Knowledge, to address financial sustainability.

This is simply not enough to sustain a national helpline and digital supports, which have provided free grief and loss support to thousands of Australians.

Forecast opportunities and the election risk

Even more concerning, this future funding is not secured, we were only invited to apply last night, and all Forecast Opportunities are subject to revision, withdrawal, or cancellation.

There is no information on when the grant will open for applications. Additionally, potential grantees have been advised that an election for the House of Representatives may be called before the grant process is concluded. If this occurs, the Government will enter caretaker mode, during which:

• Decisions are not taken that would bind an incoming Government.
• Any grant processes not concluded before the caretaker period, or that commence during it, may face delays, or even be revised or cancelled altogether.

Without certainty or time to secure alternative funding, we have no choice but to proceed with closing our helpline, effective 18 March 2025.

The cost of false hope

For the past two weeks, our staff, volunteers, and service users were led to believe that Griefline's helpline would continue.

• Instead of preparing for closure and ensuring our service users found alternative support, we followed the Government's guidance to "hold off".
• Instead of helping our team find new roles, we have been advocating.
• Instead of grieving the loss of this vital service, we have been fighting to keep it alive.

The time we could have spent supporting our staff and volunteers through this transition has been lost.

A sector-wide crisis

This funding shortfall extends beyond Griefline. Several other vital services including Red Nose, Black Dog Institute, Roses in the Ocean, and Karitane, were also assured funding but now face the same uncertainty and risk of service disruption.

The ripple effect of these broken commitments could leave thousands of Australians without crucial support when they need it most.

Exploring a limited future service

While we have lost faith in the Government's process, we remain steadfast in our commitment to supporting grieving Australians.

Despite uncertainty surrounding future funding, we will explore what a scaled-back version of our service – Request a callback, an outbound telephone support service that complements our helpline, could look like under the Government's funding limitations.

If successful, this would allow us to provide some level of support, albeit in a limited capacity. However,

• Even if we are awarded the funding, it will not be available until July 2025, leaving a three-month gap where grieving Australians will have nowhere to turn.  
• The service would be far more limited than the helpline Australians deserve.

This is not acceptable. The loss of our helpline is not just a funding issue, it is a failure of leadership and a failure of vision. It reflects a deep misunderstanding of grief, a "she'll be right" attitude that dismisses the need for structured, compassionate support. Thousands of grieving people will now be left without help during some of the hardest moments of their lives.

We are not walking away

Kate Cahill, CEO:
"We were on a clear path to sustainability. We weren't asking for a blank cheque; we were asking for transition support. The Government acknowledged the importance of our work and publicly assured us of funding but then failed to deliver."

Griefline's helpline should have been saved. The reality is, it wasn't.

Thank you for standing with us

To our volunteers, staff, and community - thank you. You have been the heart of Griefline, and your dedication has changed countless lives.

To those who fought alongside us, our supporters, sector partners, ambassadors, and service users who wrote to MPs, engaged the media, and raised awareness, we are deeply grateful.

Griefline's helpline should have been saved. The reality is, it wasn't.

We move forward knowing that, while this chapter is closing, our mission to support grieving Australians continues.

A final call to action – can you help save Griefline's helpline?

We are devastated to lose this lifeline for grieving Australians, but we are not giving up hope. If there is an individual, organisation, or philanthropic partner who believes in the power of compassionate grief support and is in a position to bridge the funding gap, we urge you to reach out.

This service is needed now more than ever. With the right support, we can keep the helpline open and continue providing life-changing grief support to thousands of Australians.

To discuss how you can help, contact:

Louisa Smith, Griefline Director of Strategic Innovation. Email: louisa@griefline.org.au (https://griefline.org.au/griefline-helpline-to-close-a-de...)