SANE Support Services

We offer a range of free psychosocial and recovery focused mental health support services, accessible through our website (sane.org/get-support) and our Support Line (1800 187 263).

To ensure more Australians can access mental health support, all SANE services are provided in telephone and/or online formats, but people are at the heart of what we do. Every click, call, and conversation is powered by real people.

Our services have been designed by people with lived experience of complex mental health needs, as well as the people who support them. Behind each service is a dedicated team that cares deeply about your recovery and supporting our community.

We offer different types of support, including:

• Telephone and webchat support through the SANE Support Line, helping you navigate the mental health system and connect with the right support options, both within SANE and within the broader mental health system.
• Online guided and self-guided recovery programs, providing access to counselling, peer support, and/or groups.
• Online community forums offering 24/7 access to peer support and regular community events.
• A comprehensive library of online information and resources, created by subject matter experts.

SANE support is designed to complement clinical care or assist you while waiting for specialist services. SANE does not provide specialist medical services like psychiatry or psychology, undertake assessment, diagnosis or prescribe treatments.

All SANE services are accredited against the National Safety and Quality Digital Mental Health Standards (NSQDMH).

SANE services are government funded and are free to all Australians over 18 years of age with complex mental health needs.
 
We also welcome people with intellectual disability, autism or acquired brain injury, looking for mental health support.

We recognise that family members and carers of people with complex mental health issues often need counselling, support and reliable information to help navigate the mental health system. The same SANE supports are also in place for family and carers.

You do not need a mental health care plan, formal diagnosis, NDIS referral or health professional referral to access SANE supports, although referrals are welcome.

Who are SANE services not for?

SANE services are not designed for immediate emergency support during an acute mental health crisis. If you, or someone you know, require immediate emergency mental health support, please call Lifeline on 13 11 14, or 000 if there is immediate risk or danger.

Complex mental health can refer to someone with multiple mental health issues or mental health issues that are co-occurring issues such as alcohol and drug use, risk of homelessness and more.

Complex mental health issues are impactful, severe, enduring, or episodic. They can involve high levels of psychological distress, exposure to trauma, and/or conditions such as schizophrenia, personality disorders, and bipolar disorder.

Both counsellors and peer support workers aim to help support you to manage your recovery. While we don’t deliver diagnosis and medical treatment, SANE's qualified counsellors and peer support workers can support you to identify the barriers to recovery and problem solve how to overcome them, develop recovery and safety goals and plans, take steps towards managing symptoms and improving coping skills.

SANE’s qualified counsellors use a strength-based approach that helps you build upon personal skills and resilience, increase self-confidence, facilitate reflection and develop strategies for achieving personal goals and maintaining health and wellbeing. They use widely accepted evidence-based counselling techniques. SANE counsellors are specifically trained in complex mental health issues and will collaborate with you to improve your mental wellbeing and achieve the personal goals in your Support Plan.

SANE’s professionally trained peer support workers provide support based on shared experiences of complex mental health issues. Peer support relationships are different from traditional clinician-patient relationships and are not based on medical models. Instead, peer support provides mental health benefits through empathy, acceptance, and skill-sharing that comes from dealing with similar (but not necessarily the same) lived experiences.  Peer support workers aim to support people wherever they are in their recovery and focus on a person's strengths to develop hope, resilience and wellbeing strategies.

The SANE Support Line (1800 187 263) is a free telephone support service, which runs from 10am to 8pm (Melbourne/Sydney time) Monday to Friday, excluding public holidays.

We have made some improvements recently in how we deliver this telephone service to make it easier and faster to connect you with the best possible support.

When you call the SANE Support Line, you will be connected with a Mental Health Support Worker, who will work with you to understand your needs and direct you to the right supports for you.

Our Mental Health Support Workers will connect you to ongoing support through our Guided Recovery program, RecoveryClub program and Community Forums. Our team can also help you navigate the mental health system and access services other services that may be available in the broader mental health system.

To ensure safety and consistency in the support we provide you, we now require callers to be identifiable by their phone number. Your call will also be recorded for quality and safety purposes.

Prefer to stay anonymous?

For anonymous support through SANE, you can access our online community Forums, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The Forums provide an anonymous, professionally moderated, non-judgmental space to share your experiences, seek advice and surround yourself with support. Visit saneforums.org to join the community.

For anonymous telephone support, or crisis support, please call Lifeline on 13 11 14, or 000 if there is immediate risk or danger.

If you have feedback about this service, you can share it with us here.

We offer two free recovery-based programs, to support you with your mental health recovery.

Our 15-week Guided Recovery program provides support and guidance with building a personalised recovery plan, setting goals for your mental health and working towards those goals. The program includes seven appointments with your choice of a dedicated counsellor peer support worker and access to online mental health recovery groups for additional connection and support. For information and to register for Guided Recovery, click here.

Our 6-month RecoveryClub program offers a self-paced approach to mental health recovery and instant access to a wide range of mental health recovery resources and ongoing group support to help you along the way. For information and to register for RecoveryClub, click here.

If you find yourself feeling alone, needing some additional support, or just wanting to connect with people who get what you’re going through, SANE’s free online community is available to you at any time of day, and on any device!

Our community forums provide a safe, non-judgmental space to share your experiences with complex mental health, seek advice and surround yourself with support.

You’ll find a variety of dedicated community spaces, including a dedicated community space for family, friends and carers, and a wide range of discussion topics to explore.

The Forums are anonymous and moderated by mental health professionals to ensure a safe and supportive community.

You can join in and share your experiences, ask questions, make new connections, pass on information and tips, and gain insights on what has worked for others.

Take it at your own pace. Whether you choose to take part in discussions, attend webinars, access information and resources, or just visit from time to time. The community is here to support you when you need.

Join a discussion or start a new one today at saneforums.org.

SANE's website houses an extensive library of reliable information and resources tailored for people with complex mental health issues and their families, friends and carers, including:

• Printable and downloadable factsheets and guides covering diagnoses, treatments, dealing with crises, and general wellbeing.
• Blog articles covering a wide range of mental health topics.
• A collection of lived experience stories from people navigating complex mental health issues and the people who support them.
• Podcasts delving into the real-life experiences of everyday people navigating mental health challenges.
• Resources to support people at risk of suicide

You can explore all of the information and resources we offer here.

SANE designs our services through extensive consultations with people with complex mental health issues, SANE’s experienced counsellors, Peer Ambassadors and peer support workers, and many experts and organisations in the mental health sector. Over the years, we have drawn on their feedback and on evidence-based research to improve our services for you.

All SANE services are accredited against the National Safety and Quality Digital Mental Health Standards (NSQDMH) and follow the CHIME framework - a model used in mental health care across the World to understand and guide personal recovery. CHIME stands for Connectedness, Hope, Identity, Meaning, and Empowerment, and these five components are seen as essential aspects of the mental health recovery process.

Your confidentiality is important to us, and keeping personal information safe is our priority.

SANE has a strict privacy policy that governs the way we collect, store, use, and disclose your personal information. It also outlines your rights and how you can access and control the information we get from you. All SANE staff are trained on this policy.

You can read our Privacy Policy here.

Do you share any information with outside parties?

Yes, but only in extremely limited circumstances. For example, if there is an imminent risk of harm to someone, there may be a legal requirement to share information with a government authority, such as a local health authority or police. 

SANE shares service information with our research partners at Australian universities, who are evaluating our services and researching ways to improve them. But this information is of a statistical nature and will not identify you, nor will information you gave our support team in confidence be passed on. 

Do you keep my information forever? 

No, after keeping it secure, we will eventually destroy your information in accordance with our data and information management policies. 

I still have some questions about my Privacy and Confidentiality. Who can I contact?

Email us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. We’ll be glad to answer your questions.

SANE actively seeks feedback and suggestions for improvement from our service users. If you'd like to provide feedback about your experience you can do that here.

Alternatively, you can also provide formal feedback about your experience to our quality improvements team by emailing them directly at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

We will always try to resolve your complaint, but if you are not satisfied with our response, you can take your complaint to the government health complaints body in your state or territory. 

Australian Capital Territory

Health Services Commission
Website: hrc.act.gov.au/complaints/

New South Wales

Health Care Complaints Commission
Website: hccc.nsw.gov.au/health-consumers
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Northern Territory

Health and Community Services Complaints Commission
Website: hscc.nt.gov.au
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Queensland

Office of the Health Ombudsman
Website: oho.qld.gov.au

South Australia

Health and Community Services Complaints Commissioner
Website: hscc.sa.gov.au
Phone: 1800 232 007
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Tasmania

Health Complaints Commissioner
Website: healthcomplaints.tas.gov.au;
Phone: 1800 001 170
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Victoria

Health Complaints Commission
Website: hcc.vic.gov.au
Phone: 1300 582 113

Mental Health Complaints Commission
Website: mhcc.vic.gov.au
Phone: 1800 246 054
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Western Australia

Health and Disability Services Complaints Office
Website: hadsco.wa.gov.au
Phone: 1800 813 583
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Call us on 1800 187 263 from 10am to 8pm (Melbourne/Sydney time) Monday to Friday, excluding public holidays, and one of our mental health support workers will be able to answer any questions you have.

To ensure the safety and consistency in the support we provide you, we now require callers to be identifiable by their phone number. Your call will also be recorded for quality and safety purposes.