Changes to SANE's Support Line

Dear Forum Community Members

I’ve heard your concerns in the Forums about recent changes to SANE’s 1800 Support Line, and I want to take a moment to acknowledge them and explain what’s happening.

Firstly, I’d like to sincerely apologise to those who’ve been affected. I recognise that the way these changes were communicated didn’t meet your expectations — and for that, I am sorry.

Some important changes have taken effect recently, and I want to provide some context and invite questions or feedback on this thread.

What’s Changing and Why

• SANE’s services are evolving in line with our funding, as we prepare to open the Guided Recovery program to all postcode regions later in 2025
• We are developing strategies to improve how we scale, reach people, and manage growing demand for individual counselling and peer support
• As of 26 April 2025, SANE is no longer offering single-session counselling via ad hoc calls to our 1800 Support Line
• The SANE Support Line is available Monday to Friday, 10:00 am – 8:00 pm (AEST), via phone call to 1800 187 263 and webchat at sane.org
• It is staffed by trained Mental Health Support Workers who can:
  • Talk with you about your needs and help explore your concerns
  • Support you to decide whether SANE Forums, Guided Recovery counselling, peer support or groups are right for you
  • Provide information and referrals to other services where helpful
• Our Support Workers also operate the Webchat service (Monday–Friday, 10:00 am – 8:00 pm AEST)

What’s Available

• Individual counselling and peer support continue to be available through our Guided Recovery program, which will expand to all postcode regions by late 2025
• If you’re a current SANE Forums or Support Line user and these changes have affected you, we’re offering access to additional support — please contact teamforums@sane.org to request this
• We also welcome your feedback on the timing or communication of these changes via feedback@sane.org or through our Feedback & Complaints Policy form

Expanding Guided Recovery

We are proud of the outcomes of our Guided Recovery program, which offers structured support through individual counselling, peer support, recovery planning, and groups. A key strength of the model is that we collect information — with consent — to support follow-up and tailored care.

Thanks to recent funding confirmation, we’re pleased to share that the Guided Recovery and Forums programs have secured three years of investment. This will allow us to remove postcode restrictions and offer Guided Recovery nationwide.

Currently, Guided Recovery is available to people aged 18+ in around half of the 31 Primary Health Network (PHN) regions across Australia. With this new funding, we’ve received approval to expand — but we must do so within the available funding envelope. That means we are undertaking careful service design work over the next 3–6 months to manage this transition responsibly and sustainably.

This work includes:

• Designing service pathways that match our proven models of care
• Managing access and demand to ensure high-quality, safe, and timely support
• Continuing to prioritise individual counselling and peer support within a structured and scalable framework

We remain deeply committed to providing individual counselling — including single-session support — but we must do so in ways that are safe, effective, and sustainable. We are focusing on making more of the benefits of the Guided Recovery model — including recovery planning, groups, and access to digital resources — available to more people, including members of this Forums community.

If You’ve Been Affected

If you’re an existing member of the Forums community who has also accessed counselling via the Support Line and are affected by this change, we are offering you access to additional support.

To seek more information or access this, please email the Forums team at team@saneforums.org and they will support you through the process.

Please note that, under SANE’s model of care, participants in Guided Recovery will need to provide contact information. This is essential to ensure the safe, effective, and responsive delivery of individual support.

Thank you for your understanding and for your continued contributions to our community. We are committed to evolving our services with care and in partnership with you.

Best wishes,

Rachel Green
SANE CEO

@Bow @Till23 @tyme @ElephantEar3