HELP Resources

Where to get help…

If you need some assistance with buying food, domestic violence support, legal advice, counselling and so on please see below some organisations that offer aid services.

New South Wales

Food

  • Anglicare offers a mobile community pantry. If you have a health care card you can show it at selected locations, and by making a $10 contribution you can fill a shopping bag with items of your choice.
  • Loaves and Fishes is a joint project between Vinnies and Mary Queen of the Family, Blacktown, which provides conversation and food parcels to locals who are experiencing rough times, struggling to keep food on the table and generally unable to make ends meet. Food parcels include pantry staples to help families put a meal on the table, with a focus on healthy breakfasts and budget conscious meals that can feed small to large families.
  • The Addison Rd Community Centre Organisation (ARCCO) offers a Food Pantry Program which will help stretch your budget if you’re on a low income, are unemployed, or struggling to get by. They offer hampers of food for around $10 for collection on Wednesdays, between 10am – 2pm.
  • The Staples Bag offers a staples bag containing a diverse range of basic food and pantry items. You can purchase bags for $15, $20 or $30 at select locations (and times) around Sydney.

Domestic Violence

  • The NSW Government Justice Department provides victims services and support including free counselling and financial assistance to victims of crime. You may be eligible and approved for up to 22 hours of free counselling, financial support for immediate needs, financial support for economic loss and a recognition payment.
  • NSW Domestic Violence Line provides telephone counselling, information and referrals for women and same-sex partners who are experiencing or have experienced domestic violence. Phone: 1800 65 64 63 or 1800 671 442
  • Women’s Domestic Violence Court Advocacy Service NSW Inc provides links to a range of local support services including accommodation, counselling, financial support, court support, legal advice and referrals to government and non-government organisations. Phone: 1800 938 227

Counselling

  • CAFE is a counselling service to educate parents on how to help kids. This could be very beneficial if your children are suffering, or you are not sure how to help them deal with the separation.
  • Bondi Beach Cottage has a kids art therapist, and it’s a free service.
  • KidsXpress offers children who are facing emotional trauma a place where they can figure things out. Working in small groups, therapists encourage each child to not only explore their thoughts and feelings, but to find their own ways to cope with them.
  • The Deli seeks to ensure that women, children and families, particularly those affected by domestic violence, are happy, healthy, safe and resilient; and able to participate in connected and strong families and communities. The Deli offers services such as Domestic Violence Counselling, General Counselling, Casework, Supported Playgroup service, Court Support, Education, Information, Advocacy, Referrals, Resources, Assessments and Group Activities.
  • Interrelate Family Centres provide counselling and mediation and dispute resolution. Phone: 1300 736 966 or (02) 8882 7800

Legal Advice

  • Women’s Legal Service NSW (WLS NSW) is a community legal center providing women with a range of free community legal services, including legal advice and information, education, training and resources across metropolitan and regional areas of New South Wales.
  • Legal Aid NSW helps people with their legal problems. The family law practice helps adults and children resolve their family disputes and to achieve safe and workable care arrangements for children. Legal Aid NSW provide legal advice and minor assistance, duty services, family dispute resolution and case representation in commonwealth family law matters, including child support matters, and in state care and protection matters across NSW.

Child Psychologists that Assist in the Family Court

  • The Relationspace: particular expertise centres on assisting families and children who are negotiating a separation or divorce within the Family Court, through legal proceedings or outside the court system. They also offer mediation services.
  • myLife Psychologists

Supervised Children Contact Centers

Metropolitan

  • BLACKTOWN – Relationships Australia – PH: 02 8811 0000
  • CAMPBELLTOWN – CatholicCare – PH: 02 4628 0044
  • HARRIS PARK – Central West Contact Service – PH: 02 9893 7949
  • PENRITH – Relationships Australia – PH: 02 4728 4800
  • SUTHERLAND -Interrelate Family Centre – PH: 02 8522 4450
  • SYDNEY (Redfern) – CatholicCare Contact Service – PH: 02 9307 8200

Regional

  • ALBURY/WODONGA – Upper Murray Family Care – PH: 02 60575399
  • COFFS HARBOUR – Interrelate Family Centre – PH: 02 6659 4150
  • DUBBO – Interrelate Family Centre – PH 02 6815 9650
  • LISMORE – Interrelate Family Centre – PH: 02 6623 2750
  • NEWCASTLE – Relationships Australia – PH: 02 4940 1500
  • NOWRA – CatholicCare – PH: 02 4227 1122
  • ORANGE – Interrelate Family Centre – PH: 02 6360 0895
  • PORT MACQUARIE – Interrelate Family Centre – PH: 02 5525 3200
  • TAMWORTH – Tamworth Family Support CCS – PH: 02 6763 2350
  • WAGGA WAGGA – Relationships Australia – PH: 02 6923 9180
  • WOLLONGONG – CatholicCare – PH: 02 4227 1122
  • CENTRAL COAST – Relationships Australia – PH: 02 4389 8760

Private

  • AXIA SOLUTIONS – Parramatta – PH: (02) 9684 3800
  • PHOENIX RISING – Oatlands – PH: (02) 9873 3992
  • REKONNECT – Newcastle – PH: 0411 482 243
  • SUCO SERVICES – Illawarra/Shoalhaven/Sth Sydney/Wingecarribee -PH: 0476 165 632 / 0409 287 047

Mediators

  • Family Relationships Online provides all families (whether together or separated) with access to information about family relationship issues, ranging from building better relationships to dispute resolution. It also allows families to find out about a range of services that can assist them to manage relationship issues, including agreeing on appropriate arrangements for children after parents separate.
  • Collaborative Mediation Practice (CMP) provides a safe and confidential environment to facilitate the difficult discussions you need to have with each other about all the contentious issues surrounding your separation. CMP’s aim is to keep you out of expensive, protracted and destructive court battles. They provide an alternative to the adversarial approach of litigation, where you are in control of your family’s future. This means the agreements reached are more sustainable and work in the best interests of the children.
  • Relationships Australia offers family dispute resolution assists couples and families to resolve parenting and property disputes following separation.
  • Interrelate Family Centres provide counselling and mediation and dispute resolution. Phone: 1300 736 966 or (02) 8882 7800

Courses

  • Interrelate run some post separation courses for parents including:
    • Re-building after separation: an eight-session program to help people rebuild their lives after separation or divorce.
    • Parents not partners: a six-session program for separated parents in conflict over the children. Parents not Partners is designed to improve emotional and developmental outcomes for children in separated families.
    • Building Connections: a three-hour interactive seminar for parents having trouble sitting down together to work out what’s best for their children since their separation.
    • Stronger Connections: a three-hour interactive seminar for separated parents who have attended Building Connections to reinforce the importance of working together as parents for the benefit of their children.
    • Seasons for growth: a nine-session grief and loss program that helps children and young people understand and express experiences of significant change, loss and grief.
    • Building bridges: a one-and-a-half-hour interactive seminar to help build resilience in children and young people from separated families.

Online Support

Parenting After Separation Course

 Appliances

The NSW Office of Environment and Heritage are offering discounts on new energy efficient fridges and TVs so you can replace your old inefficient models. New appliances can cut your energy bills, improve your household and family living costs and help protect our environment. They are offering:

  • a 40 per cent discount on the cost of a fridge, and
  • a 50 per cent discount on the cost of a TV.

If you’re eligible you can:

  • choose from selected energy efficient fridges and TVs from The Good Guys,
  • have your new appliance delivered to your home and installed; and
  • have your old appliance removed and recycled

To be eligible you must meet the following conditions:

  • be a NSW resident,
  • hold a valid Health Care Card or Low Income Health Care Card from Centrelink, and
  • own a fridge six years old, or older, and want to replace it, or
  • own a plasma or cathode ray tube (CRT) television and want to replace it.

Click here to apply.

Homelessness

  • Link2home is a statewide homelessness information and referral telephone service. Phone: 1800 152 152

Victoria

Domestic Violence

  • Centre Against Violence (CAV) is a community based, not for profit organisation that provides crisis, short term, medium term and long term counselling, and advocacy, information and support about family violence, sexual assault and problem sexualised behaviours. CAV offers crisis accommodation, support and recovery services to women and children experiencing family violence.
  • Safe Steps Family Violence Response Center. Phone: 1800 015 188 or 9322 3555

Legal Advice

  • Victoria Legal Aid provides free legal advice to eligible people from Victorian. Phone: 1300 792 387

Mediation

Queensland

Courses

  • Relationships Australia runs a Focus on Kids course designed to assist separated parents who are experiencing ongoing conflict to minimise the conflict so that children can grow, develop and reach their full potential post-separation.

Domestic Violence

  • Domestic Violence Telephone Service. Phone: 1800 811 811
  • QLD DV WebLink is a directory of QLD support services

Legal Advice

  • Legal Aid QLD provide legal help to financially disadvantaged people. Phone: 1300 651 188

ACT

Domestic Violence

Legal Advice

  • Legal Aid ACT helps people in the ACT with their legal problems, especially people who are socially or economically disadvantaged. They can help you with legal problems about criminal matters, family breakdown, child support, mental health, domestic violence, debt, housing, social security and immigration. Phone: 1300 654 314

Northern Territory

Domestic Violence

  • Domestic Violence Crisis Line. Phone: 1800 019 116

Legal Advice

South Australia

Domestic Violence

  •  Domestic Violence Helpline. Phone: 1300 782 200

Legal Advice

Tasmania

Domestic Violence

  • Family Violence Counselling and Support Service. Phone: 1800 608 122
  • Family Violence Response and Referral. Phone: 1800 633 937

Legal Advice

  • Legal Aid Commission of Tasmania provide legal advice, representation, family dispute resolution services and legal education to the Tasmanian community. Phone: 1300 366 611

Western Australia

Domestic Violence

  • Women’s Domestic Violence Helpline. Phone: 08 9223 1188 or 1800 007 339
  • Crisis Care. Phone: 1800 199 00808 or 9233 1111

Legal Advice

  • Legal Aid WA provide information, advice and other legal help. The type and amount of help you will get depends on your finances, your legal problem and our resources. Phone 1300 650 579

National Services

  • The Salvation Army offers assistance in relation to such things as accommodation and housing, domestic violence situations (including emergency accommodation), employment, counselling, emergency financial relief, and legal services.
  • Relationships Australia offers a Children’s Contact Service which provides safe and positive contact arrangements for children whose parents are separated. Contact Centers are located in the Canberra Region, New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, and Western Australia. Phone: 1300 364 277
  • Family Relationships Online (an Australian Government Initiative) provides a variety of services nationally including:
    • information, advice, group sessions and dispute resolution to help people reach agreement on parenting arrangements without going to court,
    • Children’s contact services,
    • Family law counselling, and
    • a Supporting Children after Separation Program which supports children from separated or separating families who are experiencing issues with difficult family relationships.
  • 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732): 24 hour, National Sexual Assault, Family & Domestic Violence Counselling Line for any Australian who has experienced, or is at risk of, family and domestic violence and/or sexual assault.
  • Lifeline has a national 24 hour number who can help put you in contact with a crisis service in your State –
    13 11 14
  • Kids Help Line is a telephone counselling for children and young people. Free call: 1800 55 1800
  • Australian Childhood Foundation provide counselling for children and young people affected by abuse
    Free call: 1800 176 453 or (03) 9874 392.

Online Help

Mental Health