Kids Helpline Impact Report
Revealing the top reasons children and young people reached out for help in 2023
Kids Helpline supported young people in meaningful ways every day
responses by our professional counsellors
registrations to My Circle, our peer-to-peer support platform
school students reached by Kids Helpline @ School program
total users accessing website content and resources
Top 5 reasons young people reached out
1. Emotional wellbeing
2. Mental health concerns
3. Suicide-related concerns
4. Family relationship issues
5. Friends/peer relationship
"I would tell other young people to reach out to Kids Helpline"
When my mental health was spiralling, I didn't want my Mum to worry about me. While I usually tell her everything because we are so close, I kept this all to myself, even when I was cutting and having dark thoughts. Talking to Kids Helpline was what helped me feel better.
I would tell other young people to reach out to Kids Helpline – don't do it alone. You might believe that noone really gets you or that you deserve to feel this way. But just reach out.
- Billie*, Kids Helpline client
*name & image changed to protect privacy
Suicide-related contacts to Kids Helpline have more than doubled in the last 5 years
1 in 6
contacts to Kids Helpline is suicide-related
7 yrs
age of the youngest children to contact us about suicide
75
crisis or safety interventions per week
44%
of Duty of Care actions in 2023 related to suicide attempts
Worrying trends of the last 5 years
- A 161% increase in the number of counselling contacts with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people regarding suicide-related issues
- An increase in the number and proportion of contacts from inner regional or outer regional/remote areas with suicide-related concerns
Do you know how to safely talk to a child about mental health?
In our FREE webinar, learn from a qualified Kids Helpline counsellor about how to support a child or young person when things get ‘too much’.
"In addition to the 123,000 direct contacts with our Kids Helpline counsellors last year, we reached millions more with our online resources, including our website, social media channels and My Circle. We also expanded our Kids Helpline @ School program so that it is available to all schools across the nation, commenced work to scale up the Niggle app to assist with managing wellbeing and have grown My Circle to increase the availability of peer support."
- Tracy Adams, yourtown CEO
How long can they wait when in crisis?
Nearly 70% of all counselling sessions are provided outside normal business hours, late in the evening or over the weekend.
Kids Helpline's professional counsellors are often the last line of support when there is limited after-hours mental health support available.
You can help ensure young people's calls for help are answered.
