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About

Who we are

We’re Australia’s leading not-for-profit organisation delivering support to first responders and their families.

Why we
exist

Fortem Australia is an independent not-for-profit organisation dedicated to supporting the mental health and wellbeing of first responders and their families – the people who protect and care for our communities.

Established in 2019, Fortem provides psychological and counselling, social connection, career management and mental health literacy programs and services, including an outreach program to target regional and remote locations.

First responder work can be incredibly rewarding but it can also be confronting, traumatic and dangerous. Our early intervention and preventative mental health approach helps to promote resilience, recovery, and overall wellbeing, while reducing stigma around mental health. 

Thank a First Responder Day is an initiative of Fortem Australia and is a national day of appreciation for first responders and their families. 

Held on the second Wednesday in June each year, the day provides an opportunity for the community to show their appreciation to the many first responders in our communities by saying ‘thank you’.

Thank a First Responder Day

Our
services

We provide an integrated range of confidential services tailored to each first responder and their family to promote resilience and to transform struggle into strength.

Our services for first responders and their families include:

Social connection and wellbeing activities
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Psychology and counselling
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Strategic career management
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Our
expertise

Collaboration with responder agencies
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Partnerships with complementary organisations
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Online resources for resilience tips and tools for first responders and their families
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Public education and awareness raising
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How we’re
different

We know prevention can be more powerful than cure
We reinforce resilience to boost mental health and wellbeing in the face of tough conditions with our focus on early intervention. This not only lessens the impacts of any existing trauma — it can prevent issues from occurring in the first place.
We balance science and heart
Every service we provide brings together the latest research with the genuine care of lived experience, with many members of our team having transitioned from first responder careers.
We're independent
First responders and their families can engage our services with confidence that what is shared with only us, stays with only us because we’re entirely separate from internal wellbeing teams.