First responders protect and care for our communities. The work they do is vitally important, and is also often confronting, traumatic, and dangerous. This leads to higher rates of psychological distress and mental health conditions in the first responder community as well as spillover stress suffered by first responders’ families.
First responder wellness is as the heart of all we do, because first responders shouldn’t have to hurt from helping us.
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:
Thank a First Responder Day 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’.
There are over 370,000 first responders across Australia who support local communities. They include people who work or volunteer in a range of fire, ambulance, police, state emergency and marine rescue agencies – all who help us in our greatest times of need. The people who are asked to deliver the worst possible news to a loved one, manage horrific scenes and injuries, keep loved ones alive long enough to make it to a hospital and potentially face personal harm while carrying out their duties, hoping to make it home at the end of the day.
It can be an incredibly rewarding but often challenging job, and the pressures of first responder work can impact the wellbeing of first responders themselves, as well as their families. Despite doing extraordinary things, first responders are ordinary people – they are mums, dads, daughters, sons, sisters and brothers. They have families, friends, commitments and homes to go to at the end of their working day.
Yet, they dedicate their time to protecting our communities and keeping us safe.
This Thank a First Responder Day, please take some time to say ‘thank you’ to the incredible men and women who are there for us, day in and day out.
In 2025, Thank a First Responder Day will be held on Wednesday 11 June.