Postvention

Established by Youturn in 2002, StandBy Support After Suicide began as a community response to suicide on the Sunshine Coast and has since grown into a respected national program. StandBy supports anyone bereaved or impacted by suicide — individuals, families, friends, witnesses, first responders, and service providers — at any stage of their life.

Available seven days a week, nationwide, StandBy provides free face-to-face and telephone support, delivered at a time and place that suits each individual. By partnering with local organisations, StandBy ensures support is effective, culturally responsive, and connected to community networks. The program also offers connections, resources, and workshops to strengthen community capacity.

In addition to its core service, StandBy also delivers Peer Support and the Suicide Bereavement Counselling Service (SBCS) across Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and the Northern Territory, enhancing support for those experiencing suicide loss. Lived experience remains central to StandBy’s work, ensuring every service is informed, compassionate and timely.

The need for postvention

A coordinated response

This story discusses suicide loss.

In Eastern Melbourne, a family faced the devastating loss of their 15-year-old daughter, to suicide.

Soon after her passing, StandBy delivered an in-home support session, sitting with the family in their own space to listen, validate their grief, and offer immediate support resources.

The family spoke of their daughter’s sensitivity and emotional struggles, and of their attempts to engage her with professional help, efforts that were met with their daughters’ reluctance, leaving them feeling helpless and full of questions.

This immediate response was part of StandBy’s commitment to meeting people where they are at, both physically and emotionally, during one of the most challenging times of their lives.

Recognising the potential wider impact of this loss, StandBy ensured a coordinated community response by connecting in with the Eastern Melbourne Suicide Postvention Protocol Group, bringing together local services to provide support not just to the family, but also to others affected, including school communities and workplaces. The group helped identify those most affected and mobilise relevant support, to help ensure no one was left behind in the aftermath of this significant loss.

This collaborative response reinforced the value of community-based postvention, where timely, empathetic care helps families and communities navigate the complex journey of suicide loss with dignity and care.

Highlights

As demand for postvention services continues to rise, StandBy has grown its national reach by 8%, strengthening collaborations with first responders, postvention leaders, and community networks to deliver tailored support across metropolitan, rural and remote Australia.

In late 2024, StandBy engaged Professor Myfanwy Maple to evaluate the program, with a focus on new offerings including the SBCS and Peer Support in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and the Northern Territory. The evaluation affirmed StandBy’s impact in reducing distress and suicide risk, recognising the value of specialised counselling, peer support and the National Phone Service in addressing complex grief and reducing barriers to care.

At its core, StandBy continues to provide a safe environment where people bereaved or impacted by suicide can openly share their grief experiences. These achievements reinforce StandBy’s central aim: to advocate for and support the health and wellbeing of individuals, families and communities navigating the devastating impact of suicide loss.

Other achievements

Online Postvention Symposium: In April 2025, StandBy National hosted the inaugural StandBy Online Symposium – Fostering Innovation, Connection, and Care, bringing together 200+ participants including keynote Anna Wardley, lived experience voices, and national/international experts to share research, innovation and strengthen networks.
Lived Experience Leadership: Released the Peer Practice Guide and launched the StandBy National Lived Experience Framework, embedding six commitments to ensure lived experience is central across all programs.
National Postvention Leadership Group: StandBy, along with MacKillop Family Services, Thirrili Indigenous Suicide Postvention Service, and headspace National’s Be You formed the National Postvention Leadership Group, a partnership focussed on ensuring integrated and coordinating support for those bereaved by suicide.
National Accreditation: Successfully renewed accreditation against the Suicide Prevention Australia Standards for Quality Improvement, reinforcing commitment to safe, high-quality services.
First Nations Partnerships: Strengthened collaboration with Aboriginal Medical Services Alliance Northern Territory (AMSANT) in the NT by embedding a Community Postvention Support Coordinator, leading to a 664% increase in individuals supported. This was recognised by the government as a model of community-led, culturally responsive practice.
LGBTIQA+ SB StandBy Support: Established a dedicated working group, updating guidelines, creating a national services directory, and supporting Switchboard Victoria’s Changing the Landscape campaign, ensuring inclusive and responsive postvention support.
Research on Men Bereaved by Suicide: Commissioned Dr Karl Andriessen in 2024 to explore the barriers and facilitators to help-seeking among men bereaved by suicide. This study addressed a critical gap, highlighting men’s lived experiences and informing best practice through a strengths-based lens.

Challenges

Meeting rising demand: The rapid expansion of the StandBy program has been matched by increasing demand for postvention support. While data shows many more individuals could benefit from the service, financial constraints limit capacity, creating challenges in reaching all those in need.

Future focus

“Building sustainability and strengthening our impact”

Feasibility study: StandBy will explore the centralisation of the National Phone Service to assess whether a coordinated model could improve workforce sustainability, enhance service quality and consistency, expand access for regional communities, and deliver greater efficiencies nationwide.
Funding advocacy: The StandBy National team will strengthen its focus on advocacy and policy engagement, working to secure long-term sustainability for StandBy and other postvention services while increasing public and policy understanding of the unique needs of those bereaved and impacted by suicide.
Quality and improvement: StandBy remains committed to enhancing service quality, data integrity and continuous improvement practices, ensuring every individual who seeks support can access it with confidence, knowing it will be delivered with care, consistency and accountability.

Outcomes

Improved skills and knowledge of workshop participants: Among those who provided feedback, more than 9 in 10 professionals (91%) and community members (95%) said their understanding of how to support people bereaved or impacted by suicide had improved.
Reducing emotional loneliness and distress through ensuring that people feel heard and understood is a foundational outcome of the StandBy program. In a recent evaluation of the StandBy Program (Maple, 2024, p.25), all but one participant identified the validation of grief experiences and the recognition of suicide related grief as the most valuable aspects of the program. This validation was seen to contribute to a reduction in distress, with participants suggesting that understanding and acknowledging the unique nature of suicide bereavement played a key role in alleviating emotional distress.

Funders: StandBy – An initiative of Youturn jointly funded by the Australian Commonwealth, New South Wales Victorian, Queensland and Northen Territory Governments.

StandBy service delivery partners

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POSTVENTION

YEAR IN REVIEW