There is a range of treatment options available for people needing help in crisis or general mental health care, depending on the situation.

In an emergency, call 000

If you are in an emergency situation where you are worried about your safety or someone else's, call 000 for an immediate response.

If you need to talk, contact Lifeline, SuicideLine or Beyond Blue.

Crisis services

Access our list of crisis services.

GPs might also refer to the following crisis and risk assessment resources:

HealthPathways Melbourne
HealthPathways is designed and written for use during a consultation. HealthPathways offers clinicians locally agreed information to make the right decisions at the point of care.
RACGP: Mental health risk assessment for GPs
This article summarises the risk assessment of patients with possible mental disorders and provides suggestions regarding measures that may be undertaken to manage risk in psychiatric emergencies.

Care options

Learn more about our mental health services. We encourage people wanting to discuss their mental health needs to contact their local GP first.

GPs might consider discussing the following options with consumers:

Specialty treatment services

We provide specialty services to care for people with specific mental health issues:

Other specialty services organisations

National Eating Disorders Collaboration (NEDC)
Building the system of care for people experiencing eating disorders and their families and supports.
Butterfly Foundation
Support for eating disorders and body image issues.
Centre of Perinatal Excellence (COPE)
A not-for-profit organisation devoted to reducing the impacts of emotional and mental health problems in the pre and postnatal periods.

Find a health service provider

Find out contact and location details for each of our services or use one of these directories:

Treatment plans

Better Access initiative
Mental Health Treatment Plans that GPs can use to assess and manage patients with mental illness, and refer them for treatment by private psychiatrists, psychologists and other allied health practitioners.
Last updated 04 July 2023