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ESF's Family Day at Gumbuya World – thank you for joining us!
It was wonderful to see so many emergency service families come together to celebrate and be acknowledged for the incredible contribution you all make to keep our community safe. We hope you and your loved ones enjoyed the activities, lunch and opportunity to connect with others.
'Supportal' is now Live!
Emergency service workers are three to four times more likely to experience PTSD.
It is the result of listening and liaising closely with emergency service families, understanding that they want to feel supported, seen and informed. It aims to create a sense of belonging through a trusted platform that truly understands the weight that families carry.
We encourage all emergency service families to explore Supportal – this resource has the potential to change lives and create healthier family spaces. By helping more families feel supported, informed and connected, we can build a stronger, healthier emergency services community together. Emergency service workers may find Supportal helpful too!
Supportal registration is free and ready for use now on your mobile phone – visit Supportal today at supportal.esf.com.au.
Lived Experience
Everyone has a story.
The Answering the Call study highlighted that self-stigma was alive and well amongst emergency service workers. ESF delved further to understand how that could be broken down and heard that people needed to hear about the experiences of people ‘just like me’. And here they are.
ESF has worked with the people featured here to help them share their emergency service experiences safely.
Hearing how others have made sense of their own journeys of trauma and post traumatic growth can be comforting and maybe confronting – you might come across a story that feels familiar or simply find reassurance in knowing you are not alone.
The message is consistent. Feel no stigma in seeking help and get that help early.
Trigger warning: This content discusses mental health and wellbeing, which may be distressing for some viewers. Please take care while watching.
Next year our Chair, Tony Pearce, will embark on an unsupported, solo 2,400 kilometer paddle down the Murray River to raise awareness of the profound mental health challenges faced by our emergency workers, and to acknowledge the impact of that on their families.
Murray River Paddle to Support Emergency Workers’ Mental Health will begin mid April 2026.
Better together. That’s what we aim to be.
ESF is thrilled to have received funding provided by the Victorian Government to continue delivering our popular Mental Health Matters program to volunteers at brigades, units, clubs and groups in 2026 as part of their regular training sessions.
Diversity and Inclusion Awards were presented at ESF’s International Women’s Day forum. This is an initiative dedicated to recognizing and celebrating leading practice in promoting inclusion and gender diversity amongst ESF’s 12 member agencies.
The independent evaluation of ESF’s Residential Wellbeing Program pilot, overseen by Phoenix Australia and Findex, is now available. The findings show the program is immensely impactful from both a personal and organisational perspective.