About 1800RESPECT
- 1800RESPECT is the national sexual assault, domestic and family violence counselling service
- We provide support for people experiencing, or at the risk of experiencing, violence and abuse, their friends and family, and professionals
- This page contains information on our service and how we operate.
Who we are
1800RESPECT is funded by the Australian Government’s Department of Social Services to provide support for:
- People experiencing, or at risk of experiencing, sexual assault, domestic or family violence
- Their friends and family
- Workers and professionals supporting someone experiencing, or at risk of experiencing sexual assault, domestic or family violence.
We are a confidential service available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
We provide:
Information: On sexual assault, domestic and family violence, abuse, and other issues
Referral: Putting you in touch with people and services that can help you
Counselling: What you talk about and how much you say is up to you. We can listen and work with you to come up with things that might help. Workers and professionals can also use this service.
1800RESPECT is delivered by Medibank Health Services on behalf of the Federal Government Department of Social Services. It is part of the National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children 2010-2022.
1800RESPECT would like to acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of this land and pay respect to Elders, both past and present and extend our acknowledgement to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Please be aware that this website may contain the names, images and voices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who may now be deceased.
The National Plan
The National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children 2010–2022(the National Plan) came out in February 2011. It is a way for the governments of Australia to work together to support the safety of women and their children.
The National Plan targets all forms of violence against women, including sexual assault, domestic and family violence. 1800RESPECT is part of the National Plan.
1800RESPECT is one of the National Plan partners, with a focus on supporting people impacted by violence and abuse. Other National Plan partners are:
- Our Watch – primary prevention
- DV-alert – training
- White Ribbon Australia – awareness and prevention
- ANROWS – research.
About Medibank Health Solutons
Medibank Health Solutions delivers a range of innovative health care solutions for corporate Australia and government. More information about Medibank Health Solutions can be found on their website.
How our service has been improved
In September 2017 we made some improvements to the way we run our telephone and online counselling service. Some of these changes were talked about in the news and we want to make sure that people who use our service know about the changes. We have provided answers to some of the questions you may have about improvements we have made to the service we offer callers and people contacting us online. Read more about the changes to the service.
The 1800RESPECT service is delivered in partnership with non profit organisations. Read more about our partners.
1800RESPECT projects
1800RESPECT has delivered two projects in collaboration with sector professionals and subject experts. These projects have provided us with evidence-based information on how to improve our service, and provide referral pathways.
Learn more about the Disability Pathways Project and the Financial Abuse Support Project.