Information, resources, and supports relating to the Voice to Parliament Referendum

10 July 2023

If you need to talk to someone, call 13YARN on 13 92 76 (24 hours/7 days) to talk with an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander Crisis Support worker, or see your local ACCHO, AMS, GP, or social and emotional wellbeing service for mental health support. See below for more information and links.

Services and supports

If you need crisis support: Call 13YARN on 13 92 76 (24 hours/7 days) to talk with an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander Crisis Support worker. This crisis line is run by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. It is a free and confidential service. Find more information at: https://www.13yarn.org.au/.

If you are looking for mental health support: contact your local ACCHO, AMS, GP, or SEWB service. See https://www.naccho.org.au/naccho-map/ for a map of Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations, or see here for a list of services.

For resources around mental health, wellbeing, and social and emotional wellbeing: Visit Gayaa Dhuwi (Proud Spirit) Australia, the peak body for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander social and emotional wellbeing, mental health, and suicide prevention, and the Healing Foundation, an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisation promoting trauma-aware, healing-informed practice.

For help in supporting others: Mob want to be there to support each other. Getting support from people with lived experience is valuable to ensure the care you receive is culturally safe. See the Stronger Together webpage by R U OK  for stories and practical tips to empower you to support others.

For self-care resources: The Healing Foundation has outlined some tips for looking after yourself and keeping your family and community strong, along with some additional resources around having challenging conversations, dealing with misinformation and disinformation and racial stress and trauma. ReachOut have also prepared some resources on how to ease the pressure off mob and share the cultural load, along with some tips on coping when you feel like a spokesperson for mob. For resources for service providers: See WellMob for online resources for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander frontline health and wellbeing workers, with a focus on social and emotional wellbeing.

For resources for service providers: See WellMob for online resources for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander frontline health and wellbeing workers, with a focus on social and emotional wellbeing.

Information about the Referendum and the process of voting

The Referendum resources page on the AEC website has a number of resources with factual information about the Referendum and FAQs: https://www.aec.gov.au/referendums/

The website includes the following resources:

To enrol to vote, or to check your details, online go to www.aec.gov.au. To enrol using a paper form, you can: download and print www.aec.gov.au/enrol/form.htm, collect from a local AEC office, or call 13 23 26 to be sent a copy.

The Voice website includes information and about the Referendum: https://voice.gov.au/

The ABC has produced a 13-minute video explaining “Everything you need to know about the Indigenous Voice Referendum”.

eSafety resources for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples

Hear stories from mob in language and find tips to help you be deadly online: https://www.esafety.gov.au/first-nations

Reporting racism

If you experience or witness racism, you can report it to:

Information for non-Indigenous people on being an ally

See the Ending Racism video and Check Up resources at https://mk-engaged.anu.edu.au/ending-racism/.

The Australia Human Rights Commission and ReachOut have also put together some tips on being an ally.