Annual Report 2024-2025
A Message from Our Chair
Lifeline Northern Beaches, Mosman to Kirribilli has delivered significant outcomes for our community across this reporting period. As Chair, I am proud of what we have achieved as an organisation and the ongoing support of our community and help seekers from right across Australia.
Looking back across the year, we faced a challenging operating environment, with increasing costs, but delivered growth and further reinforced the foundation for the years ahead.
We welcomed Richard Stacey to our Board. Richard brings a wealth of experience and knowledge both as a property expert and crisis supporter. We farewelled Jo Gorrell from our Board. Jo’s passion for the community, deep clinical expertise and unwavering support of our clinical and community teams is greatly missed. In the reporting period that follows, we will see further retirements from and recruitment to our Board. Through this change, we are guided by our refreshed Board skills matrix and evaluation.
As we look to the next year, the demands on our services are only increasing, requiring us to continue to grow both our operational capability and capacity to deliver and our financial capacity to support delivery. In practice, this means continued growth in our psychological, counselling, groups and crisis services and support, including through new channels and locations. Growth in philanthropy and fundraising remain a focus in the year ahead, supporting the continued exceptional contribution from our retail shops and book fairs.
To support growth, we must realise the return from recent investments in tools, systems and our people and progress a series of prioritised projects, including refreshing our facilities. We are also now in the second year of our strategy and in the year ahead we will look to refresh our strategy and to set us up as an organisation for the next 10 years.
Finally, we retain a strong focus on our volunteers and our employees. Our team is the heart and soul of our organisation and, as a Board, we are committed to supporting the experience, engagement and performance of our team.
I would like to thank and acknowledge my fellow Directors and our Patron, Lucinda Brogden AM, for their service and support across the year. I would also like to thank our wonderful team of employees and volunteers who deliver so much for our community. Finally, I would like to thank our partners, funders and supporters for their support throughout the year.
A Message from Our CEO
FY25 has been a year of disciplined execution and strategic investment, positioning us for sustainable impact despite a challenging operating environment.
We invested $2.4M in our charitable purpose across Crisis Support (66%), Community Programs (27%), and Community Education & Training (6%). For the first time, we also valued volunteer contributions at an estimated $2.5M.
Financially, underlying revenue grew 11% over FY24, despite a $537K deficit. The sale of our warehouse for $1.5M (just after balance date) has since strengthened liquidity, and cost controls remain a priority. Retail achieved 8% sales growth, implemented network optimisation, and opened a new Retail Hub in May, while closing the old warehouse and Dee Why store. Our Bondi store completed its first year under licence, and the Books business delivered a record $633K (+29.5%) through four book fairs and rare collectables.
Key strategic projects under Strategy 2025 – 2028 advanced significantly. Our new brand name, Lifeline Northern Beaches, Mosman to Kirribilli, was approved in May, better reflecting our geographic footprint and strengthening community connection. Digital presence grew with 1.6M additional social media impressions and 3,800 new followers. We also launched an impactful video showcasing our work through the voices of volunteers and clients. CLICK TO PLAY VIDEO
Project Sanctuary, our major infrastructure initiative, is progressing well. NBRS has been appointed as architects, and initial design work is underway following staff and volunteer consultation. This is a critical step toward delivering a fit-for-purpose facility for our community.
Investment in Philanthropy, Fundraising, and Marketing delivered exceptional results. The FY25 EOFY Appeal raised more than triple last year’s outcome, and donor engagement increased significantly. Community events, including the new Classic Series and third-party initiatives, expanded reach and revenue. Philanthropy and partnerships grew by 43%, supported by new collaborations with organisations such as Blackmores and local community groups.
Our digital transformation program commenced in April, introducing marketing automation and securing pro bono support to optimise digital marketing. These initiatives will enhance efficiency and scalability across the organisation.
Operationally, progress continues across strategic pillars, with improvements in community education and financial counselling. Crisis Support remains a focus, with KPIs impacted by earlier staffing shortages, now resolved.
Looking ahead, our priorities are clear: deliver on our charitable purpose, strengthen financial sustainability, complete our infrastructure renewal, and embed digital capability. The foundations laid this year position us for scale and impact in FY26 and beyond.
Thank you to our Board, volunteers, employees, partners, and stakeholders for your continued support as we work together to ensure help is always within reach.
OUR
IMPACT
Deliver Crisis Support
Tradition Meets Transformation: How Our People Are Shaping the Future of Crisis Support
This year, we celebrate the enduring legacy of our Crisis Support work alongside the innovations that are enhancing our ability to serve the community.
Volunteers like Robbie Wheatley embody this blend of tradition and progress. With an extraordinary forty years of service — recently recognised at our Volunteer Awards—Robbie continues to make a lasting impact. Her efforts to digitise our administration records are modernising our systems and reducing our future environmental footprint.
Working alongside Robbie is Ondine Sturzaker, Coordinator – Crisis Support & Process Innovation. Ondine’s leadership in digital transformation is streamlining previously time-consuming tasks. Despite the decades between them, Robbie’s and Ondine’s partnership bookends the collective effort of everyone in the Crisis Support team to embrace change while holding on to our core values and mission.
By automating routine tasks and improving efficiency, we can reallocate resources to training and supporting more Telephone Crisis Supporters — ensuring our service continues to grow and evolve with the community’s needs. Thanks to Robbie, Ondine, and the rest of the team, we are freeing up time and resources to focus on what matters most—being there for people in crisis.
46,167
Calls Answered
57
Students commenced training as crisis supporters
OUR
IMPACT
Educate Community
Showing, Not Just Telling
This year has been transformative. From Palm Beach to Kirribilli, we’ve reimagined how we educate and connect with our community.
A major milestone was the extension of our name—Lifeline Northern Beaches, Mosman to Kirribilli—to truly reflect the breadth of our services and the communities we serve. This change ensures everyone knows: we’re here for you.
Our impact spans three service locations, 10 retail stores, 4 Book Fairs, and outreach programs supporting organisations like LocalKind and Northern Beaches Women’s Shelter. Every initiative brings us closer to those who need us most across the Northern Beaches and Lower North Shore.
And we didn’t just share numbers—we shared stories. Thanks to local production company Laundry Lane, we captured the heart behind the stats: lives changed, volunteers rewarded, counsellors and crisis supporters driven by passion. These stories embody what we stand for—connection, courage, and hope.
Building Community Through Lifeline Classic Events
This year, we continued to build our suite of “Lifeline Classic” events — a growing series that celebrates our community. The Lifeline Classic brand is unique to Lifeline Northern Beaches, Mosman to Kirribilli, and unites our signature events under one banner, strengthening recognition, connection, and our presence in the community.
Community Partnerships: Built on Shared Purpose
Partnerships aren’t transactions—they’re built on shared values, a passion for community, and a commitment to doing the hard work together. These collaborations help us reach those most at risk.
Retail that Builds Community
Our retail team continues to lead with heart and purpose — celebrating over 160 years of combined volunteer service and receiving the Sophie Scamps Volunteer Recognition Award. From inclusive school-based pop-ups to corporate engagement and the launch of The Hub, our retail spaces are evolving into vibrant centres of training, creativity, and community connection.
Targeted Outreach, Timely Support: Using Social Media to Respond to Local Needs
With suicide rates higher than average on the Northern Beaches, geo-targeted social media campaigns have emerged as a vital tool in promoting mental health awareness, encouraging help-seeking behaviour, and providing timely access to support services. These campaigns deliver tailored, location-specific messaging that fosters hope, educates communities, and connects individuals to appropriate care — particularly during periods of heightened distress or following critical incidents.
Growing Together: Expanding Education and Deepening Community Impact
In 2024-25 Community Education and Training saw a 33% increase in clients and workshops, with 40 Workshops supporting over 638 participants. Speech Pathology Australia, Mosman and the Northern Beaches Councils continued as long serving customers of ours with annual education and training programs for staff and members delivered by Lifeline Northern Beaches, Mosman to Kirribilli.
More than Books: A Celebration of Our Community
Every Book Fair hosted by Lifeline Northern Beaches, Mosman to Kirribilli tells a story of community, compassion, and connection.
15,000
Visitors to our Book Fairs
40
Workplace and Community Training Workshops Held
OUR
IMPACT
Reduce Drivers of Distress
Suicide Prevention Collaborative
Lifeline Northern Beaches, Mosman to Kirribilli is a core member of the Northern Sydney Suicide Prevention Collaborative and the Northern Beaches Suicide Prevention working group. We collaborated closely with other local health agencies and services to develop a suicide prevention Theory of Change and Monitoring & Evaluation Framework.
The theory of change sets out how suicide prevention outcomes will be achieved by shifting systems, strengthening communities and embedding lived experience across all activities.
This framework provides the mechanism to monitor and evaluate progress towards our joint goal of reducing stigma, providing a community ecosystem of support and safer environments to reduce deaths by suicide in our area.
Alignment to National Suicide Prevention Strategy
The National Suicide Prevention Office released the National Suicide Prevention Strategy 2025-2035 in January this year. The strategy identifies that the social determinants of suicide are equally important to individual risk factors.
Lifeline Northern Beaches, Mosman to Kirribilli’s strategy and community programs are aligned to the national strategy and designed to provide prevention and support to those that at risk of suicide. Our programs stretch along the continuum of wellbeing, primary prevention, early intervention, intervention and postvention & aftercare to provide support to people experiencing suicidal distress, suicidal thoughts and for those who care for them.
Our programs target education & stigma, help-seeking, financial distress, loneliness, relationship breakdown, grief & loss, bereavement support and mental health challenges as well as the crisis support line 13 11 14 in order to keep people safe from suicide.
Our Counselling Service
Life can be unpredictable and challenging. Experiences such as grief, relationship breakdown, financial hardship, and social isolation can leave individuals feeling overwhelmed, disconnected, and uncertain about how to cope.
Empowering Recovery Through Connection and Care
Lifeline Northern Beaches, Mosman to Kirribilli counselling team has delivered the Adult Survivors of Childhood Abuse and Trauma (ASCA) and Seasons for Growth groups in response to a demonstrated and ongoing need for safe, structured support programs that address trauma, grief, and emotional wellbeing, while helping to reduce key drivers of distress within the community.
Restoring Safety and Hope Through Financial Counselling
A young man called on a Wednesday, gently encouraged by his employer to seek financial counselling support. A debt collector had come to his workplace, and his wages were being garnished — leaving him with just $500 a week. It wasn’t enough to cover rent, and he was at risk of losing his home.
Aged Care Volunteer Visitor Scheme
An aged care resident at Collaroy, was matched with an ACVVS Volunteer through Lifeline Northern Beaches, Mosman to Kirribilli in July 2023 after expressing feelings of loneliness. Though supported by staff and occasional family visits, the resident felt increasingly isolated.
1,634
total individual counselling sessions
85%
of reasons for seeking help were known risk factors for suicide
OUR
IMPACT
Intervention and Postvention
Bondi Response – One Year Evaluation
In April 2024, Lifeline Northern Beaches, Mosman to Kirribilli counsellors and the Community Critical Incident Response (CCIR) Team provided on-site psychological support at Westfield Shopping Centre during the one-year anniversary of a tragic incident. Over four days, they offered a calm and compassionate space for staff, retailers and visitors grappling with the emotional weight of the anniversary.
This initiative reinforced the importance of accessible mental-health support in public spaces — especially around anniversaries of significant events. It allowed for gentle check-ins, early identification of individuals in distress, and underscored that help is available. Key outcomes included emotional support for those still affected, identification of distress, and normalising mental-health conversations.
In early FY 2025 an independent evaluation of Lifeline’s response to the Bondi critical incident was conducted by a psychologist with expertise in disaster response and crisis intervention. The evaluation included two focus groups involving 14 Critical Incident Responders from two Lifeline centres. Key insights were gathered around preparation, response, outcomes, and recommendations. The findings highlighted that the established protocol provided a clear and effective framework for interactions, ensuring consistency across centres. Lifeline’s CARE framework was instrumental in facilitating engagement and reducing barriers, ultimately encouraging conversations around strengths, protective factors, and coping strategies.
Recommendations included ongoing training for Critical Incident Responders, dedicated team leader development, a platform for real-time communication, and a register of screened responders ready for deployment. The community was highly receptive to the Lifeline brand, and the trained volunteer model was deemed well-suited for face-to-face responses to critical incidents.
The independent evaluator described the Critical Community Incident Response (CCIR) as a “highly valuable and world-class response.”
OUR
VOLUNTEERS
“Thank you for bringing safety, connection and hope to our community.”
— Roberta, Volunteer
Community Group of the Year
Our Book Fair Volunteers were presented with the Community Group of the Year Award at the 2025 Northern Beaches Council Australia Day Awards. This award recognized their tireless work organizing and running popular book fairs that raise vital funds for Lifeline’s local mental health services. The group was praised for its dedication, community impact, and for providing an inclusive environment for over 100 volunteers.
Making A Difference
Behind every call to Lifeline is a network of compassionate individuals quietly making a difference. In 2025, we recognised two extraordinary volunteers — Robin Wheatley and Will Deer — whose dedication, resilience, and leadership continue to shape the heart of our Crisis Support Centre and the wider community.
Years of Service
This year, we proudly recognise the incredible dedication of our volunteers who have reached milestone years of service. Their unwavering commitment continues to shape Lifeline Northern Beaches, Mosman to Kirribilli into a place of compassion, connection, and hope for our community
OUR STRATEGIC PRIORITIES
OUR
THANKS
Thank you to our lifeline – all our donors, fundraisers, and supporters.
We raise ~ 80% of our own funding and could not deliver our charitable purpose without the support of an amazing group of people and organisations.
FINANCIAL
PERFORMANCE
Message from Our Treasurer
For the 2024/25 Financial Year, Lifeline Northern Beaches Mosman to Kirribilli reported an operating deficit of $536,806.
This year has been a challenging one for the not-for-profit sector, with a continuation of last year’s themes of rising business costs, increasing wages to ensure we continue to pay our staff fairly with the rising cost of living, and increasing competition in the retail donations space. We set ourselves ambitious income growth targets via our multi-year “invest to grow” strategy, which is starting to yield returns with growth in the philanthropy and fundraising space. Our Board Strategy Day early in 2025 identified the need to further invest in digital transformation of the organisation, to enable us to engage more effectively with potential donors and therefore increase our income to further support help seekers in our community.
Our retail stores continue to be the largest contributor to our revenue, with income of $3.8m for FY24/25. The book fairs also contributed $633K to our income, beating budget by $110K. Our overall income was up $687K this year, a fantastic result achieved by the tireless hard work, dedication and innovation of the entire team. We saw increases of $650K in expenses, driven by staffing costs (reflecting higher costs of living) and rental cost increases. The impact of higher-than-expected costs has resulted in an operating deficit for the year.
Our balance sheet remains strong, with $2.7 million in cash and term deposits as of June 30. Long term financial stability remains a key focus, especially amid ongoing economic uncertainty. This solid position has enabled Lifeline Northern Beaches, Mosman to Kirribilli to meet challenges without impacting our employees or volunteers.
I would like to sincerely thank the entire Lifeline Northern Beaches Mosman to Kirribilli team for their dedication, passion and hard work, which led to income growth despite a tough economic climate – an achievement that has allowed us to better support help seekers across our community.
As the Chair of the Finance and Risk Committee, I would additionally like to extend my thanks to our Board Chair Alistair Carmichael, incoming Board Treasurer Dan Gaffney, Board Director Carol Lydford, CEO Sarah Grattan and COO Sarah Watts for their support in the Finance & Risk Committee meetings throughout the year.
Claire Bodenes, Outgoing Treasurer
