Dads in Distress has been keeping dads alive and in their kids lives since Fathers Day, 1999.

We provide 100% free, confidential and non judgemental support to dads who are going through or have gone through separation – in particular, separation from their kids. All of the team at Dads in Distress are peers, dads who’ve been through it themselves. We get the issues and we know what it feels like to be in this situation. You might feel isolated, anxious, depressed, hopeless. You might have suicidal thoughts, which is not all that unusual when the situation seems overwhelming. Our team, having been there, can appreciate where you’re at and be there to listen and provide you useful pointers that make this more manageable. Common issues and questions we get at our support groups include the likes of:

• Are my kids being alienated from me?
• How do I get legal help?
• What is the court process?
• I’m struggling with child support payments
• The contact order is being broken / ignored
• I can’t sleep and its ruining my life / career
• How does mediation work
• I’m being accused of horrific things I’ve not done
• Allegations are isolating me from my friends and family
• How do I self-represent
• I feel isolated / hopeless
• I don’t know how to communicate with the mum of our kids without it going off the rails
• All the above and many many more

If this sounds like you then, you’re in the right place and we can help.

Support groups: DIDs provides support in a number of ways, the main of which are peer support groups that run in different locations around Australia and online each week. These are drop in so there’s no need to book, prepare or pay, just drop in to your local group or click the link to join one of our online groups at the start times shown. In both cases, don’t be late as we kick off on time. These groups are generally 2hrs long and you’ll have the opportunity to talk to other dads, like you, confidentially and to hear the wisdom and insight of the other dads around issues that you’re struggling with.

Workshops: We also operate regular free workshops (100% confidential) with external ‘dad friendly’ experts such as lawyers, police officers and psychologists who can answer your questions in a safe space.

Helpline: Last, but not least, we operate our helpline on 1300 853 437 open 7 days a week, 9am-5pm AET (or check linked calendar linked for times in your timezone). The helpline can be busy but if you are prompted to leave a voicemail, please do so because we can see your call but we are probably tied up on another one right there and then – we will call you back quickly.

All of our DIDs support is listed in our calendar. Click on any entry to expand it and see more detail such as the meeting address or to get the link to join an online meeting.