Telephone crisis support is provided via a network of Lifeline Centres maintained by trained volunteers and some paid staff.

[citation needed] Lifeline was founded in Sydney in 1963 by Alan Walker after a call from a distressed man who three days later took his own life.

A century old, dilapidated building owned by the Mission, on the fringes of downtown Sydney was renovated for the purposes of this new support centre.

[4] In January 1964, Lifeline was featured in an article in Time magazine,[5] which helped lead to the establishment of similar services around the world.

[citation needed] In 1994, Lifeline transitioned the 24-hour telephone crisis support line to a single national priority 13 number (13 11 14).

This allowed Lifeline to begin flowing calls nationally over a wide area network, to be answered by the next available telephone support volunteer, anywhere in the country.

[2] In the 2023–2024 financial year, Lifeline reported an income stream consisting of 81% from grants and fundraising ($93,181,268), sale of goods and services at 9% ($10,775,405) and 8% from other sources.