Every day, people in distress access services provided by the NSW Government. These people include customers experiencing high levels of stress, challenging mental health issues and thoughts of suicide. Each of these interactions is an opportunity to reduce a customer’s distress and give them practical assistance. However, there is limited evidence about the staff behaviours that make the biggest difference to customers in distress.

To address this gap, the NSW Government have conducted first-hand research with people with a lived experience of distress, industry and sector experts, and frontline government staff. This best practice guide contains the findings of that research.