PeerChat FAQs
In this article we’ll cover:
About PeerChatAbout peer work and peer workersWhat to expect from your sessionPeerChat confidentiality General questionsTalking to someone about what’s really going on for you can be scary. Here’s what to expect from your PeerChat session, and other frequently asked questions about our safe and secure online text-based chat service.
About PeerChat
PeerChat is a one-on-one, text-based service between you and a ReachOut peer worker. It’s a safe and secure space to talk about what’s going on for you.
PeerChat is a safe, friendly and inclusive space for young people. We support people of all genders, First Nations young people, the LGBTQIA+ community, and neurodivergent and culturally and linguistically diverse young people.
PeerChat is a service for 16–25 year-olds living, studying or working in Australia. You don’t need a referral from a health-care professional or to have been diagnosed with a mental health issue to use PeerChat.
We’re available Monday to Thursday 2.30–7.30 pm and Friday 12.30–4.30 pm, Sydney time.
No. Just click Chat to a peer worker on the PeerChat page during our operating hours and you’re in the queue.
Yes. Peer workers are available to chat during our operating hours. If it’s outside of those hours and you’re experiencing a crisis and need to talk to somebody right now, go to our Urgent Help page to find additional support services.
Yes, it’s completely free!
Chat sessions are 45 minutes, starting from when you’re connected to a peer worker. You can end the chat earlier if you want.
About peer work and peer workers
Peer workers are real people. We use our own experiences of mental health challenges as young people to help us understand and support others. We’re here to listen to you, explore your situation, and help you to come up with ways to manage what you’re going through.
ReachOut's peer workers are trained to support young people to feel heard and understood and to gain clarity around what you’re dealing with. This includes training in mental health first aid. We use what we’ve learnt from our own experiences to hear what you’re saying and support you when you need help.
Peer workers aren’t clinical professionals, like psychologists or psychiatrists, so we aren’t here to diagnose you or to provide long-term support.
Chats with a peer worker are guided by what you want to discuss. For example, you might want to talk about:
where to find the right help and support
romantic relationships
friends and family
anxiety, depression and mental wellbeing
school, study and work stress
alcohol or other substance use
work, school or uni/TAFE
gender, sexuality and cultural identity.
We want to keep PeerChat a safe space for both young people and peer workers, so there are some topics we can’t discuss. Abusive, inappropriate or sexually explicit chats aren’t allowed on our platform. If you use abusive or inappropriate language towards a peer worker, we have the right to end the chat.
PeerChat isn’t a crisis service. If you need urgent support, we’ll try to connect you with appropriate support services.
Peer workers aren’t able to provide a clinical diagnosis, medical advice or legal services because that’s not our area of expertise.
Instead, we’re here to empathise with you, to help you explore your situation, and to support you in coming up with strategies to effectively manage challenges.
Peer workers are assigned to chat sessions based on availability, so you can’t choose who you’ll talk with.
There are no restrictions on how many chat sessions you can have, but we recommend limiting them to one a week.
Keep in mind that PeerChat isn’t intended to be a long-term solution. If you’re looking for regular, recurring counselling, we can help you to find services that better suit your needs.
What to expect from your session
A PeerChat session is a one-on-one chat between you and your peer worker. It’s a safe and secure space for you to talk about what’s going on for you.
You might feel nervous before you start. If you’re in a booked session, you can listen to some relaxing sounds or try a calming breathing exercise before your chat, if you feel this will be helpful.
If you’re using PeerChat on demand, you can talk to someone immediately. If you’re in a booked chat, you can start when you’re ready.
You can let your peer worker know if you ever need a short pause to think.
To start your chat, click Chat to a peer worker on the PeerChat page or the Chat now icon at the bottom right-hand side of your screen. Before we connect you to a peer worker, you’ll be asked for your age and phone number. You’ll then join the queue to be connected to a peer worker.
Typically, you’ll be able to start a chat immediately. However, depending on how busy it is, there might be a short wait.
We need your age to make sure that you’re within our 16–25 years service bracket. We’ll use your phone number to verify you’re a real person and to get in touch in case of an emergency.
Yes. Unless you had your chat in a private browser window, you should be able to go back and reread your chat transcript after it’s closed. You won’t be able to start the conversation again after it’s been closed.
PeerChat confidentiality
Yes. Only you and the peer workers can see your chat. Occasionally, peer work supervisors will monitor chats for training, quality and safety purposes.
We’ll take notes following your chat. These are stored in our secure database and can only be accessed by the PeerChat team.
Peer workers are mandatory reporters and might need to go outside of that confidentiality and disclose private information to emergency services if you or someone you know might be at risk of harm, or if required by law. See our Confidentiality and healthcare page for more details.
Peer workers are mandatory reporters regarding child protection issues. This means that if we feel there is a risk of harm to a young person under 18 (e.g. through abuse or neglect), we may have to make a child protection report as outlined by the mandatory reporting laws in each Australian state and territory.
We’ll let you know if we have to inform an external service or a child protection body. We may ask you to provide information to help us make the notification, such as your identifying information and your location detail. Breaking confidentiality doesn’t mean we don’t care about you. Notifications are made to help keep people safe.
If we suspect that you or someone you know might be at risk of harm, we will need to escalate the matter and disclose private information to emergency services. See our Confidentiality and healthcare page for more details.
A record of your chat is stored in our secure database. However, these records are only accessed in the case of an emergency.
We can’t guarantee that you will speak to the same peer worker again.
General questions
PeerChat is only available to young people living in Australia. This is because our knowledge of relevant laws, services, healthcare systems and other supports is Australia based. If you’re seeking help outside of Australia, here are some international services you can access:
Not at the moment. Peer workers are randomly assigned, so we can’t guarantee that the peer worker you get will be able to speak your preferred language.