Support
Access support
The Counselling team can help with a range of issues, such as:
- Feeling sad, anxious or stressed
- Difficulty with study, such as procrastination or perfectionism
- Anxiety about exams or presentations
- Missing home or difficulty meeting friends
- Having family or relationship difficulties
- Drug or alcohol use
- Experiencing a sexual assault
How we can help:
- We can provide meetings with a Wellbeing Advisor and/or Individual Counselling sessions.
- Wellbeing Advisors are health professionals who are experienced in helping students solve problems and find support, usually within a single session.
- We can provide supporting documentation for Adverse Circumstances.
- All appointments are offered via phone, zoom or in person.
- If you would like more than one session, a Wellbeing Advisor may refer you to our Counsellors.
- For legal reasons, you need to be located in Australia to access this support. If you are outside Australia, please see here.
- We also have a range of self-help information about common problems students face, such as procrastination or worry.
We also have a range of self-help information about common problems students face, such as procrastination or worry.
See our Frequently Asked Questions
Request an appointment at Student Wellbeing
To request an appointment with a Wellbeing Advisor or Counsellor please complete our online form.
Complete Online Form
Request for Supporting Documentation
If you require supporting documentation for adverse circumstances applications, but do not need any support from a Wellbeing Advisor or Counsellor, please complete this online form.
Complete Online Form
Contact us / Our locations
Frequently Asked Questions
Wellbeing Advisors are qualified health professionals who are the first point of contact for Student Wellbeing. During the appointment, the Wellbeing Advisor will spend about 30 minutes with you to get a good understanding of your concerns. They can provide advice to help you solve the issue, provide letters or documentation, or if needed they can help you find ongoing support.
The Wellbeing Advisor may suggest options such as seeing a Counsellor, going to a GP, or other services in the community that may be able to help. They may also link you in with other services such as AccessAbility or Learning and Development.
Our counsellors are clinical psychologists, psychologists, social workers, or occupational therapists who genuinely want to help you improve your wellbeing. They will work with you in a non-judgmental way, and which respects your values, culture, religion, and lifestyle choices.
The first session usually involves the Counsellor taking the time to get you know you and learning about what you would like help with. The Counsellor will ask you some questions and then work with you to develop a plan for how to help you achieve your goals. Counselling sessions take around 45-60 minutes.
Our counsellors can provide short-term support. If you need more ongoing or high frequency support, we can help you explore some alternative options.
If you are located within Australia, our Counsellors and Wellbeing Advisors are able to provide support via phone or Zoom.
If you have any technical difficulties connecting with the counsellor at the time of the appointment, you can call 02 4921 6622 for assistance.
Tips for online counselling:
- Make sure you are in a private location at the time of the appointment.
- Ensure you have access to a good internet connection. If your internet is not reliable, it may be better to request a phone call.
- Sometimes it can be more challenging to read body language and facial expressions over video, so if there are any misunderstandings, please let the clinician know.
- If you used text chat on Zoom, ensure you delete the saved chat from your computer (sometimes it is stored in ‘My Documents’ folder) after the session. This is to ensure the privacy of your information.
Contact with Student Wellbeing is confidential. This means that we cannot tell someone about your health and wellbeing without your permission, except in the following situations:
- If you have provided your consent for us to talk to someone
- If the University of Newcastle has a legal obligation (such as notes subpoenaed by a court)
- If there is an immediate threat of harm to someone, including yourself, that can only be managed by disclosing information
- When Student Wellbeing staff undertaking supervision or consultation (in this instance your identity and the identity of other parties involved will be hidden)
Academic staff will not know if you have attended Student Wellbeing unless you tell them. There will never be any sign on your academic transcript that you have had contact with Student Wellbeing.
If you have any concerns or would like more information about privacy, please email us at counselling@newcastle.edu.au
Life can be busy and plans can change. If you can no longer make it to your face to face or online appointment, please let us know by calling 02 4921 6622 or emailing counselling@newcastle.edu.au
If you are feeling unwell, we encourage you to remain at home and rest. You are welcome call us to change your appointment to a phone or online session.
We are open all year, except public holidays and the university close down period over Christmas. Any time that Student Wellbeing is not open, the UON After-Hours Support Line is available.
The clinic provides students with low fee support. Students can self-refer without the need for a mental health care plan from their doctor and have access to 12+ sessions.
There is a medical centre staffed by doctors and nurses at our Newcastle (Callaghan) and Central Coast (Ourimbah) campuses. Students covered by Medicare are bulk billed. International students covered by Allianz Care Australia, Medibank Private, ahm, BUPA and nib are directly billed to their insurer.
At the Callaghan clinic, students with a current Mental Health Care Plan from a doctor are able to see a bulk billing psychologist.
Chaplains offer compassionate help in all situations and support the spiritual life of the University community – but you do not need to belong to a religious group to see a chaplain. Chaplains are experienced, credentialed religious-workers who are authorised by their faith tradition to provide support and guidance.
This service is operated by a team of qualified crisis support specialists who can support you to find relief from distress, explore coping strategies, and find pathways to support.
The phone line operates between 5pm to 9am weekdays and 24 hours on weekends, public holidays, and university close down periods.
Call 1300 653 007 or SMS 0488 884 165 for chat option
This peer-to-peer service, offers students a safe and engaging platform to support mental health and wellbeing. The free app offers immediate, 24/hr access to multilingual support.
Under Australian health regulatory law, our counsellors are unable to provide advice to, or undertake consultations with, students located outside Australia.
Here are some alternative options to help you with your mental health and wellbeing:
Medibank Health Insurance
Medibank has a 24/7 helpline and is available to all international students. The helpline has a dedicated multi-lingual team and can be contacted on 1800 887 283 (from within Australia) or +61 3 9862 1095 (from outside of Australia).
University of Newcastle Self-help resources
We provide a range of online self-help wellbeing resources designed to guide you through common academic and personal concerns.
This interactive online toolkit takes a positive approach to help students maintain their mental, physical, emotional, and financial wellbeing. You can access these modules anytime via CANVAS.
Mental Health Online is a website which provides free online treatment programs for issues including depression and anxiety. It can help you understand and address your needs through self-assessment, self-help and, if you choose, online professional support.
This peer support service provides a safe and engaging platform to support mental health and wellbeing. The free app offers immediate, 24/hr access to multilingual support.
Accessing local support in your current country of residence
- Befrienders connects you to help in your country and provides general mental health information.
- Suicide Stop connects you to relevant local suicide or self-harm hotlines, emergency numbers, crisis lines, wellbeing and mental health online chats, and resources for online therapy.
The University of Newcastle acknowledges the traditional custodians of the lands within our footprint areas: Awabakal, Darkinjung, Biripai, Worimi, Wonnarua, and Eora Nations. We also pay respect to the wisdom of our Elders past and present.