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About FASSTT – The National Representative Body

The Forum of Australian Services for Survivors of Torture and Trauma (FASSTT) is the national representative body and network of eight specialist refugee torture and trauma recovery agencies.

FASSTT is both an organisation and a network – a collective of expertise and experience that informs national policy, systems design, and refugee trauma recovery practice across Australia.

While the eight FASSTT member agencies deliver direct support to individuals, families, and communities, FASSTT the organisation leads national coordination, policy engagement, research, and systems advocacy. We work to ensure that the lessons learned from local practice shape national reform, and that survivors’ voices remain central to how services and systems evolve.

Our Vision

A world free from torture and trauma, where the human rights of all people are protected.  In Australia, we envision a society where survivors of refugee-related torture and trauma can heal, belong and thrive in safety and dignity.

Our Strategic Focus

Grounded in human rights, cultural responsiveness, and lived experience, FASSTT’s national strategy focuses on:

  • Strengthening access to safe, effective, and culturally responsive trauma recovery services in every state and territory
  • Embedding survivor voice in service design, research, and policy
  • Building network capacity through collaboration, innovation, and workforce development
  • Driving system reform to ensure responses are equitable, coordinated, and trauma-informed
  • Promoting healing, belonging, and justice at individual, community, and systemic levels

Our Role in the National System

FASSTT works in partnership with government, academia, and civil society to strengthen the systems that support recovery.
We represent the collective knowledge of Australia’s specialist torture and trauma recovery services, advocating for national policies that uphold the rights, dignity, and wellbeing of survivors.

Our work ensures that recovery is understood not only as an individual process, but as a shared responsibility of the systems that surround survivors – including health, mental health, education, housing, employment, and community life.

Collaborate with Us
For collaboration or engagement related to policy, research, or systems advocacy, please contact:  admin@fasstt.org.au

Learn More
To learn about the eight agencies that make up our national network, visit Get Support > What FASSTT Agencies Do?

About the FASSTT Network – A National Network of Specialist Agencies

The Forum of Australian Services for Survivors of Torture and Trauma (FASSTT) brings together eight specialist agencies that provide recovery services for people who have survived torture and refugee trauma.

Each agency is a recognised expert in refugee trauma recovery, delivering a continuum of care that supports individuals, families, and communities to heal and rebuild their lives after experiences of persecution, displacement, and loss.

Together, these agencies form a national trauma recovery network with a shared vision, shared principles, and a commitment to collective learning and action.

Our Member Agencies

FASSTT agencies operate in every state and territory of Australia:

  • ASeTTS – Association for Services to Torture and Trauma Survivors (Western Australia)
  • Companion House – Assisting Survivors of Torture and Trauma (Australian Capital Territory)
  • Foundation House – Victorian Foundation for Survivors of Torture (Victoria)
  • Melaleuca Australia – Refugee Centre for Survivors of Torture and Trauma (Northern Territory)
  • Phoenix Centre – Migrant Resource Centre Tasmania (Tasmania)
  • QPASTT – Queensland Program of Assistance to Survivors of Torture and Trauma (Queensland)
  • STARTTS – NSW Service for the Treatment and Rehabilitation of Torture and Trauma Survivors (New South Wales)
  • STTARS – Survivors of Torture and Trauma Assistance and Rehabilitation Service (South Australia)

Our Shared Approach

Across all agencies, FASSTT’s work is grounded in:

  • Human rights and social justice
  • Cultural responsiveness and community engagement
  • Lived experience and survivor voice
  • Whole-of-system collaboration and advocacy
  • Trauma-informed, recovery-oriented practice

This shared framework recognises that recovery is not only about healing the effects of trauma, but also about rebuilding safety, belonging, dignity, and hope.

Working Together

Through FASSTT, the eight agencies collaborate on national initiatives, workforce development, research, policy reform, and systems advocacy.

The network’s strength lies in its ability to translate local knowledge into national insight – ensuring that service systems across Australia remain responsive to the realities of refugee experiences and the long-term journey of recovery.

A Survivor-Centred Network

FASSTT exists because survivors have trusted us with their stories, and in return, we build services that honour that trust.

Survivors are not peripheral to our work; they are its foundation. From the beginning, FASSTT has recognised that people who have experienced torture and trauma must be central to the systems that support recovery. The insights, resilience and leadership of survivors have shaped not only how we deliver services, but how we imagine a more just and healing future.

Across the network, lived experience is embedded through bicultural and peer roles, co-designed initiatives and programs that respect cultural knowledge and personal agency. Recovery is not something done to people – it is something built with them. This ethos strengthens relevance, deepens trust and ensures dignity remains at the heart of every interaction.

What the FASSTT Network Does

FASSTT has existed as a national network since 1992. While each FASSTT agency delivers local services tailored to the needs of their communities, the FASSTT network operates as a united, national system of care for survivors of torture and trauma.

Together, the FASSTT network:

  • Shares expertise and best practice across states and territories
  • Develops nationally consistent, trauma-informed service approaches
  • Builds workforce capacity through joint training and practice development
  • Contributes to evidence-informed care
  • Advocates for the rights and needs of survivors at local, state and national levels
  • Amplifies the voices of people with lived experience of torture, trauma and displacement
  • Strengthens service coordination and cross-sector collaboration across Australia.

This national collaboration ensures that wherever survivors settle, they can access high-quality, culturally safe support, and that their experiences inform systems and policies that impact their lives.