In 1992, a group of pioneering agencies came together to form what would become the Forum of Australian Services for Survivors of Torture and Trauma (FASSTT). Rooted in the principles of human rights, social justice, and culturally safe healing, the network’s purpose was clear: to ensure that those who had endured torture and the trauma of persecution and forced displacement could access the support they needed to recover, rebuild, and belong.

Three decades on, this vision remains both vital and urgent. Australia has resettled hundreds of thousands of refugees from more than 120 countries, each carrying the scars of war, systemic violence, and shattered homes. For many, this includes torture, sexual violence, imprisonment, forced family separation, loss of loved ones, experiences of statelessness, communal violence, deprivation of education and other adverse childhood experiences. Recovery is not linear. It is slow, complex, and shaped by cultural, psychological, physiological, and social realities.

The Forum of Australian Services for Survivors of Torture and Trauma (FASSTT) is the only nationally coordinated, place-based network in Australia solely dedicated to supporting people from refugee backgrounds who have experienced torture and trauma.

FASSTT agencies are not just service providers, they are national specialists in refugee trauma recovery. Unlike generalist mental health or community services, they offer care that is trauma-focused, culturally grounded, clinically informed, and built around the complex and enduring realities of refugee communities.