KIDS Helpline needs an extra $4 million funding to cater for a rise in demand for youth counselling services.
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About 156,000 telephone calls and emails to the helpline went unanswered last year.
Kids Helpline chief executive Tracy Adams said more funding was needed to meet demand by increasing staff and investing in infrastructure, new programs and technologies.
“We encourage kids and young people to keep trying to contact us if they can’t get through, it is vitally important that they do, counsellors are available every hour of the day,” she said.
"We've got increasing numbers of young people reaching out to the service when they're in crisis, dealing with very significant issues and we do worry about that," she said.
Ms Adams said Kids Helpline is calling for more support from government, corporates and donors.
Visit www.kidshelp.com.au to donate.
