Support Act, the only active charity providing crisis relief for musicians and music workers, turns 25 today. Originally launched on 8 August 1997, the charity has been providing crisis relief and life-saving mental health and wellbeing support to thousands of people each year, along with services such as the Support Act Wellbeing Helpline, funeral support and more. Despite their 25th birthday, the concept that eventually morphed into Support Act was born much earlier in 1980, after key industry professionals realised that there was little to no support for people in the industry.
Jane English, one of the original founders of the charity, said, "It was at a dinner with Stevie Wright and John Bromell that the concept was born. After Stevie left, John said to me, ‘The music industry doesn't look after people like Stevie Wright. He has no money, he has no super. And yet he's taken Australian music to England and to Europe and has made a huge stamp on the world for Australian music. And the music industry should look after the Stevie Wrights of our world.’"
Musicians and industry workers, like Stevie Wright, often devote their lives to fostering and creating music that brings joy to thousands of lives across Australia. Without the work of Support Act, the Australian music industry would be a very different place. Particularly over the past two years, when the music industry was one of the hardest hit by the effects of the pandemic.
While the charity is relishing in their achievements this month, they are also acknowledging how far they have to go and have numerous plans to continue to achieve a safer and happier music industry. Those plans include extending crisis relief services to reach those who are ageing and lack a safety net for retirement; contributing to the promotion of mentally healthy workplaces through programming and the launch of their Minimum Standards for a Mentally Healthy Music Industry; supporting sustained culture and behavioural change in relation to Safety at Work issues; and undertaking regular research and mental health promotion.
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Additionally, Support Act will soon be announcing their inaugural First Nations Strategic Plan which has been designed in consultation with Elders and Indigenous leaders across the country and led by the organisation’s First Nations Community Engagement and Social Worker, Cerisa Benjamin.
The current CEO of Support Act, Clive Miller, has said: “It’s a major achievement for any organisation to reach 25 years old, so we’re thrilled to be able to celebrate this milestone and to acknowledge all of the directors, staff, donors, sponsors and other supporters who have helped to make Support Act what it is today.
“As the past couple of years have shown us, there has never been a greater need for our services, and we can all be proud of the way that the organisation has transformed itself from a relatively small charity to one that is providing a dynamic range of life-saving support services and programs for tens of thousands of music workers in need, helping to shape a more mentally healthy industry for the future."
