Our history Lifeline has been operating in Tasmania since 1973, commencing as two chapters (Lifeline North West and Lifeline Hobart), which merged in 2012 to form Lifeline Tasmania; a single organisation with state-wide reach and community connections. Lifeline Australia was founded by Dr. Rev. Sir Alan Walker in 1963 when he took a call from a distressed man who later took his own life. Determined not to let isolation and lack of support be the cause of more deaths, Sir Alan launched a 24-hour crisis support line, staffed by trained volunteers ready to help people at their moment of crisis. Lifeline’s services now operate from more than 40 locations nationally, with a presence in every State and Territory within Australia. This service (13 11 14) now answers around 3,000 calls each day in Australia, with around 125 calls from people at high risk of suicide. Dr. Rev. Sir Alan Walker Manage Cookie Preferences