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A call is made to the Kids Helpline every 80 seconds in Australia, equating to a devastating 330,000 cries for help from children around the country every year.
Despite the obvious demand, most of these calls will ring out unanswered.
It's a dire situation that mental health experts are desperately trying try to reverse, with a "serious funding shortfall" meaning that hundreds of thousands of Aussie children are "simply not getting the timely care they need".
READ MORE: Calls for help from Aussie kids as young as five soar as Lifeline reports unprecedented demand
Of the 328,424 young people who tried to contact the Kids Helpline in 2022, just 145,000 were connected to a counsellor.
That's just two in every five calls.
Tracy Adams, CEO of youth-focused mental health support organisation Yourtown, which operates the helpline, said immediate government funding is required to combat the skyrocketing volume of calls.
"As the prevalence of mental health and wellbeing related issues in childhood rises, the significant gap in accessing support deepens," Adams said.
Do you have a story? Contact reporter on jattanasio@nine.com.au
"Kids Helpline continues to be a critical safety net for children and young people, however we cannot keep pace with demand.
"As an organisation, we are doing the heavy lifting because the cost of mental health services for young people puts access out of reach for most – yet we are free and accessible."
Adams said if the government invested even a small amount of what they "pulled out of Medicare", the quality of life of the nation's at-risk kids would be "greatly impacted".
READ MORE: Experts warn cost of living distress may cause rise in suicide rate
"The Australian government's support to Kids Helpline is still an underspend, but we are doing our best," Adams.
"Often our professional counsellors are the last line of support, providing support 24 hours a day, seven days a week when there is limited after-hours mental health support available to children and young people."
Nearly 70 per cent of all counselling sessions are provided outside normal business hours, including late into the night and over the weekend.
"Kids Helpline is the safety net of youth mental health services in Australia," Adams said.
"Funding for Kids Helpline needs to be a priority for government, the current serious funding shortfall means that many children and young people are simply not getting the timely care they need."
Emotional wellbeing, mental health, family relationships and suicide were the top concerns for young people in 2022, with the average counselling session time being 44 minutes, and seven minutes for a non-counselling or referral contact.
Earlier this year, 9news.com.au also exclusively reported that calls for help from Aussie kids to Lifeline – as young as five – had soared
At around 9am each day, when parents set off to work and kids are left alone – either at home, school or anywhere else in between – traffic to the text line skyrockets, with volunteers within the organisation similarly unable to keep up with demand.
Data released in March revealed Lifeline had attracted some 26,000 searches for support, throughout the month of January alone, the highest ever to date.
Readers seeking support can contact Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800, Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636.
