Survivors of Torture and Trauma Assistance and Rehabilitation Service

What Survivors of Torture and Trauma Assistance and Rehabilitation Service does

STTARS (Survivors of Torture and Trauma Assistance and Rehabilitation Service Inc) is an Adelaide-based, non-government, non-profit community organisation founded in 1990 to provide specialised trauma rehabilitation services for survivors of torture, persecution, war and human rights violations who have settled in South Australia. Operating from its head office at 81 Angas Street in Adelaide CBD, plus additional offices in Salisbury and Mount Gambier with regular outreach to Naracoorte and Bordertown, the organisation serves over 1,500 individuals annually from more than 60 ethnic and cultural backgrounds, including asylum seekers, people from refugee backgrounds, children and young people, and broader CALD communities with mental health or chronic pain needs.

The service portfolio centres on individual and family counselling using a trauma-informed, phased approach that integrates body and mind modalities, supplemented by a Medicare-funded Refugee Mental Health Clinic (Better Access initiative), casework advocacy for housing, income and legal needs, group programs, community development initiatives, refugee health nursing (including the Adelaide Refugee and New Arrival Program in partnership with the Australian Refugee Association), the PHN-funded Thrive and Connect Program for adults from CALD backgrounds, and the Multicultural Wellbeing Program for chronic pain management. Professional Development Workshops ($250/hour to $1,500/day) are offered on a fee-for-service basis to other organisations. There is no proprietary technology product; service delivery relies on qualified multidisciplinary staff, many from refugee backgrounds, with professional interpreters provided free of charge.

The business model is predominantly grant-funded, with the majority of revenue derived from the Australian Government Department of Health, SA Health and the Adelaide Primary Health Network. Direct client services are provided free of charge. Supplementary income streams are immaterial in scale, comprising $25 annual membership subscriptions, fee-for-service training, and donations processed through the GiveNow platform. STTARS is the South Australia member of the FASSTT national network and a member of the IRCT international network, and is governed by an independent board chaired since 2024 by John Haren.

Name

Survivors of Torture and Trauma Assistance and Rehabilitation Service

Legal name

Survivors of Torture and Trauma Assistance and Rehabilitation Service Inc

Website

https://sttars.org.au

Company type

Private

Founded year

1990

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

STTARS is a South Australian non-profit, founded in 1990, providing free trauma-informed counselling, mental health, refugee health nursing and casework services to over 1,500 survivors of torture and refugee-background clients annually, funded primarily by Australian government grants.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Trauma Rehabilitation and Counselling Services

NAICS

Other Individual and Family Services (624190), Individual and Family Services (6241), Vocational Rehabilitation Services (624310)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Misc Health & Allied Services, Nec (8090), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYBPAGAEAI

Refugee & Immigrant Support Services

Business & Public Services/Nonprofit, NGO & Social Services/Social Services & Community Support (Food, Housing, Family)

SECONDARYBPAGACAD

Mental Health & Crisis Support Services

Business & Public Services/Nonprofit, NGO & Social Services/Health & Medical Nonprofits

SECONDARYBPAGAEAH

Mental Health & Crisis Support Services

Business & Public Services/Nonprofit, NGO & Social Services/Social Services & Community Support (Food, Housing, Family)

SECONDARYEDAJAGAH

Newcomer & Refugee Student Support Programs

Education/K–12 / Primary & Secondary Education/K–12 Special Programs (Gifted, ESL/ELL, Remedial, RTI/MTSS)

Keywords

• Trauma rehabilitation services
• Refugee mental health
• Counselling and therapy
• Community health support
• Professional development training

Headquarters

HQ city

Adelaide

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices6 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Government Funding: Majority of funding from Australian Government Department of Health, SA Health, and Adelaide Primary Health Network
2. Membership Fees: Ordinary Members pay $25.00 annual membership subscription
3. Professional Development Training: Fee-for-service training provided to organisations: $250 per hour, $800 half-day, $1500 full-day workshop. Short information sessions under 2hrs provided free of charge in limited circumstances.
4. Donations: Donations accepted via GiveNow platform

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

STTARS provides specialised, trauma-informed rehabilitation and counselling services for survivors of torture and trauma from refugee, asylum seeker, and migrant backgrounds in South Australia. Core services include individual and family counselling, a Medicare-funded Refugee Mental Health Clinic, casework advocacy, group programs, community development, refugee health nurse programs, and chronic pain and mental health programs for culturally and linguistically diverse communities. Services are free, confidential, voluntary, and supported by qualified multilingual staff and professional interpreters.

Product overview

STTARS is a non-government, not-for-profit organization providing specialized rehabilitation services for survivors of torture and trauma. The organization operates as a service provider rather than a technology product company, offering a coordinated suite of interconnected services centered on trauma-informed counselling (individual, family, child/youth, and asylum seeker-specific), supplemented by the Refugee Mental Health Clinic providing Medicare-funded clinical services, Casework for advocacy, Group Work programs, Community Development initiatives, and the Refugee Health Nurse Programs (including ARANAP). The Thrive and Connect Program and Multicultural Wellbeing Program address mental health and chronic pain needs for CALD communities. Professional Development Workshops extend capacity-building to other service providers. Services are free, confidential, voluntary, and include interpreter access, with locations in Adelaide CBD, Salisbury, and regional offices in Mount Gambier with outreach to Naracoorte and Bordertown.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Counselling Services Individual and family counselling for survivors of torture and trauma, including specialised streams for children and young people, asylum seekers, and regional/rural clients. Delivered via a phased, trauma-informed approach integrating body and mind modalities, with interpreters always available and services provided free of charge.
• Refugee Mental Health Clinic Medicare-funded mental health services providing access to psychiatrists, psychologists and mental health social workers with specialist expertise for asylum seekers and people from refugee backgrounds under the Better Access to Mental Health Care initiative.
• Casework Services Advocacy and practical support services addressing welfare and material needs alongside therapeutic issues, including assistance with housing, income, legal crises, and navigation of health and welfare systems.
• Multicultural Wellbeing Program A holistic wellbeing program for culturally and linguistically diverse groups focused on chronic pain management through education, movement, and mindfulness activities.
• Thrive and Connect Program PHN-funded specialist mental health care services providing low-intensity support through bicultural peer support workers and clinical care coordination by mental health clinicians for adults aged 18+ from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds experiencing distress or mental health challenges.
• Group Work Programs Regular group gatherings for socialization, activities, psycho-education, skill development, problem discussion, and coping strategies, using interpreters as required with childcare available.
• Community Development Capacity-building initiatives that leverage refugee connections, strengths, and resilience to help communities collectively overcome trauma, with partnership projects for events and initiatives supporting survivors.
• Refugee Health Nurse Programs (incl. ARANAP) Health advocacy, support, and education services for migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers, including health assessments, appointment accompaniment, and capacity-building with healthcare providers. Includes ARANAP, run in partnership with the Australian Refugee Association to help refugees and new arrivals within five years of residency access healthcare services.
• Professional Development Workshops Fee-for-service training sessions for organisations and individuals working with refugees, including 'Core Concepts in Working With People from Refugee Backgrounds', 'Responding to Refugee Related Distress', 'Working with Interpreters', and 'Coming In: Inclusive Practice Strategies'. Priced at $250/hour, $800 for a half-day, and $1,500 for a full-day workshop.
• Children and Young People Services Specialist child and youth counselling and advocacy services delivered holistically onsite and through outreach, including school-based counselling, therapeutic groups, and school holiday activities.
• Asylum Seeker Support Individual counselling support for asylum seekers focused on coping with and containing trauma-related symptoms, building resilience, and providing practical needs assistance regardless of visa status.
• Regional Services Counselling and support services for rural and regional areas including Mount Gambier, Naracoorte, and Bordertown, with individual/family counselling, group programs, education, training, and secondary consultations.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 1,500 people from 60+ ethnic and cultural backgrounds served annually

Named customers1 record

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Forum of Australian Services for Survivors of Torture and Trauma (FASSTT)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSTTARS is the FASSTT agency for South Australia. FASSTT is a network of Australia's eight specialist rehabilitation agencies working with survivors of torture and trauma. STTARS participates in national coordination, advocacy, and knowledge sharing through this network.
• International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims (IRCT)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSTTARS is a member of the IRCT, an international network providing membership, standards, and resources for torture rehabilitation centres globally. Contact: +45 44 40 18 30, [email protected]
• Australian Refugee Association (ARA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerARANAP (Adelaide Refugee and New Arrival Program) is run in partnership with ARA. ARA Bicultural Support Workers play a vital role in bridging cultural understanding between health systems and clients.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves12 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims (IRCT): IRCT is the global umbrella body of which STTARS is a member. It provides standards, advocacy, and grantmaking for torture rehabilitation centres worldwide, representing an institutional peer and upstream network partner rather than a direct service competitor.
• Asylum Seeker Resource Centre (ASRC): ASRC is Australia's largest asylum seeker support organisation, providing food, housing, legal, medical, and mental health services. While broader in scope than STTARS, it serves overlapping client populations and operates in a comparable grant- and donation-funded NFP model.
• Multicultural Mental Health Australia (MMHA): MMHA is a national peak body supporting culturally and linguistically diverse mental health policy and practice. It overlaps with STTARS on CALD mental health advocacy and capacity-building but operates as a broader network rather than a direct service provider.

Direct peers

• Phoenix Centre (Western Australia): Phoenix Centre is the FASSTT member for Western Australia, delivering specialist torture and trauma counselling and rehabilitation services. Comparable to STTARS in client focus, funding model, and multidisciplinary service mix.
• STARTTS (NSW Service for the Treatment and Rehabilitation of Torture and Trauma Service): STARTTS is the FASSTT agency for NSW and the largest specialist torture and trauma rehabilitation service in Australia. It offers counselling, group work, training, and research programs for refugee survivors — directly comparable to STTARS in scope and target population.
• Companion House (ACT): Companion House is the FASSTT agency for the ACT and provides torture and trauma counselling, advocacy, and settlement support to refugees and asylum seekers — a near-identical service model to STTARS in a smaller jurisdiction.
• Foundation House (Victorian Foundation for Survivors of Torture): Foundation House is STTARS's direct counterpart in Victoria and the largest FASSTT member nationally. It provides an almost identical suite of services (counselling, advocacy, training, policy) for refugee survivors of torture and trauma, making it the closest comparable on mission, funding model, and service mix.
• QPASTT (Queensland Program of Assistance to Survivors of Torture and Trauma): QPASTT is the FASSTT member for Queensland. It provides counselling, advocacy, and community development for refugees and asylum seekers, operating with the same specialist torture-trauma remit as STTARS but at a different state-level scale.

Others

• Refugee Health Network of Australia: Refugee Health Network of Australia is a national umbrella coordinating refugee health practice and policy. It is adjacent to STTARS's refugee health nurse programs (including ARANAP) as a network and policy partner rather than a competing service provider.

Regional players

• Australian Refugee Association (ARA): ARA is STTARS's co-delivery partner on the ARANAP program and a broader refugee settlement NGO in South Australia. While it focuses more on settlement, employment, and advocacy than clinical trauma services, it shares the same mission, client base, and South Australian geographic footprint.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/sttarsSA
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sttars

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles24 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Survivors of Torture and Trauma Assistance and Rehabilitation Service