If you search for grief support in Australia after a death, you’ll usually be told two things: “Talk to someone” and “get support.” That can help — but it’s not the whole system.
A 2025 rapid scoping review in the Journal of Palliative Care mapped what grief and bereavement programs across Australia and New Zealand actually provide.
The result is that effective grief support is not one service. It is a set of components that work together—follow-up contact, coordination/navigation, peer support, information, referrals and risk checks, practical help, memorial and meaning-making supports, and the behind-the-scenes workforce pieces that keep services functioning.
If you’re a man who doesn’t feel confident talking about emotions—or you don’t have the words for what’s going on—this matters. If you’re living with grief or loss, you won’t need to “become good at feelings” before you can get support. You can start with action, clear information, and a simple structure.
Grief support isn’t one thing—it’s a system.
This matters because it shifts the frame: grief support isn’t just about individual therapy sessions—it’s also about coordinated systems people can actually access. Many people aren’t “avoiding help”; they’re trying to navigate a fragmented system at the exact moment their capacity is at its lowest.
The 11 components of grief support in Australia & NZ
Below are the eleven components the review found across programs. I’m writing them in plain language so you can recognise what you’re looking at when you see a service, a brochure, or a website.
1) Follow-up bereavement care (from health professionals)
Routine follow-up (often by phone) matters because people can feel distressed or abandoned when contact drops off after the death.
2) Counselling support
This includes individual or family counselling delivered through health and community services. It’s one component—useful for some people, not the only doorway.
3) Bereavement coordination (navigation and continuity)
This is the “someone helps you work out what’s next” piece: organising supports, connecting services, and reducing the burden of figuring it all out alone.
4) Peer support (lived experience support)
Support from others who have been through similar loss can land differently—less explaining, more recognition. Peer support shows up in multiple formats and settings.
5) Information about grief and loss
This includes education, written resources, guidance on what to expect, and signposting. For men who want something concrete first, information can be the entry point.
6) Referrals and risk assessment
Services may assess who needs what level of support and refer to specialist care when risk is higher. In one survey cited in the review, 66% of Australian palliative care services reported doing some assessment process, but only 16% used formal tools; 94% offered support to all bereaved people regardless.
7) Memorial services, rituals, and memory-making (mementos)
Ritual and remembrance aren’t “soft extras.” The review shows they’re a common and meaningful part of programs (and disruptions to rituals, such as during COVID restrictions, created added distress).
8) Other practical supports and informal emotional support
This includes practical help (meals, transport, and admin support) and informal care through friends, family, and community networks—often the real safety net when formal services are stretched.
9) Personnel (who delivers the support)
Programs rely on the right mix of roles—clinicians, coordinators, community workers, and volunteers—depending on the model and setting.
10) Staff training
Training shapes how well services respond, especially around screening, referral pathways, cultural safety, and communication with bereaved families.
11) Staff support
If the workforce is unsupported, services become brittle. Staff support is part of sustaining bereavement care, not an optional extra.
When counselling isn’t your first step: three valid entry points
If your first reaction is “I’m not a talk-therapy person,” you’re not alone. The review and your notes point to a broader support ecosystem—including community settings where support happens indirectly and without the formal feel.
Entry point 1: Navigation (coordination + information)
Start with a service that helps you map options and take one step. When you’re overloaded, decision-making is often the first thing to go.
Entry point 2: Peer/community spaces (lived experience + shared activity)
Peer support can be in-person groups, community settings, or formats that feel less exposed. For men, the Men’s Sheds are a classic example of action-oriented connection where support can occur without a “clinical” doorway.
Entry point 3: Practical help (admin load + daily functioning)
Sometimes the first support you need is help with the tasks: funeral planning, paperwork, meals, childcare, and household strain. Practical help reduces load—and once load drops, emotion becomes more manageable.
Not all men need the same level of grief support.
One of the most useful points in the review is this: services often attempt some form of risk assessment and referral, but formal tools are not consistently used, and support is frequently offered broadly.
Here’s the practical translation:
- Some people need information, follow-up, and community support.
- Some need structured peer support or counselling because their ability to manage daily life is dropping.
- Some need specialist clinical care because the risk is high or life is coming apart.
If you’re not sure where you fit, don’t overthink it. Use a simple test:
What is changing in my functioning?
- Sleep, concentration, patience, substance use, work performance, relationships, isolation, anger spikes, panic, or a sense of being “not safe in your own head.”
If functioning is sliding and staying down, it’s a sign to increase support, not rely on willpower.
A simple next-step decision to provide structure and support
- Choose one support in the next 7 days: information/navigation, peer/community support, or professional support.
- Make one contact: call, email, attend, or book.
Further Reading
If you would like to read more about understanding male grief and the Australian context, start here:
Male Grief in Australia: How Men Reclaim Themselves
If you’re in Perth
If you’re Perth-based and want practical help making sense of grief and loss, and figuring out your next step, peer-based mentoring can be crucial support.
Optional next step: Contact me, and we’ll map your next move.
Source:
Forsythe, D., & Davis, K. (2025). Components of grief and bereavement supports and programs in Australia and New Zealand: A rapid scoping review. Journal of Palliative Care, 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1177/08258597251392312