Former ACT Greens leader Shane Rattenbury is Lifeline Canberra's CEO

Former ACT Greens leader Shane Rattenbury has been appointed as the new chief executive officer of Lifeline Canberra.

Mr Rattenbury announced he was retiring from politics in April, after more than 17 years in the Legislative Assembly.

He was the ACT's first dedicated mental health minister, serving in the role between 2016 and 2020 — a position he said has given him a clear understanding of Lifeline's purpose.

"This city is a terrific place, but underneath the fabulous side of Canberra there is real difficulty for people at times,"

Mr Rattenbury said.

"And certainly, my knowledge of the community, knowing people well, knowing the systems, means that with Lifeline I can really help guide the organisation through some of those things, but also think really carefully about what's needed next."

Lifeline Canberra reported a 61 per cent increase in calls for help in the 2025-26 financial year, a figure Mr Rattenbury called "concerning".

"It's great that Lifeline is there to take those calls, but it points to the fact that there is need in the community," he said.

"And so we need to make sure that we've got a great team of volunteers ready to take those calls, to make sure our volunteers are well trained and keep coming back to support the community.

"But also to think about what are the other services that can be offered that might help people, perhaps even before they get to that point of crisis."

Rattenbury: 'There is much more work to be done'

Lifeline Canberra Chair Warren Apps said he was unsurprised by the increased calls for help.

He said 20 per cent of Lifeline's calls were domestic violence-related and 15 per cent assisted with problem gambling.

"We tend to provide a frontline service across a wide range of social issues, and I think the last 12 months have been unsettling, not just for Canberrans, but for Australians and I think we're starting to see the impact of that," he said.

Mr Rattenbury said the ACT's mental health system had evolved over the last decade, but there was still work to do.

"The stigma, I think, has declined around people having mental health struggles, but there are still issues out there and there is much more work to be done," he said.

"We still don't treat mental health the way we would treat a physical injury.

"People don't always seek help, perhaps when they should, or as early as they might."

But Mr Apps said he was optimistic about Lifeline's future.

"I think we're in an incredible position to be able to do even more and become even more a central part of the mental health system in the ACT than we have even over recent years," he said. 

The role also wraps in responsibility for Lifeline Narrm, based in Melbourne.