QPASTT

We’re proud to be part of the Steering Committee for the 2026 Multicultural Health Symposium, hosted by Metro South Health on 16–17 March, 2026. The symposium will bring together clinicians, researchers, policymakers and community leaders to share best practice, elevate lived experience, and co-design solutions that meet the needs of our diverse communities. With Queensland home to more than 300 languages and one in five residents born overseas, this two-day event is an important opportunity to strengthen equity, innovation and culturally responsive health care. If you’re committed to building a more inclusive and equitable health system, we invite you to join us. Registrations are now open, via https://lnkd.in/gHH3QSu4

This week, QPASTT joined our sister agencies from across Australia at Parliament House in Canberra to celebrate 30 years of the national Program of Assistance for Survivors of Torture and Trauma (PASTT). With reflections from Minister Mark Butler, Paris Aristotle AO (CEO of Foundation House), and survivors, the event honoured an internationally recognised model of trauma recovery - and the vision that trauma-focused, rights-based care must always be part of Australia’s humanitarian response. It was a privilege to have friend of QPASTT, Jasmina Joldić PSM, as MC, sharing her own story of displacement, belonging and hope: “After what seemed a lifetime of upheaval and displacement, Australia was the first place where we truly felt like we belonged... …FASSTT gives you that and more. It returns you, not to your home, but to yourself. And that is what matters.” Today, more than 120 million people are forcibly displaced worldwide - the highest number ever recorded. Through the FASSTT Network, we remain committed to ensuring that those who have endured the worst of human cruelty find in Australia the care, compassion and solidarity to rebuild their lives. You can read A Promise of Care, the document celebrating 30 years of the national PASTT program at fasstt.org.au/. #FASSTT30 #QPASTT #WithRefugees #HealingBelongingThriving #RefugeeSupport #HumanRights #TraumaRecovery

“This work can break your heart - but it can also expand it.” We stay because the right to heal matters.   Because every quiet step forward makes a difference.   Because healing is possible - and solidarity is essential. For 30 years, QPASTT and the FASSTT network have stood with survivors of torture and trauma across Australia, honouring the right to heal. #FASSTT30 #RightToHeal #WithRefugees 

“We carry stories no one should have to live through.” In trauma recovery work, holding others’ stories also means learning to hold ourselves - through reflection, debriefing, and rest. FASSTT practitioners stay grounded in compassion.  We are not here to rescue; we are here to walk alongside and empower.   This is how we sustain the work, and one another. For 30 years, the FASSTT network has been supporting survivors of torture and trauma to rebuild their lives, one connection at a time.    #FASSTT30 #TraumaRecovery #WithRefugees 

“Healing isn’t loud - but you feel it.” It’s in the moment someone wakes without fear.   When they begin to sleep through the night.   When they start to find meaning again, and life begins to feel possible. Across 30 years of the Program of Assistance for Survivors of Torture and Trauma (PASTT), these quiet moments of becoming remind us why we do this work. #FASSTT30 #RightToHeal #HealingJourney   

“Our job is to notice what’s underneath when words aren’t available.” Children and young people carry so much - their own stories, their parents’ grief, and the pressure to start again. Across the FASSTT network, we create spaces where they can feel safe enough to play, belong, and grow. Where healing comes through creativity, routine and connection.  This is where hope takes root. For more than 30 years, through the national Program of Assistance for Survivors of Torture and Trauma, the FASSTT network has supported survivors to rebuild their lives - one connection at a time. #HealingIsPossible #WithRefugees

“Trauma disconnects. It isolates. It silences.” But healing reconnects. Across Australia, FASSTT agencies walk alongside communities as they rebuild connection and belonging through culturally restorative practices. Healing is not only individual - it is collective.  It happens in circles, in story, in culture, in solidarity. For more than 30 years, through the national Program of Assistance for Survivors of Torture and Trauma, the FASSTT network has supported survivors to rebuild their lives - one connection at a time. #CommunityHealing #RightToHeal

Sometimes we don’t speak at all. The body remembers what words cannot say.” Grief can surface years after safety has been restored - when someone finally feels ready to feel. Healing cannot be rushed. At FASSTT, we honour every expression of grief - through words, silence, drumming, food, or community. There are many ways to remember, to mourn, and to heal. For more than 30 years, through the national Program of Assistance for Survivors of Torture and Trauma, the FASSTT network has supported survivors to rebuild their lives - one connection at a time. #WithRefugees #HealingIsPossible

“Before stories. Before strategies. Before anything else comes safety.” Safety is the foundation of recovery - not just physical safety, but psychological and cultural safety too. We don’t assume trust; we build it.  We ask permission before we ask questions. We move at the pace of the body, not the clock. This is what trauma-informed, culturally responsive care looks like in practice. For more than 30 years, through the national Program of Assistance for Survivors of Torture and Trauma, the FASSTT network has supported survivors to rebuild their lives - one connection at a time. #TraumaInformed #RightToHeal

“This work is mostly invisible. Progress often happens in quiet moments.” Across Australia, FASSTT agencies walk quietly alongside survivors of war, persecution and displacement. Healing happens in the smallest moments - in a first smile, a steady breath, or the courage to return after a difficult session. Sometimes the most powerful thing we do is simply sit beside someone - and not rush their pain or grief. For more than 30 years, through the national Program of Assistance for Survivors of Torture and Trauma, the FASSTT network has supported survivors to rebuild their lives - one connection at a time.  #RightToHeal #WithRefugees