Small Business of the Year Finalist 2025

Recognized for our impact in supporting Australia’s first responders

Warrior Strength

True strength is not enduring trauma alone.

Bellator Fortitudinem is a safe place for first responders, offering peer-led, lived-experience support that fosters connection,
recovery, and hope.

Become a partner

Peer Support

Lived experience understanding

Bellator App

Coming soon' 24/7 connection, support, and pathways to help, when it matters most.

Events & Workshops

Peer-led connection, learning, and recovery — together, in community.

Resources

Understanding, tools, and
referral pathways to support
recovery.

Who
We Are

Meet one of us

Bellator Fortitudinem means Warrior Strength — and to us, that means having the courage to show up honestly, stand beside one another, and never leave our own behind.

We are a peer-led community built by first responders, for first responders. There is no rank here. No judgement. Just people who have walked through the fire and understand what it means to carry grief, trauma, moral injury, burnout, and loss, and to keep going anyway.

I founded Bellator from lived experience. After more than two decades as a NSW Police Officer, I know what it’s like to show up to the worst day of someone else’s life and then be expected to return home and function as if nothing happened. I know what it’s like to carry those moments quietly, and to feel let down by systems that were meant to protect us.
Bellator exists to change that.

This is not about box-ticking or surface-level self-care. It’s about meaningful connection, peer support, and creating the kind of backup many of us needed but never received, during service, through transition, and beyond the uniform.

If you’ve worn the uniform, stood behind the badge, or carried the weight of someone else’s trauma, you belong here.
This is Bellator Fortitudinem.
We’ve got you.

Nick White
CEO, Founder & Director

Aligned with Australia’s National Suicide Prevention Strategy

Improved Governance

Bellator operates under a robust governance framework, with a skills-based Board, clear decision-making processes, risk management, and transparent reporting. This ensures accountability, sustainability, and trust with members, partners, and funders.

Sustainability & Environment

We are committed to reducing our environmental footprint and promoting sustainable practices across our operations. From green procurement to energy efficiency and waste reduction, we aim to lead by example and support a transition to a more sustainable future.

Community Impact

Our programmes are designed to create lasting positive change in local communities. We work with members, volunteers, and partners to deliver training, employment pathways, and support services that strengthen resilience and opportunity for all.

Bellator Fortitudinem is a proud organisational member of Suicide Prevention Australia, reflecting our
commitment to best-practice, evidence-informed, and lived-experience-led suicide prevention.

Our work is directly aligned with the National Suicide Prevention Strategy (2024–2034) and its three core
domains: 
Prevention, Support, and Critical Enablers.

Partnerships & Collaboration

We believe in the power of working together. Through strategic partnerships with government, business, and the voluntary sector, we combine resources and expertise to achieve outcomes that no single organisation could deliver alone.

People & Wellbeing

Our people are at the heart of everything we do. We invest in learning, development, and wellbeing so that staff and volunteers can thrive. A supported team means better support for the communities and members we serve.

Innovation & Growth

We continuously invest in new ideas, technology, and ways of working to improve our impact and scale what works. Our innovation fund and partnerships with research and industry help us pilot, learn, and grow so we can serve more people better.

At Bellator Fortitudinem, we see you — not just the role you serve, but the human underneath. Whether you’re seeking support, looking to give back, or want to stand beside those who protect our communities, there’s a place for you here.

You Belong Here

Corporate Sponsorship Tiers
Download Funding Explainer

Become a Member

At Bellator Fortitudinem, we see you — not just the role you serve, but the human underneath. Whether you’re seeking support, looking to give back, or want to stand beside those who protect our communities, there’s a place for you here.

“You don’t have to earn your place here. You already have one.”

Register as a Responder
Register as Family

Donate or Partner with Us

Your contribution helps us deliver life-saving programs, develop our 24/7 app, and provide emergency support when it matters most. Every dollar goes toward creating safer, stronger support systems for first responders.
Are you an organisation, business, or individual who believes in our mission? We’re actively seeking values-aligned partners to help us expand our reach, amplify our message, and co-create change.

“Let’s build a future where support for first responders is the standard, not the exception.”

Bellator Fortitudinem App

Coming 2026

The Bellator Fortitudinem App is being built to ensure that no first responder faces distress alone — especially in moments when support feels hardest to reach.
Designed with lived experience at its core, the app will provide 24/7 connection to peer-informed support, clear referral pathways, and trusted services for first responders and frontline workers across Australia. It will act as a central access point for help, guidance, and next steps — whether someone is in crisis, navigating recovery, or supporting someone they care about.
To bring the Bellator App to life in 2026, we are working to raise $100,000 to support development, safety, governance, and rollout. Your donation directly contributes to building a tool that strengthens early intervention, connection, and suicide prevention for those who protect our communities every day.

Together, we can put support in the hands of first responders — when and where they need it most.

Donate
Help launch the Bellator App in 2026 — donate today.

Voices from the Frontline

Real words from first responders and individuals we’ve supported

  • I can't speak highly enough about Bellator, dedicated to supporting first responders. At the time, I was struggling immensely with the mental toll of my service in policing when Nick first reached out. The peer support and retreats gave me a lifeline when I needed it most.

    Steph

    WA Police

  • This place has saved my life. I've worked hard at my job and seen the horrors, but I felt like I was ready to throw it all in. I cannot tell you how good it has been to be part of something that has really understood what we go through and offered a way back.

    M

    Serving NSW Fire Officer

  • The first camp down Singleton way was a great getaway for me. I was able to relax enough to enjoy myself with good company, have a laugh, and leave the intrusive thoughts and home stresses behind for a few days. Coming back felt a bit easier.

    J

    Retired Police Officer, NSW

  • My wife is a nurse, and we had both been struggling with the weight of our jobs. My corrections career ended after a serious assault, but being here has given me the strength to be better than what happened to me. We're both in a better place now.

    M&S

    Retired Corrections Officer and Current Nurse

  • After years in the job I thought I was fine—turns out I wasn't. Bellator didn't judge; they just offered support. The retreats and the community have made a real difference to my mental health. I wish something like this had been around earlier in my career.

    James

    Retired Emergency Services

Your Support Saves Lives by Strengthening Connection

Suicide prevention does not happen by chance — it requires sustained investment in community, connection, and care.
Bellator Fortitudinem relies on the generosity of donors, partners, and funders to deliver peer-led recovery programs, education, referral pathways, and suicide prevention initiatives for first responders and frontline families across Australia.

Our partners
3% Cover the Fee

Your support directly enables frontline workers to access safe, understanding, and life-saving support — often at the moments they need it most.

Together, we can ensure that those who protect us are never left without protection themselves.