Ask Izzy

09/10/2026

Australians made 9.1 million searches for help through Ask Izzy in the last financial year — the highest on record.

At a time of significant hardship, the Australian Government has withdrawn funding that helps make Ask Izzy sustainable. We’re calling on the government to restore that funding.

helpaskizzy.org.au

06/10/2026

Ask Izzy recorded 9.1 million searches for help last year — the highest on record.

Yet at a time of considerable hardship, the Federal Government has withdrawn funding that helps make Ask Izzy sustainable.

Today, leaders from across Australia’s social services sector have published an open letter to the Prime Minister calling on the Australian Government to restore that funding through a three-year commitment of $6 million.

Ask Izzy is the largest and most comprehensive directory connecting Australians experiencing hardship and crisis to the urgent support services they need. Government services are built on it, the social services sector relies on it, and Australians use it every day to find help. It helps Australians find services the government spends billions of dollars funding.

Visit the campaign page to read the open letter, add your voice and learn more.

helpaskizzy.org.au



Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN)
ACOSS
Australian Council of Social Service
Alannah & Madeline Foundation Alcohol and Drug Foundation Anglicare Victoria
Annie North Inc
Community Council for Australia
Ending Loneliness Together
Financial Counselling Australia (FCA)
Foodbank Australia
Good Things Australia
Greater Melbourne Foundation
Justice Connect
Kids Helpline
Life Without Barriers
Mission Australia
OzHarvest
RSL NSW
Sacred Heart Mission
SecondBite
The Smith Family
St Vincent de Paul Society Australia
Thriving Communities Australia (TCA)
UnitingCare Australia

07/06/2024

"I was stuck in a vicious cycle, and I think Ask Izzy would have saved me so many years. It's an incredible service." - Vicky Vacondios, Lived Experience and Community Advisor for Ask Izzy.

Thank you to the Herald Sun for sharing Vicky's story and spreading the word about Ask Izzy in relation to the GIVE Melbourne fundraiser. This year we have seen record levels of demand for homelessness services, food relief, and family violence support.

But Ask Izzy needs help.

If you are in a position to jump on board as one of 200 donors before June 27th, please visit https://givemelbourne.lmcf.org.au/event/ask-izzy/home and ensure we can keep Ask Izzy free and functioning for those in need.

04/06/2024

Ask Izzy is asking for help.

If you are in a position to, please consider joining us at GIVE Melbourne as a donor or supporter before the 27th of June.

https://givemelbourne.lmcf.org.au/event/ask-izzy/home

The Lord Mayor’s Charitable Foundation is launching GIVE Melbourne, a month-long fundraising campaign, to raise funds for critical community needs such as Ask Izzy.

In Australia, countless people face crises every day, from homelessness to food insecurity.

Ask Izzy bridges the gap between these individuals and the help they urgently need. Without requiring mobile data, this free, anonymous platform connects users to an up-to-date directory of over 430,000 essential services across Australia, such as housing, meals and counseling.

CEO of Infoxchange, David Spriggs said, “With over 4 million searches for help in the last year alone, Ask Izzy has become a critical link for people in need to connect with support services in their local community.”

“The data we’re seeing from Ask Izzy indicates that people are doing it very tough during the cost-of-living crisis. We are seeing record levels of demand for homelessness services, food and emergency relief, mental health and family violence support.”

“We rely on donations from generous supporters to keep Ask Izzy up and running. We urgently need support to ensure Ask Izzy remains up to date and available for those who need it”, Spriggs said.

Ask Izzy requires significant time and resources to maintain and is reliant on donations from people like you. The website service is powered by Infoxchange, a not-for-profit technology organisation. We urgently need your help to ensure Ask Izzy remains available and functional for those who use it in desperate times.

We believe in the power of the collective to create change, and through GIVE Melbourne it’s your support that will make a difference. From now until 28 June, we need 200 generous supporters to come together and donate to GIVE Melbourne. Because great things happen when we all work together.

14/02/2023

Zero homelessness is possible, with your support today.

Infoxchange is proud to be a partner organisation in Launch Housing’s Melbourne Zero campaign to end homelessness in Naarm.

Join this movement to end unnecessary suffering. Wherever you live, please sign this petition, get involved and learn more today.

https://www.melbournezero.org.au/

Infoxchange (we run Ask Izzy) has a deep history supporting the mission to end homelessness. The roots of our organisation started in 1989 when Andrew Mahar received a $2000 social justice grant and established the Housing Bulletin Board Network (which would eventually become Infoxchange), the first online crisis accommodation register to help people experiencing homelessness find a bed for the night.

Today, our Specialist Homelessness Information Platform (SHIP), a highly intuitive user interface allowing agencies to record client information including case notes, case plans and client goals and developed in partnership with the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, supports 1,200 homelessness services across Australia.

SHIP allows data collection for better information about people who are homeless, the pathways people take in and out of homelessness and the kinds of work homelessness agencies do.

Infoxchange remains committed to the collective mission end homelessness in Melbourne.

05/02/2023

"I hope that with each click on the 'find food button', we’ve helped make hard times a little easier for someone." - Angus Laing, Foodbank

Ask Izzy (powered by Infoxchange's nationwide Service Directory) is helping Australians find food through Foodbank.

Foodbank’s public profile has grown significantly over the past decade, particularly given the increase in cost-of-living pressures and the demand for food by struggling families and individuals.

When their public profile grew, they put in place a referral process so that people finding food could access their local provider, but this process was very time-consuming and required time-consuming administration which became increasingly difficult to manage when COVID hit in 2020.

Mr Laing says the phones began ringing ‘off the hook’ and as a result, Foodbank required a more ‘scalable solution’ to managing inquiries.

Cue Infoxchange’s Service Directory!

Foodbank had been aware of Ask Izzy for some time and they had been looking at data from the open data platform in relation to food searches, but hadn’t yet used our services.

As a result of using the Service Directory, Foodbank’s phones are ringing much less, despite their business taking on a huge increase in work and food donations. Mr Laing says that some offices even thought their phones hadn’t been switched off night mode.

Mr Laing attested to the ethos at Infoxchange, which is to support other not-for-profits with technology so they can spend more time helping people who need it. He said:

‘At Foodbank we’re flat out getting food to the people who need it, so having a team at Infoxchange who are dedicated to keeping the find food database up to date for us is fantastic’.

Read the full story here:

https://www.infoxchange.org/au/impact-stories/ask-izzy-helps-australians-find-food-through-foodbank

10/10/2022

Today is World Mental Health Day. We understand that finding relevant, local mental health care resources can be challenging. If you or someone you know are unsure of where to start, check out www.askizzy.org.au for services near you.

Ask Izzy is a mobile website that connects people in need with housing, a meal, money help, health and wellbeing services, family violence support, counselling and much more.

22/07/2022

James Barling lives with high-functioning ADHD and autism, which has made his lifelong dream of playing rugby league difficult. Until now! 💜

Playing a game of rugby league was the dream of James Barling's life, one the autistic 28-year-old thought might never come true until the Altona Roosters found a solution.

19/07/2022

Jody Letts is a consumer advocate, using her lived experience of homelessness and mental illness to improve outcomes for vulnerable people.

“Often, when you’re looking for help, the system wants to tag you as having just one thing. For instance, if you’re homeless, they’ll just tag you as needing a house and that’s it. But underneath that umbrella of homelessness, there could be trauma, financial disadvantage, a death in the family or serious illness. It’s often not until things hit crisis point that you’re seen as a complex human with all these different needs.”

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