Websites for mental health servicesthat hold when someone is in crisis.
Digital stewardship for mental health organisations — trauma-informed, accessible, secure, and found at the moment someone reaches out for help. A Sydney practice, established 2014.
The first contact.
A mental health organisation's website is often the first contact a person makes after they have decided to ask for help. That moment is fragile. A page that loads slowly, a phone number that is hard to find, a form that fails on mobile — any of these can end the interaction.
We work with mental health services, not alongside them. That means crisis line protocols, Medicare provider obligations, NDIS service descriptions, and the realities of small teams with no margin for digital failure.
Nobody arrives at your website in a neutral state. So we design for the person having the worst week of their life, and everyone else is served by the same decisions.
Trauma-informed isn't a look.It's a set of decisions.
Four commitments we hold before anyone asks for them. They are written into the build, then checked at every quarterly review.
Read Rebuilding With Care01
Control stays with the reader
Nothing autoplays, nothing moves on its own, nothing interrupts. No pop-up over crisis information. No chat window that opens itself. The reader decides what happens next.
02
No surprises
Links say where they lead. Content that may be distressing is named before it is read, not after. What happens when you call, and who answers, is written down.
03
Plain language, plainly set
Short sentences, sentence case, generous line height, real contrast. Reading level checked rather than assumed. No jargon between a person and the help they need.
04
A safe way out
Crisis numbers one tap away from every page, a quick-exit path where the audience warrants it, and forms that never ask for more than the service actually needs.
Who you're working with
In their words
“With our shoestring budget, we needed a website that was affordable but still welcoming, accessible, and effective — and Marzipan delivered exactly that. They took the time to understand who we are and who we support, creating a site that feels warm, inclusive, and easy to navigate.”
Sanctuary BPD Carer Support Group
A volunteer-run not-for-profit carer support group
Speak to a current client before you enquireTwelve years, one practitioner, and clients across community services, legal, arts and education. You work with me, not an account manager and a rotating pod.
Founder led. Systems backed.
How that worksThe work, in the orderit usually matters.
Open whichever sounds like you. Every panel stays in the page whether it is open or closed.
Accessibility built in, not retrofitted
WCAG 2.1 AA from the first template, then audited and monitored so a complaint never arrives as a surprise. For organisations serving people with cognitive, psychological or sensory disability, accessibility is the service working.
Crisis pathways that work on a phone at 2am
Most people reaching out are on a phone, often at night, often on poor connectivity. Crisis numbers, intake pathways and support links stay immediately visible, load fast, and work with one hand.
Search visibility for the moments that matter
When someone searches for anxiety counselling near them, your service needs to be there. Earned visibility on substance — structured data, plain-language service descriptions, geographic relevance — not tactics that erode when an algorithm shifts. See how search visibility works.
Google Ad Grant setup and compliance
ACNC-registered mental health organisations qualify for up to $10,000 a month in free Google advertising. Grant accounts are suspended quietly and noticed late, so we hold the application, the campaigns and the monthly compliance.
Ongoing stewardship, not build-and-disappear
Security patches, accessibility monitoring, content updates and quarterly reporting — handled quietly and consistently, without you having to chase us. No surprise invoices. No project creep.
The risks we helpyou avoid.
Mental health organisations hold sensitive data, serve people in vulnerable moments, and answer to funders. These are the exposures a generic agency will not name.
Privacy obligations are higher for mental health data
Under the Privacy Act 1988 and the Australian Privacy Principles, sensitive health information carries specific duties around collection, storage and consent. A poorly configured form is a notifiable breach risk, not a technical detail.
WCAG non-compliance is a legal and reputational risk
For organisations receiving Commonwealth or state funding, an inaccessible website carries real exposure under the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 — and shuts out the very people you exist to serve.
An unpatched platform is an unlocked door
Outdated CMS platforms and unmaintained plugins are actively exploited. A compromised mental health website risks both reputation and the exposure of client information. We manage security proactively.
Being unfindable has real consequences
Poor search visibility for a mental health service is not a marketing problem. It means people in distress do not find help. We hold the schema, the service descriptions and the geographic signals that keep you found.
Free tool · Lab by Marzipan
Not sure where you stand?
A 60-second read on your site's security, accessibility and search visibility. No email required, nothing sent to you unless you ask.
How we begin.
We are a small practice and we take on fewer clients so we can stay genuinely accountable to each one.
Digital Capacity Diagnosis
A structured review of your website, search presence, accessibility, security and digital operations. The output is a plain-English, board-ready document that prioritises risk and action. $1,500 plus GST. No obligation to go further.
Digital Stewardship Programme
Most organisations then move into ongoing accountability at a fixed monthly fee. Predictable cost, no project creep, and quiet responsibility for the things that otherwise fall through the cracks.
Quarterly reporting in plain English
Your board does not need to understand Google Analytics to understand our reports. Written for leadership, not developers — clear findings, risk ratings, recommended next steps.
Asked before everyengagement.
What does trauma-informed actually mean for a website?
Four things, held as defaults: the reader keeps control (nothing autoplays, interrupts or opens itself), there are no surprises (links say where they lead, distressing content is named first), the language is plain and plainly set, and there is always a safe way out — crisis numbers one tap away and forms that ask for the minimum.
Do mental health organisations qualify for the Google Ad Grant?
Yes, provided the organisation is registered with the ACNC as a charity. The Grant provides up to $10,000 a month in free Google Ads spend. Eligibility requires Google for Nonprofits registration, which we can assist with, and we hold ongoing compliance so the account is not suspended.
What are our website accessibility obligations?
WCAG 2.1 AA is the recognised standard in Australia. For mental health organisations — particularly those serving people with cognitive, psychological or sensory disability, or receiving government funding — it is both an ethical obligation and risk management under the Disability Discrimination Act 1992. We audit your current position and remediate what needs fixing.
How do you handle privacy obligations around mental health data?
We review your data collection practices, form configurations and platform security as part of the Diagnosis. We do not handle clinical records, but we do address every digital touchpoint where personal information is collected, stored or transmitted, against the Australian Privacy Principles.
Are you approved to work with government?
Yes. Marzipan is an approved supplier under the NSW Government ICT Services Scheme, SCM2701. If your organisation is government funded, or procures through NSW Government panels, we can be engaged directly without a separate procurement process. The scheme also means our security, insurance and business credentials have already been assessed.
How much does a Digital Capacity Diagnosis cost?
It is $1,500 plus GST. It covers security, accessibility, performance, search visibility and digital governance, and you receive a plain-English, board-ready document with prioritised recommendations. The fee is credited in full toward any subsequent engagement.
Do you work with organisations outside Sydney?
Yes. We are Sydney-based and work with organisations across Australia, managed remotely with clear, structured collaboration. We also work with community legal centres, arts and culture organisations, and charities and nonprofits.
Start with a Diagnosis.Not a sales process.
A structured review of your website, search presence, accessibility and digital operations — with board-ready findings in plain English. Twenty minutes, and you'll know where you stand.