Mental health and money stress when you run the business: what helps and who to call

Some owners can leave the business at the door when they go home. Most can’t. The mortgage is tied to the business loan, the business loan has your signature on it, and the next BAS comes due whether or not you slept.

If you’re reading this at 2am with a pile of numbers in your head, this page is for you. It isn’t a replacement for professional care, and it won’t try to be. It points to free help in Australia and sets out practical steps that take weight off the money side, because that is the part we understand.

If you need someone to talk to right now

• Lifeline: 13 11 14, any time.
• Beyond Blue: 1300 22 4636, any time.
• Emergency: 000, if you or someone else is in immediate danger.

If thoughts of harming yourself have crossed your mind, please use one of these today. Debts feel permanent at night and often look different with a counsellor and some daylight. Nothing on this page is more urgent than that.

Why does money stress feel so heavy for owners?

It isn’t weakness. A few things stack up.

You can’t separate the person from the problem. An employee with a bad quarter loses a bonus. A sole trader or a director with a bad quarter can lose the home they have pledged. When failure is personal, worry is too.

You carry other people. Wages, suppliers, a partner who gave up work to help. The numbers include people.

There’s no clock-off. Customers message at nine at night, and the bank balance is in your pocket.

Isolation. Many owners don’t tell anyone how bad it is, so the only person who knows is the one who’s already carrying it.

Recognising this pattern is useful, because each piece has a practical answer.

What free support is there for business owners?

Service	What it offers	Contact
Beyond Blue NewAccess for Small Business Owners	Free, confidential coaching by phone or video; six sessions over six weeks plus check-ins at one and six months; no GP referral needed; for owners with 20 or fewer employees, including sole traders	03 9250 8305
Small Business Debt Helpline	Free, independent financial counselling on debts, ATO and creditor arrangements, guarantees and closing a business	1800 413 828 (weekdays)
Lifeline	Crisis and support conversations	13 11 14
Beyond Blue support line	Mental health support	1300 22 4636

As at October 2026, business.gov.au lists NewAccess as open until 30 June 2027. According to Beyond Blue, the coaching uses a low-intensity cognitive behavioural approach. It isn’t business coaching and it isn’t suited to people dealing with severe or complex conditions, who should see a GP or psychologist instead. Check eligibility on Beyond Blue’s page before you ring.

Your GP is also a good first call if sleep, mood or anxiety has changed. A mental health treatment plan can open Medicare-supported sessions.

How do you turn a fear into a list?

Anxiety loves vagueness. A short exercise often shrinks it, and it takes about an hour.

1. Write down every debt. Lender, balance, repayment, frequency, whether anyone has guaranteed it.
2. Write down every deadline in the next 60 days. BAS, super, rent, payroll, tax, supplier terms.
3. Write down cash on hand and what’s due in. Include invoices you expect to be paid, and honestly mark the ones that are late.
4. Circle the three things that hurt most if missed. Wages, ATO and secured loans are usually the top of that list.
5. Pick one next action for each, and a date. “Ring the ATO Thursday.” “Email the landlord tomorrow.”

Most owners find the list smaller than the fear. And if it’s bigger than expected, you’ve at least learned that on a quiet afternoon rather than at the worst moment.

Which phone calls are easier than they feel?

The call you’re avoiding is usually the one that opens up the most options.

• The ATO. It has payment plans for business debts and encourages early contact. Our guide on how to talk to the ATO about a debt walks through what they ask.
• The bank. Banks often have hardship teams, and many business owners are surprised how constructive that conversation is. Ask for a variation before a payment is missed.
• The landlord. A short written proposal beats silence.
• The accountant. If yours doesn’t return calls, that is itself useful information.

A few days’ delay to the due date rarely changes the outcome. A missed lodgement, though, can, so don’t let an unpaid BAS stop you from lodging. What happens if you can’t pay your BAS explains why.

Example: a plumber who stopped opening the post

This is an illustrative scenario. A sole-trader plumber in Adelaide has slipped three weeks behind on quotes and hasn’t opened mail for a month. When his partner finally sits down with him, they find a BAS due in nine days, a vehicle finance payment bounced once, and two clients who owe $11k between them.

They write the list. The vehicle lender agrees to move the date by a fortnight when he rings. The ATO sets up a payment plan online. He chases the two clients with a polite email and a final-notice invoice. The Small Business Debt Helpline, which he rings on a Monday, helps him think about what to do if the clients don’t pay.

Nothing was fixed in a day. But the bill he feared would sink him turned out to be a $4k BAS and a late fee, and a week later he was sleeping.

When should you not take on more debt?

When you’re in distress, fast money is very tempting. It deserves a pause, and not because borrowing is bad. It is because decisions made on the worst night of the month are rarely the best-priced ones.

A rule many financial counsellors would endorse: don’t sign a new loan until you’ve written the list above and spoken to someone you trust. If you do need finance, take it for a reason you can explain in one sentence and with repayments that fit the revenue. Look at the risks in business loan stacking first, because borrowing to cover borrowing is where good businesses get into trouble.

If the business might not recover, you still have options. Closing a business with debts explains them without judgement.

How can you make the next bad month less frightening?

• Build a cash buffer, even a small one. See how to set up a cash buffer.
• Know your numbers weekly, not just at tax time. The 13-week cash flow forecast is a good habit.
• Have a bank relationship and an accountant before you need them.
• Talk to another owner. The best advice often comes from someone a few months ahead of you.

If the money side is the weight, we can look at it with you

We don’t treat mental health, and we’d never suggest a loan fixes it. But if part of what’s keeping you up is a gap in the numbers, we can tell you plainly whether there’s a funding route and what it would cost.

Sending the form takes about a minute and involves no credit check, so there’s nothing to worry about on your file. We won’t share your details with a crowd of lenders; one person reads your situation and rings you. If you can, give us the real numbers, including the awkward ones, so the first option we suggest suits where you actually are.

Talk through the numbers with a real person →