ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the role and contribution of volunteer responders and key informants in Bali and Perth, identified as third-level victims (TLV) and it commences with an overview of the effect on third-level victims. The third-level victims are increasingly becoming a focus of research, as it is recognised that the difficult tasks they undertake have a detrimental effect on their psychological health. Stellman et al reported that the levels of distress and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms of 9/11 volunteers were comparable to combatants returning from a war rotation in Afghanistan. In Perth, the key informants all helped with the response to the disaster in Perth and reported varying degrees of distress while undertaking their professional or volunteer roles. Both in Bali and Perth, no key informant received formal counselling support, and family, friends and colleagues seemed to be the source of emotional support. The importance of the role of third-level victims is well represented, and growing, in the literature.
