Stillbirth Is Preventable. Awareness Is Missing.

Why We’re Taking This National

Stillbirth is one of Australia’s most overlooked public health crises. For decades, families have carried this grief in silence while the nation has gone without a coordinated, consistent, public‑facing awareness campaign.

Every year, thousands of parents walk into hospitals expecting to meet their baby and instead leave with a life changed forever. Many of these deaths are preventable when awareness is high, information is clear, and action is taken early.

Australia has the evidence. Australia has the recommendations. What Australia doesn’t have is a national campaign to make sure every parent knows the signs that save lives.

That’s why we’re taking this national.

Stillrunning for Stillbirth exists to close the awareness gap to take the truth out of reports and inquiries and put it into the hands of the people who need it most. We’re building a movement that says: every family deserves the chance to bring their baby home.

This is not just our story. It’s a national responsibility. And we’re stepping forward because no one else has.

Australia Has the Evidence — But No National Campaign

For more than a decade, Australia has commissioned reports, inquiries, roundtables, and expert reviews into stillbirth. Every one of them has said the same thing: we can reduce preventable stillbirths when awareness is high and information is clear.

The evidence is not the problem. The recommendations are not the problem. The gap is public awareness the one intervention Australia has never delivered at a national level.

Other countries have national stillbirth awareness campaigns. Australia does not.

Despite the findings of the Senate Inquiry, the National Stillbirth Action Plan, multiple progress reports, and repeated commitments to improve outcomes, there is still no coordinated, public facing campaign to ensure parents know the signs that save lives.

This is the missing piece. This is the preventable gap. And this is why Stillrunning is stepping forward.

We are taking the evidence out of government documents and putting it where it belongs in the hands of every expectant parent in Australia.

Our Story

Stillrunning for Stillbirth began with our daughter, Celeste.

She was born still in 2001 a moment that changed our lives forever. In the years that followed, we learned what too many families discover only after tragedy: that stillbirth is far more common than people realise, and that many deaths are preventable when awareness is high and information is clear.

We also learned something else, something harder to accept. Australia has the evidence, the reports, and the recommendations… but not the national awareness campaign needed to reach every expectant parent.

So we decided to do something about it.

Stillrunning started as a way for us — Tim and Michelle — to honour Celeste and to make sure other families didn’t walk the same path without warning, without information, and without support. What began as a personal mission has grown into a national movement calling for the awareness Australia has never had.

We’ve run, advocated, written, met with leaders, pushed for change, and refused to let this issue stay in the shadows. Every step has been driven by one belief:

Every family deserves the chance to bring their baby home.

Our story is personal but the mission is national. And we won’t stop until stillbirth awareness is where it should be: visible, consistent, and impossible to ignore.

What We’ve Done So Far

Stillrunning for Stillbirth has grown from a personal mission into a national advocacy effort one built on persistence, lived experience, and a refusal to let stillbirth remain invisible.

Over the years, we’ve taken this issue into rooms where it had never been spoken about, onto streets where it had never been seen, and into conversations that Australia had avoided for far too long.

Here’s what we’ve done so far:

• National billboard campaign We’ve launched a bold, public‑facing awareness campaign taking the message out of reports and into the real world, where it belongs.

• Government engagement at every level We’ve met with Ministers, advisors, health leaders, and decision‑makers across Australia to push for a national stillbirth awareness campaign. We’ve contributed to inquiries, responded to consultations, and ensured stillbirth remains on the agenda.

• Advocacy grounded in lived experience We’ve shared our story openly, honestly, and repeatedly to ensure stillbirth is no longer hidden behind stigma or silence.

• Media, documentary, and public storytelling Through interviews, articles, and the Stillrunning documentary, we’ve brought national attention to the preventable nature of stillbirth and the urgent need for awareness.

• Petitioning and public mobilisation We’ve built community support, gathered signatures, and amplified the voices of families who want to see change.

• Direct correspondence with federal leaders We’ve engaged with the Federal Health Minister and senior officials, pushing for action on the evidence Australia already has.

• Contribution to the South Australian Inquiry We’ve provided submissions, testimony, and lived‑experience insight to help shape recommendations for improved outcomes.

Every step has been driven by one purpose: to make stillbirth awareness visible, national, and impossible to ignore.

And we’re only just getting started.

What We’re Calling For

Australia has the evidence. Australia has the recommendations. What Australia doesn’t have is the national awareness campaign needed to save lives.

Stillrunning for Stillbirth is calling for the one piece that has been missing for decades: a coordinated, government‑led public awareness campaign that reaches every expectant parent in the country.

Here’s what that looks like:

• A National Stillbirth Awareness Campaign A clear, consistent, public‑facing campaign — just like other major health initiatives — ensuring every parent knows the signs that matter.

• Unified Public Health Messaging One national message, not fragmented information that varies by state, hospital, or provider.

• Implementation of Existing Recommendations Australia doesn’t need more reports. It needs action on the recommendations already made by inquiries, experts, and national bodies.

• A Commitment to Reducing Preventable Stillbirths A measurable, accountable national goal — backed by awareness, education, and public communication.

• Visibility for a Hidden Issue Stillbirth must be brought out of silence and into the national conversation, where it belongs.

We’re not asking for something new. We’re asking for Australia to act on what it already knows — and to finally give families the awareness they deserve.

How You Can Help

Stillbirth awareness won’t become national unless people stand with us. Every action — big or small — helps push this issue out of the shadows and into the national conversation where it belongs.

Here’s how you can be part of the movement:

• Share the message Talk about stillbirth. Share our billboards. Post our content. Awareness grows when people refuse to stay silent.

• Follow and amplify Connect with us on social media and help spread the message to new audiences. Your voice helps us reach families we could never reach alone.

• Support the campaign Your support helps us build new awareness tools, and continue our national advocacy.

• Partner with us If you’re part of an organisation, business, or community group that wants to help drive national awareness, we’d love to connect. Partnerships help take this message further and faster.

• Stand with families By supporting Stillrunning, you’re helping ensure no family walks this path without warning, without information, and without visibility.

Together, we can make stillbirth awareness national, consistent, and impossible to ignore.

Media & Government Engagement

Stillrunning for Stillbirth has worked tirelessly to bring stillbirth out of silence and into the national conversation where it should have been all along. Our advocacy has reached leaders, media outlets, and decision‑makers across Australia, ensuring this issue can no longer be ignored.

Here’s how we’ve been driving national attention:

• Engagement with government leaders and health officials We’ve met with Ministers, advisors, and senior health executives to push for a national stillbirth awareness campaign. Our lived‑experience advocacy has helped shape discussions at state and federal levels.

• Contributions to inquiries and policy processes We’ve provided submissions, testimony, and lived‑experience insight to the South Australian Inquiry and other government processes focused on improving outcomes for families.

• Direct correspondence with federal leadership We’ve written to the Federal Health Minister and senior officials, calling for action on the evidence Australia already has. Our message has been clear: awareness saves lives, and Australia must act.

• National media visibility Through interviews, articles, and public storytelling, we’ve helped bring stillbirth into mainstream conversation, highlighting the preventable nature of many deaths and the urgent need for national awareness.

• Public campaigns that demand attention Our billboard campaigns have taken the message to streets, highways, and communities across the country, ensuring stillbirth is no longer hidden behind stigma or silence.

Our engagement is ongoing, persistent, and grounded in lived experience. We will continue to work with government, media, and national partners until stillbirth awareness becomes a national priority — not an afterthought.