Do you have a family member or friend in Antarctica? How do you contact them? What is it like for them down south? How do you explain their situation to children?

This section contains the links and documents (also known as the introductory package) to help you adjust to the absence of your friend or family member while they are working in Antarctica.

Contacting expeditioners

These pages will outline how to stay in touch and send gifts to your expeditioner while they are living down south.

Support for family and friends

Here you will find links to support services to assist in alleviating the stress of separation.

An important contact is the Family Liaison Officers, who can assist family and friends prepare for, and cope with, separation while expeditioners are in Antarctica or on Macquarie Island.

The Expeditioner Liaison Officers can be contacted directly via the contact form or by calling 1800 030 680. If calling from outside Australia, the contact telephone number is +61 3 6232 3283.

Learn about Antarctica

Understanding the extraordinary environment in which your loved-one is living can help make the time apart easier for everyone. Use these resources to get to know Antarctica and the working life there.

Antarctic Family and Friends Association

The Antarctic Family and Friends Association is a support and social group for families and friends of expeditioners working on Australian Antarctic stations. There are branches of the Association in all states. Members meet each month for informal social get-togethers. Each state has an annual Midwinter event to celebrate the half-way mark for wintering expeditioners.

The membership consists of family and friends of current and former expeditioners. It aims to be a source of friendship, comfort and information for members. For those new members less familiar with the Australian Antarctic Territories, the association can point you towards sources of information. Other members can often provide books, magazine articles, photos and slides to help you familiarise yourself with ‘things’ Antarctic. New members who live outside metropolitan areas can be put in touch with other members living nearby, and get-togethers are sometimes organised ‘out-of-town’ so that our country members can also participate.

Members receive a newsletter with details of each state’s monthly meeting. The newsletter also has anecdotes and articles relating to Antarctica. Overseas members are also eligible to join.

Useful information for family and friends

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