ASA partners on Ballarat project to prevent gender-based violence

STRONG Trades; Reflective Supervision for Respectful Trade Workplaces is a 24-month initiative delivered by headspace Ballarat in partnership with ASA.

The project is one of 10 funded under the Respect Ballarat initiative, part of the broader Respect Victoria campaign.

The initiative will focus on strengthening workplace culture across trade industries, supporting young apprentices and workers to build respectful behaviours and challenge attitudes that contribute to violence against women.

The announcement event was attended by the Victorian Minister for Prevention of Family Violence, Melissa Horne, who highlighted the critical role of community-led initiatives in reshaping workplace cultures and preventing gendered violence.

How the program works

The STRONG Trades project responds to evidence that workplace culture plays a significant role in shaping behaviour, particularly in male-dominated industries. 

Through a structured Reflective Supervision model, supervisors and employers will be supported to engage in regular, purposeful conversations with apprentices. These conversations will extend beyond technical performance to include communication, respect, help-seeking behaviours and positive workplace norms.

The project builds on the alignment between ASA’s mentoring model and headspace Ballarat’s expertise in youth mental health and early intervention.

Led by headspace and supported by ASA, the initiative reflects a shared commitment to enhancing the apprenticeship experience through proactive engagement, structured support and early intervention strategies that contribute to safe and inclusive workplaces.

ASA will play a key role in supporting employers and supervisors to embed practical, evidence-informed approaches to respectful workplace culture. This aligns with ASA’s broader focus on mentoring, employer capability development and supporting apprentices to remain engaged and successfully complete their training.

The STRONG Trades initiative also reinforces the importance of partnership-led approaches to achieving sustainable change. By bringing together community health, mental health services and industry stakeholders, the project aims to strengthen leadership capability within trade environments and drive long-term cultural change.

This announcement represents a significant step forward for Ballarat in addressing gender inequality and preventing violence against women, with the project expected to deliver lasting benefits for apprentices, employers and the broader community.