Respectful Relationships Teaching Support Program

An evidence-based primary prevention program which focuses on promoting respectful relationships and gender equality in Western Australian public schools.

Last updated: 25 September 2024

Respectful Relationships Teaching Support Program (the Program) is a primary prevention initiative which focuses on promoting respectful relationships and gender equality from an early age, to prevent family and domestic violence before it starts.

Western Australian public schools play a critical role in teaching children and young people what gender-based violence looks like and how it can be prevented. The Program aims to increase teachers’ skills to educate and support children and young people to build relationships characterised by non-violence, equality, mutual respect, and trust.

The Program advocates a whole of school approach to respectful relationships education and supports the delivery of the mandated Western Australian curriculum. The Program aims to strengthen positive relationships and promote gender equality in the school community.

About the program

In January 2017, the McGowan Government’s Stopping Family and Domestic Violence Policy outlined a series of priority initiatives for improving responses to family and domestic violence in Western Australia. One of these commitments was for an evidence-based primary prevention respectful relationships education support program for Western Australian public schools. The Western Australian Respectful Relationships Teaching Support Program (Program) was established to support public schools to adopt a whole school approach to promoting gender equality and respectful relationships, to help prevent family and domestic violence.

In February 2019, the State Party entered into an initial grant agreement with Starick Services Inc to develop and deliver a holistic evidence-based primary prevention of gender-based violence program for the school environment. The Program aims to provide teachers and school staff with the skills and confidence to support students to build relationships that are non-violent, equal, mutually respectful and trusting, and includes:

Professional learning for teachers and school staff;
Information, tools, and resources to teach students about respectful relationships and gender equality; and
Support for schools to implement a whole school approach to violence prevention.

In early 2021, the McGowan Government committed $2.438 million to expand the Program as part of a $60 million package of further commitments to improve services and responses to family and domestic violence, aligned to Path to Safety: Western Australia’s Strategy to Reduce Family and Domestic Violence 2020-2030. This funding was used to increase the reach of the Program from 10 to 22 schools per annum.

Funding to further expand the Program was committed in November 2023, as part of the $72.6 million funding package announced by the State Government to strengthen responses to family and domestic violence in Western Australia. This new investment will fund further enhancements, including the development of online professional learning programs for teachers and culturally appropriate content for Aboriginal children and young people.

The WA State Government is seeking a long-term service agreement for the delivery of the WA Respectful Relationships Teaching Support Program. A competitive Expression of Interest process was released on Tenders WA on 20 August 2024 for an evidence-based primary prevention education support program. The tender will be open for four weeks closing on 17 September 2024. The contract term will be for three years to 31 December 2027. The second phase of the Tender process is now underway with the evaluation of the tender responses.

Partnership approach

To assist with delivery of the program the Department of Education provides in-kind support to the Department of Communities (the lead agency), and Starick Services Inc.