RESPECT WEEK 2026 FOR THE VICTORIAN VOCATIONAL EDUCATION AND TRAINING SECTOR
A PLACE FOR EVERYONE
2026
Respect Week is a sector-wide initiative across Australia’s vocational education and training (VET) sector — bringing together TAFEs, Registered Training Organisations (RTOs), educators, learners and leaders to create safe, respectful and inclusive environments.
Together, we are building a VET sector free from gender-based violence.
What is Respect Week?
Respect Week (formerly Respect and Equality Week) is an annual, sector-led initiative that supports the VET sector to:
Promote safe, respectful and inclusive learning and workplace environments
Strengthen understanding of gender-based violence and its drivers
Build shared responsibility for prevention across organisations and systems
Equip staff and students with the knowledge and tools to take action
The campaign supports a primary prevention approach — focusing on stopping violence before it occurs by addressing the underlying attitudes, norms and structures that enable it.
Why it matters
Work-related gendered violence — including sexual harassment, discrimination, bullying and other harmful behaviours — remains a significant issue across Australian workplaces and learning environments.
The VET sector has a critical role to play.
As a gateway to industries, workplaces and future careers, VET shapes not only skills — but cultures, expectations and norms.
Respect Week supports the sector to move beyond responding to harm, toward actively preventing it by:
Challenging harmful behaviours and attitudes
Embedding equality into systems and practices
Creating environments where everyone can participate safely and equally
Building the skills needed for active prevention and response
This is about long-term cultural change — across education, workplaces and the broader economy.
Key Statistics
"One in three Australian workers experienced sexual harassment at work in the past five years - demonstrating this is a critical workplace safety issue"
Australian Human Rights Commission “Everyone’s Business” 2018
"The education and training sector, despite representing only 8% of the workforce, accounts for nearly half of all sexual harassment incidents in Australian workplaces."
"While formal reports show 4% of TAFE staff experiencing sexual harassment, surveys reveal actual rates of up to 10% for women - highlighting how many incidents go unreported through official channels"
Commission for Gender Equality in the Public Sector 2021 Insights Portal Data
"54% of male-dominated occupations face skills shortages, with unsafe and discriminatory training environments directly limiting workforce participation and perpetuating gender segregation."
Who is this for?
Respect Week welcomes participation from across the VET ecosystem, including:
TAFE and RTO staff — educators, leadership, administration and support roles
Students, apprentices and trainees
Industry partners and employers
Government, regulators and sector bodies
Training and workforce development organisations
Everyone has a role to play in creating safer, more respectful environments.
How to get involved
Respect Week is designed to make it easy for organisations across the VET sector to take action — in ways that suit your context, capacity and role.
Whether you’re running a large campus or a small training provider, there are practical ways to participate and contribute to building safer, more respectful environments.
From starting conversations, to running activities, to embedding change in everyday practice — every action matters.
To support this, we’ve developed a comprehensive suite of campaign resources and tools — ready for you to download, customise and use across your organisation.
These resources can help you to:
Promote Respect Week across your organisation
Engage staff and students in meaningful conversations
Deliver activities, events and learning opportunities
Strengthen your approach to preventing gendered violence
Embed respect and equality into everyday practice
You can start small — or take a whole-of-organisation approach.
Explore and download the Respect Week resources below to get started.
Resources
Find and download all our resources, collateral and social media tools to help you and your colleagues become involved in the campaign. All pieces of collateral are provided for TAFE, RTO and other VET settings.
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Explore, edit and download these great social tiles to help promote our campaign for a respectful and equal vocational education and training sector here:
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Promote the campaign and events by using the banner below in your emails. If you want link the banner to one of your events or this campaign website.
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Use these social frames to show your public support for our campaign to create a safe, respectful and equal VET sector in Victoria.
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Promote your participation and support for a respectful and equal vocational education and training sector across Victoria. Use this background image in your teams, Zoom or other video conference calls!
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Public commitment and leadership is vital to promoting a culture of respect and equality in Victoria’s Vocational Education and Training sector. The following resources are designed to provide information and support to leaders, who wish to make a statement in support of our campaign.
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Wanting to make a presentation? Share some information with colleagues, peers, students and your network about preventing workplace gendered violence and, the campaign? Download this MS PowerPoint template (via dropbox)
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These campaign cards - one in black and white, and another in full colour - are great to use at your events, in team meetings, conversation with colleagues.
Toolkits and Branding
Branding Resources
The campaign branding guide, logos and colourful background are available for RTO’s TAFEs and VET stakeholders to use. All developed and designed by the wonderful freelance graphic designer Luke Pringipas. Click on the links below to be taken to the items:
Style Guide and Fonts (via dropbox file)
Logos (via dropbox)
Tool kit
To bring it all together, please find via the link below, a tool kit for the Campaign. The tool kit provides a summary of the campaign, its goals, and also outlines ways that small RTOs, large providers and people who work in the Victorian VET sector can become a part of the campaign.
There is also some information on how to manage disclosures and respond to resistance and backlash.
Take the pledge
A statement of commitment to ending gender based violence in Victorian training sector.
I stand for training and education environments free from gender-based violence and sexual harassment, where all people can learn and work with dignity and respect. I recognise that preventing workplace gendered violence is everyone's responsibility.
I commit to:
Speaking up against sexism, discrimination and harassment in training environments
Supporting initiatives that promote gender equality in education and training institutions
Taking action when I witness concerning behaviours
Creating safe and inclusive spaces for learning and working
Contributing to a culture where everyone feels valued and respected.
I understand that gender-based violence in educational settings reinforces inequality and limits opportunities. By signing this pledge, I join others across Victoria's training sector who are working to create positive change.
Together, we can build a future where all people in education and training settings are safe, respected and able to achieve their full potential.