ACER Wellbeing Program Guide
We are proud to announce that The Stand-Up Project (SUP) has been officially listed in the ACER Wellbeing Program Guide, a national directory of school-based programs developed to support the health, safety and wellbeing of students across Australia.
The guide, created by the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER), is designed to help schools find evidence-informed wellbeing programs that align with their values and community needs. Developed in collaboration with education and health authorities (beginning with the Tasmanian Department of Health), the guide brings together trusted programs to help schools navigate the many options available to them.
As Australia’s leading independent education research organisation, ACER is uniquely positioned to develop a national platform that benefits learning communities across the country. And we’re honoured that The Stand-Up Project is now part of it.
What is The Stand-Up Project?
The Stand-Up Project is an anti-bullying training program for students that empowers young people to shape a safer and more inclusive school culture. It focuses on student leadership training, upstander strategies, and values-based action to create long-lasting change in schools.
SUP is not a one-off workshop. It’s a student-led initiative that builds the capacity of young people to influence their peers, take responsibility for their school environment, and model respectful, inclusive behaviour. Our sessions are delivered with teachers, student leaders, and families to create a whole-community approach to wellbeing.
Why Our Inclusion Matters
Being recognised in the ACER Wellbeing Program Guide means The Stand-Up Project meets national standards for evidence-informed practice and has demonstrated positive outcomes in schools. It signals to principals, wellbeing teams, and education departments that our program is trusted, effective, and aligned with best-practice guidelines for improving student wellbeing.
This inclusion also reinforces the importance of programs that empower students, not just to respond to bullying but to prevent it from happening in the first place through values, empathy, and connection.
What Makes SUP Different?
Unlike traditional anti-bullying initiatives, The Stand-Up Project puts students at the centre of change. We don’t just talk about bullying, we equip students with the tools to lead the cultural shift themselves. Our student leadership training teaches young people to deliver workshops to their peers, run assemblies, design posters, plan events, and work with school staff to build a kinder, more inclusive school environment.
A key part of this process is our upstander training, which teaches students how to safely and effectively respond to negative behaviour. Using our signature “Four D’s” strategy—Direct, Distract, Delegate, Delay—students learn practical ways to intervene when someone is being treated unfairly. This approach is age-appropriate, easy to remember, and highly effective in helping students feel confident in real-life situations.
Through our tailored workshops, we also help schools explore the difference between a Friendship Fire, mean-on-purpose behaviour, and bullying, giving students the language to navigate social conflict with empathy and clarity.
Program Outcomes
Schools that implement SUP consistently report the following outcomes:
A reduction in friendship fires and targeted behaviour.
Improved relationships between students, staff, and families.
Increased student confidence, especially in public speaking and leadership roles.
More peer-led conversations about respect, inclusion, and kindness.
Greater student understanding of the role of bystanders and upstanders.
A stronger sense of school belonging and safety.
Each school also receives a custom evaluation report, outlining the personal growth students experience (such as improvements in self-confidence and collaboration), and their feedback about the program’s impact on school culture.
A Whole-Community Approach
The Stand-Up Project isn’t just about the students, it involves teachers and families, too. We deliver sessions for school staff and parents, co-facilitated by student leaders, to showcase student voice and equip adults with the tools to reinforce these behaviours at home and in the classroom. These sessions help to bridge the gap between generations and promote a unified response to unkind or harmful behaviour.
When students see that their teachers and parents are actively involved and supportive, it sends a powerful message: we’re all in this together.
A National Impact
Now delivered in schools across Victoria and expanding nationally, SUP has supported thousands of students to become confident, compassionate leaders. We’re currently partnering with councils, education departments, and out-of-hours care providers like TeamKids to ensure schools, regardless of size or location, can access high-quality anti-bullying training for students.
We’ve worked with small rural schools, large urban secondary schools, and everything in between. And no matter where we go, the message is the same: students want to lead, and they want to be part of the solution.
Final Thoughts
Inclusion in the ACER Wellbeing Program Guide is an important milestone, but what matters most is the impact we see every day, students who feel safe, seen, and proud of the culture they’re building together.
If your school is looking for a meaningful way to address bullying, build student voice, and promote a positive school culture, we’d love to chat.
Together, let’s raise a generation of leaders who stand up for themselves, and for each other.
👉 Explore The Stand-Up Project on the ACER Wellbeing Guide here: https://wellbeingguide.acer.org/
🟣 Learn more about our anti-bullying training for students, upstander training, and student leadership training at www.thestandupproject.com.au
