EML Group joins forces with MATES in Construction to champion mental health in the building industry
In another significant collaboration for the Australian construction sector, EML Group is proudly partnering with MATES in Construction, the leading suicide prevention charity for tradies and construction workers.
At EML, our purpose is simple but powerful, to help people get their lives back. Nowhere is that more important than in construction, an industry where too many workers carry their struggles in silence, and where we lose a mate to suicide far too often.
That’s why our partnership with MATES in Construction means so much to us. Together, we’re working to make sure no worker has to face their darkest days alone, and that every person on site knows how to spot a mate who’s struggling, start the conversation, and help them find their way through.
“EML’s purpose is to help people get their lives back. Our partnership with MATES helps to extend services and support even further, providing construction workers with additional access to critical suicide prevention services,” said Daniel Walton, EML Group Executive.
Since 2023, our funding through the Mutual Benefits Program has put two additional MATES Field Officers on the ground across New South Wales, real people, having real conversations, in the places they’re needed most. And over three years of partnership (July 2023 to June 2026), the impact has been profound. Behind every one of these numbers is a worker who felt seen, a conversation that mattered, and a life that might just have been saved:
- 11,433 construction workers reached
- 393 training sessions delivered
- 126 companies trained
This work reaches far beyond the city. We’re proud that our partnership has helped MATES bring suicide prevention training to regional NSW communities where support can be hard to come by, and to help major construction sites achieve MATES accreditation, embedding a culture of care that stays long after the training ends.
And it’s working. After training, 87.1% of participants felt confident they could help a struggling workmate, and 99% said they’d be willing to step in and knew exactly how to connect a mate to the help they needed. As one worker shared, “MATES has helped myself and my fellow workers understand the triggers and impacts of mental health in construction, and how to get people the support required.”
This is more than a partnership, it’s a shared belief that everyone who builds our nation deserves to go home safe, in every sense. By prioritising mental health and investing in the people on the tools, EML and MATES are helping to build a construction industry that’s not just stronger, but kinder, more connected, and there for one another when it matters most.
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