The OVA Lab delivers advanced, systems‑based conflict resolution, de‑escalation, and OVA training for organisations across Australia. Our approach is built on more than 20 years leading WHS in high‑risk state and local government environments, 15 years of policing and security experience, and practical work with over 70 government agencies.

Unlike traditional behaviour‑only training, our frameworks are grounded in real‑world implementation and refined through applied research. We strengthen whole‑of‑organisation capability by addressing the environmental, operational and organisational factors that drive OVA — not just frontline behaviour.

The PACER System-Based OVA Risk Management & Capability Development framework

PACER is The OVA Lab’s system-based whole‑of‑organisation OVA risk management and capability framework that integrates primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention across all system levels. It aligns governance, leadership, work design, and frontline practice into one coherent method for preventing, responding to, and learning from OVA.

At the organisational level, PACER strengthens system design, risk controls, reporting, data use and leadership decision‑making.

At the team level, it builds consistent supervision, coordination, communication and operational readiness.

At the individual level, it provides practical skills for situational awareness, communication and safe decision‑making.

ACE — Awareness, Communication, Exit — forms the tertiary response component, giving frontline staff a simple, reliable method for managing in‑the‑moment escalation.

PACER operates as a continuous learning loop, using feedback from incidents, near misses and operational experience to strengthen prevention, improve controls, and uplift capability over time.

Our Training Programs & Services

All of our training programs and services have the PACER framework at their core.

Why organisations trust The OVA Lab

• 20+ years leading WHS in high‑risk state and local government environments, with hands‑on responsibility for managing OVA, aggression and complex public‑facing risk.
• Practical experience across 70+ councils and state government agencies, giving deep insight into how OVA emerges in real operational contexts.
• 15 years of policing and security experience, bringing grounded understanding of threat behaviour, escalation patterns and frontline realities.
• Doctoral research that has been applied, tested, and refined in the field, not just academically — every tool and framework has evolved through real‑world implementation with proven results.
• Systems‑based approach that addresses organisational conditions, not just individual behaviour.
• Executive, leader, and frontline programs designed for whole‑of‑organisation capability uplift.
• Training and risk management consulting integrated to strengthen both skills and systems.

Why traditional OVA training fails – and why The OVA Lab is different.

Most OVA programs used in councils, health and regulatory environments are adapted from policing, security, or generic customer‑service models. They focus almost entirely on secondary prevention — what to do during an incident — while ignoring the organisational and environmental factors that create risk in the first place.

And while they promise “customised training,” it’s delivered by external educators or ex‑police trainers who don’t understand the operational, legislative or service environments your staff actually work in. Customisation becomes superficial: new scenarios, same underlying model.

This leads to predictable failures:

• primary prevention is barely addressed
• secondary prevention is reduced to scripts and techniques
• tertiary prevention (recovery and learning) is almost non‑existent
• frontline skills fade quickly without system reinforcement
• leaders can’t embed or sustain capability
• executives get no insight into systemic drivers of OVA
• risk controls remain reactive rather than preventative
• organisational learning is shallow, fragmented and inconsistent
• while 70-20-10 learning is promised, it is limited to a single training session when capability is continually developed over time

Traditional providers teach behaviour.
They do not build capability.

The OVA Lab delivers Australia’s only systems‑based OVA risk management and capability development framework — not just training.

We offer a new approach to Occupational Violence and Aggression risk management.

• We don’t teach techniques — we build capability
• We don’t run workshops — we strengthen systems
• We don’t customise scenarios — we customise organisational alignment
• We don’t train in isolation — we integrate prevention, response and recovery
• We don’t guess your environment — we’ve worked in it

The OVA Lab takes a fundamentally different approach.

PACER is a system‑based OVA risk management and capability development framework that integrates the full prevention hierarchy:

Primary prevention

Governance, controls, reporting, work design, resource allocation, environmental factors, organisational alignment.

Secondary prevention

ACE — Awareness, Communication, Exit The in‑situation method for recognising cues, communicating safely and exiting when risk increases.

Tertiary prevention

Recovery — structured post‑incident learning, reporting, analysis and system improvement.

PACER operates across all system levels:

• Organisational — executive alignment, risk management, system design
• Team — leadership capability, supervision, coordination, operational consistency
• Individual — practical, evidence‑informed frontline skills

PACER gives your organisation a common language, a shared method, and a continuous learning loop that strengthens capability over time.

This is not police‑style training.
Not security‑style training.
Not defensive‑tactics training.

It’s system‑based OVA capability development — built by someone who has:

• led WHS and OVA risk in high‑risk government environments,
• spent seven years researching OVA at doctoral level, and
• conducted applied research directly inside regulatory authorities and local government.

No other provider in Australia offers this depth of system‑level expertise.

Traditional OVA Training vs The OVA Lab (PACER)

Traditional OVA Training	The OVA Lab (PACER Framework)
Adapted from policing, security, or generic customer‑service models	Built specifically for councils, regulators, health, and community services
Focuses almost entirely on secondary prevention (what to do during an incident)	Integrates primary, secondary and tertiary OVA prevention through the PACER Framework
Delivered by external educators or ex‑police with little understanding of your operational environment	Designed and delivered by a specialist with 20+ years in WHS, OVA risk management, regulatory + local government, and 15 years policing + security experience
“Customisation” means tweaking scenarios, or referring to your policies, procedures, and org structure, but not changing the underlying model	Customisation aligned to legislation, authority limits, operational realities and service environments
Primary prevention barely addressed	Strong focus on primary OVA prevention: governance, controls, reporting, work design, environmental factors
Secondary prevention reduced to scripts and techniques	Secondary prevention delivered through ACE – Awareness, Communication, Exit
Tertiary prevention (recovery + learning) almost non‑existent	Structured Recovery processes: trauma-informed post‑incident debriefs, learning, reporting, analysis, and system improvement
Skills fade quickly without reinforcement	Capability embedded through leadership alignment, team‑level consistency, and system‑level controls
Leaders receive little to no uplift	Leaders gain practical tools to shape safer operational environments
Executives get no insight into systemic drivers of OVA or OVA risk management performance	Executives gain clarity on organisational, environmental, and operational contributors to OVA, and assurance of OVA risk management performance
Risk controls remain reactive	Risk controls become preventative, proactive and aligned to WHS & OVA risk management systems
Organisational learning is shallow and fragmented	PACER creates continuous learning loops that strengthen capability over time
70‑20‑10 is promised but delivered as a single session	Capability is developed over time, not in a one‑off workshop
Teaches behaviour	Builds whole‑of‑organisation capability through a systems-based risk framework

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What councils and regulators tell us

Across local and state government, executives and operational leaders describe the same systemic challenges:

• “We’ve tried de‑escalation training, but it’s all forgotten within a month.” Skills fade without leadership reinforcement and system support.
• “We’ve had de-escalation and conflict resolution training before, but it was too policey. We need it to suit our organisation.” Training needs to be provided by people who know your sector, industry, and workplace – not generic trainers.
• “Our incidents aren’t about customer service — they’re about system pressures.” Escalation often comes from work design, expectations, and constraints.
• “We don’t have a consistent approach across teams.” Different units use different language, models, and responses.
• “We need something built for government, not adapted from policing or security.” Traditional models don’t reflect the realities of public‑facing regulatory work.
• “We need a whole‑of‑organisation approach, not another workshop.” Executives, leaders, and frontline staff all need aligned capability.

This is the gap The OVA Lab fills.

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Who We Support

The OVA Lab specialises in OVA capability uplift for:

Regulatory & Compliance Roles

• Authorised officers
• Inspectors
• Investigators
• Compliance teams
• Environmental health, planning, building, parking, and local laws

Community, Care, and Customer Service Roles

• Local government
• Regulatory authorities
• Hospitals, health, & community services
• Compliance, enforcement, and inspection teams
• Customer service
• Libraries
• Youth workers
• Home care & aged care
• Maternal & child health
• Retail & hospitality

Leadership an Management Roles

• Executives
• Directors
• Coordinators
• Safety, risk, and people leaders

If your people interact with the public, manage conflict, enforce legislation, or work in community‑facing environments — we support them.

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Executive Briefing

Strategic alignment for executive teams on the organisational drivers of OVA.

Executives gain clarity on the systemic pressures that shape OVA risk, the limitations of traditional training, and the organisational levers that create safer operational environments. This session establishes the shared language, direction, and expectations required for whole‑of‑organisation capability.

HR & Safety PACER Implementation Training

Build internal implementation and governance capability.

Building the internal capability to embed PACER into governance, systems, and organisational learning. This program equips HR and Safety teams with the tools to integrate PACER into policy, reporting, investigations, and workforce development — ensuring capability is consistent and sustainable across the organisation.

Leader OVA Training

Systems‑based capability for leaders who shape operational environments.

Leaders learn how to recognise and manage system‑level contributors to OVA, reinforce safe practice, support staff after incidents, and embed consistent approaches across teams. This program builds the leadership behaviours that make frontline skills sustainable.

Frontline OVA Training

Evidence‑based skills for public‑facing staff in government and regulatory environments.

Frontline staff develop practical, realistic skills for early recognition, communication under pressure, safe exit, and recovery. The training reflects the real constraints of council and regulatory work — not policing, security, or customer‑service models.

Sovereign Citizen & Anti-Government Extremism OVA Training

A specialist capability program for government, regulatory, and public‑facing organisations.

Government and public‑facing organisations are increasingly encountering complex, unpredictable, and ideologically‑driven behaviours linked to sovereign citizen beliefs and anti‑government extremism. These interactions create elevated OVA risks for frontline, compliance, enforcement, and regulatory staff.

The OVA Lab provides specialist training to help organisations understand, identify, and safely respond to these emerging risk profiles.

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Why Work With Us

30+ years in high‑risk public sector OVA environments. Evidence‑based, systems‑thinking approach Practical capability uplift for councils and regulators.

We understand the realities of government work — the accountability, the public scrutiny, the legislative constraints, and the operational pressures.

We help authorities build safer, more resilient systems that protect their people and strengthen public value.