OVA risks never stand still: new team members join, workplace environments change, and threats evolve. Refresher training ensures that every employee—from new starters to seasoned staff—remains sharp, confident, and ready to de-escalate or protect themselves when it counts. Training isn’t a set-and-forget exercise; it’s an ongoing process, and that goes double for OVA prevention.

Under Australian Work Health and Safety (WHS) law, employers have a legal duty of care to provide a safe workplace—including preventing and responding to violence and aggression. SafeWork Australia and state regulators make it clear: organisations must ensure staff receive initial and ongoing, role-appropriate training to manage OVA risks.

While there is no single national rule for all workplaces, best practice and state guidance recommend refresher training at least annually. In some sectors—such as healthcare and education—annual refresher training is explicitly required to maintain compliance and protect staff. For Health and Safety Representatives (HSRs), for example, the law entitles them to refresher training every year during their term, and some regulations extend that to broader staff groups.

Best Practice for ADP & OVA Training

• Annual refreshers
• More frequently if workplace risks change
• After any OVA incident or major workplace change
• At induction for all new employees

Refresher sessions should include practical scenario rehearsals, updates on legal responsibilities, and changes to internal procedures—so the ADP framework is more than theory; it’s second nature.

Staying on top of OVA risks isn’t optional. Australian legislation makes ongoing, regular OVA prevention training a key part in meeting your duty of care. Annual refreshers are a simple step that protects your people and your business. If the goal is a truly safe workplace, OVA refresher training can’t be “set and forget.”

Why Regular OVA Refreshers Matter

The risks of OVA can increase as new threats, team dynamics, and even public attitudes change. Regular refresher sessions keep skills sharp, build real confidence, and help teams respond with muscle memory instead of panic. If you only ever train new staff, experience gaps and bad habits creep in—leaving both your people and your business exposed.

Running regular OVA refresher training is a legal and ethical must for all Australian organisations. If you want teams to be safe, confident, and legally compliant—make OVA training (like ADP) a regular calendar event, not a one-off memory. It’s the only way to ensure duty of care is more than a promise—it’s a lived, daily reality.

Contact us for more information.