National recognition for our virtual reality training program

The Reframe your Response program helps our staff prevent and manage aggression at work by improving their confidence and communication skills. 

The 2025 NSCA Foundation/HSI Donesafe National Safety Awards of Excellence celebrate organisations that go above and beyond to create safer, healthier, and more resilient workplaces. 

In the 2025 Australian Workplace Health and Safety Awards there was a record number of entries.

Western Health is one of only five organisations to be shortlisted for the Best Workplace Health and Safety Training and Development Award category.

‘It’s an honour to be recognised as a finalist in two national awards,’ Dr Elisa Ilarda, Operations Manager, Occupational Violence and Aggression (OVA) Prevention said. 

‘This recognition highlights Western Health's continued commitment to safety, ensuring the wellbeing of employees, patients, consumers and our community.’ 

Research shows education can be beneficial in reducing the incidence and severity of workplace violence and aggression.

Training can enhance an employee’s knowledge, communication, de-escalation skills and techniques to prevent and manage potentially violent situations. 

An assessment of our program, conducted with Deakin University, shows that the virtual reality training program resulted in statistically significant improvements in many of these areas. 

One of the key features of the program is realistic human characters that display dynamic emotions and expressions, which is much more immersive than traditional classroom learning. 

Our education program complements our award-winning OVA Aggression Campaign named Predict Prevent: Priority Safety Staff, which resulted in a significant increase in proactive measures and a decrease in OVA incidents.