Workplace Safety | Occupational Violence & Aggression | Behaviour Management | De-escalation | Professional Training & Consulting
Rod Catterall is the Founder and Director of Rod Catterall & Associates Pty Ltd (RCA), a specialist training and consulting organisation supporting workplaces across Australia and New Zealand.
He is recognised as an advanced civilian protective tactics instructor, with more than 30 years of professional experience, Rod has built a career at the intersection of workplace safety, occupational violence and aggression prevention, behaviour management, Positive Behaviour Support, de-escalation, protective physical behaviour, security and professional education.
His experience spans government, healthcare, disability and NDIS services, education, local government, community services, aged care, justice, security and private enterprise.
Rod’s professional background is distinctive because it combines front-line operational experience, education and training expertise, behaviour support knowledge, workplace safety and risk management.
This enables him to approach challenging workplace situations from more than one perspective: understanding the behaviour, identifying the risk, supporting the individual and ensuring staff have practical strategies to respond safely and professionally.
Rod has worked across education, disability, community services, security, health and justice sectors since 1991.
His professional experience has included:
- Primary, secondary and specialist education
- University-level lecturing
- Workplace and adult education
- Disability and community services
- Behaviour management and Positive Behaviour Support
- Occupational Violence & Aggression prevention
- Security operations and security personnel management
- Protective and defensive tactics
- Staff safety and organisational risk reduction
- Conflict management and de-escalation
- Professional consulting and program development
- Leadership, coaching and trainer development
Rather than delivering generic training packages, Rod’s focus is on understanding what staff actually experience in their workplace and developing training that reflects the organisation’s environment, clients, risks, policies and operational responsibilities.
Rod’s principal areas of professional practice include:
- Occupational Violence & Aggression Management
- Conflict Prevention and De-escalation
- Positive Behaviour Support
- Functional Behaviour Assessment
- Managing Behaviours of Concern
- Trauma-Informed Practice
- Protective Physical Behaviour
- Workplace and Personal Safety
- Behavioural Risk Management
- Restrictive Practices Awareness
- Mental Health Awareness
- Disability and NDIS Sector Training
- Defensive Tactics
- Staff Safety and Risk Reduction
- Leadership and Professional Development
- Train-the-Trainer Programs
- Customised Organisational Training
- Training Program and Resource Development
Rod is recognised for his ability to translate complex concepts around behaviour, aggression, risk and safety into practical strategies staff can understand and use.
His training approach is:
Practical
Training focuses on realistic situations staff may encounter rather than theory alone.
Evidence-Informed
Programs incorporate recognised approaches to behaviour support, de-escalation, trauma-informed practice and workplace safety.
Organisation-Specific
Training can be customised around the organisation’s workforce, operating environment, client group, policies and identified risks.
Engaging
Rod uses discussion, demonstrations, scenarios and practical examples to encourage active participation and learning.
Prevention-Focused
The emphasis is on recognising warning signs, understanding behaviour, communicating effectively and reducing escalation wherever possible.
Safety-Focused
Where situations cannot be prevented, staff need clear, proportionate and practical strategies to protect themselves and others.
Throughout his career, Rod has delivered training, consulting, professional development and presentations across a broad range of organisations and industries.
His professional engagements have included work involving:
- Government departments
- Hospitals and health services
- Local government and councils
- Disability and NDIS providers
- Primary and secondary schools
- Specialist education
- TAFEs and universities
- Mental health services
- Community organisations
- Child, youth and family services
- Out-of-home care
- Retail & Hospitality
- Construction & Transport Industry
- Juvenile justice and corrections
- Security organisations
- Police academy instructor training
- Army reserve instructor training
- Aged care
- Corporate and private organisations
Rod’s experience has also included professional engagement with organisations across the Victorian health, human services and education sectors, as well as training and professional activities involving justice, security and law-enforcement environments.
He has presented at professional forums and conferences, participated in podcasts and contributed to discussion around workplace violence, conflict management, staff safety and behaviour support.
Rod has undertaken extensive education, training and professional development throughout his career.
Key qualifications and professional credentials have included:
- Certificate IV in Assessment and Workplace Training
- Certificate II in Security Operations
- Certificate III in Security Operations
- Accredited Martial Arts Coach
- Defensive Tactics Train-the-Trainer training
- Advanced Restraint and Control training
- First Aid and Emergency Response training
- Fire and Emergency Response Warden training
Rod has also completed professional development across areas including:
- Positive Behaviour Support
- Functional Behaviour Assessment
- Trauma-Informed Care
- Autism and Neurodiversity
- Mental Health
- Psychosis
- Cultural Awareness
- Child Safety and Safeguarding
- Restrictive Practices
- Occupational Violence Prevention
- Complex Behaviour
- Reflective Practice
- Stress Management
- Security Operations
- Defensive Tactics
- Emergency Response
Ongoing professional development is an important part of Rod’s work and RCA’s commitment to maintaining contemporary, relevant and professionally delivered training.
Rod also brings extensive experience from martial arts, security and protective training environments.
His background has included:
- Security operations
- Security personnel management
- Crowd control
- Loss prevention
- Defensive tactics
- Firearms training
- Restraint and control
- Personal safety
- Protective physical behaviour
- Conflict management
- Risk assessment
- Martial arts instruction and coaching
This operational experience provides another important dimension to RCA’s training.
Rod understands that staff working in potentially volatile environments require more than theoretical knowledge. They need strategies that are ethical, proportionate, practical and capable of being applied under pressure.
As Founder and Director, Rod provides the strategic and professional leadership behind RCA.
His responsibilities include:
- Development of RCA training programs and methodologies
- Corporate and government client consultation
- Training quality and professional standards
- Customised program development
- Trainer and facilitator development
- Workplace safety and behavioural consulting
- Development of training resources and intellectual property
- Strategic partnerships
- Professional presentations
- Development of face-to-face, online and blended learning solutions
RCA draws on specialist trainers and associates with experience across areas including behaviour support, psychology, social work, disability, education, workplace safety, human services and security.
This multidisciplinary approach enables RCA to develop solutions for organisations whose challenges may involve a combination of human behaviour, workplace safety, risk, communication and operational complexity.
Rod believes effective workplace safety begins well before an aggressive incident occurs.
Staff need to understand:
- What is driving the behaviour?
- What warning signs are developing?
- What can I do to prevent escalation?
- How should I communicate?
- When should I disengage or seek assistance?
- How do I keep myself, colleagues and the person I am supporting safe?
The objective is not simply to teach people how to respond to aggression.
It is to help organisations develop staff who can recognise risk earlier, communicate more effectively, make better decisions under pressure and respond safely, ethically and professionally.
Under Rod’s leadership, RCA continues to develop practical training and consulting solutions for organisations seeking to strengthen:
- Staff confidence and capability
- Occupational Violence & Aggression prevention
- Behaviour management
- De-escalation skills
- Workplace safety
- Organisational risk management
- Leadership capability
- Consistency of staff responses
- Training and professional development systems
RCA can support organisations requiring anything from a single specialist workshop through to customised programs, organisation-wide training, live online delivery, Train-the-Trainer programs and ongoing consulting support.
