At Resolution Education, we train people who work in environments where safety, dignity, and compassion must coexist — even under pressure. Recent coronial inquiries across Australia highlight a confronting truth: inadequate or inconsistent training in restraint and restrictive practices can have fatal outcomes — for the people we support and for the staff involved.
What Coroners Have Told Us
Across multiple states, coroners have been clear and consistent. Tragic cases underline that when untrained or poorly trained staff attempt to manage aggressive or distressed individuals, the results can be tragic.
- Staff who had never been trained in safe restraint techniques tried to assist colleagues and unknowingly increased the risk of critical injury.
- Brief, ad hoc refresher sessions left others without the competence or confidence to recognise escalating danger or safely apply approved techniques.
- Even experienced staff were placed in impossible positions, with systems that failed to maintain up-to-date skills or clearly limit the use of force to absolute last-resort situations.
Lack of structured, skills-based training left workers and patrons equally vulnerable. A Coroner has also described training gaps as “serious deficiencies”, highlighting the importance of regular, comprehensive training refreshers.
These findings don’t just point to procedural failures — they point to human consequences, both physical and emotional, that ripple through workplaces long after an incident occurs.
The Reality of Restrictive Practices
Restrictive practices are not simply “techniques”. They are high-risk interventions that touch the boundaries of law, ethics, and human rights. Every person trained in restraint becomes a potential decision-maker in situations of extreme stress — and those decisions carry life-or-death implications.
That’s why robust training is not optional; it’s a moral and professional imperative. Training must be:
- Comprehensive: covering not only the “how” but the “why” behind risk, trauma response, and restraint reduction.
- Evidence-based: aligned with new research, legislative updates, and coronial findings.
- Practical and scenario-driven: allowing staff to navigate real risks safely and confidently.
- Ongoing: because skills fade, and regular refreshers are now a requirement under most quality and regulatory frameworks (for many sectors, at least annually).
At Resolution Education, we deliver the ADP Restrictive Practices program, which exceeds these benchmarks. We integrate:
- Trauma-informed care principles,
- De-escalation and communication strategies,
- Physical intervention skills supervised by qualified trainers, and
- Legal and ethical frameworks based on real coronial lessons.
Our goal is always zero restrictive practices — but we train every participant to act safely, lawfully, and compassionately if a restrictive practice becomes the last available option.
Coronial recommendations consistently underscore one message:
“Training saves lives.”
It saves the life of the person in crisis.
It protects the wellbeing of the team responding.
And it safeguards organisations from the devastating consequences of avoidable tragedy.
Every employer has a duty of care — not only to prevent harm, but to equip their staff with the tools, knowledge, and ongoing support they need to make the safest decision possible in the worst of moments.
When training is robust, refresher schedules are upheld, and risk awareness is embedded, workplaces move beyond compliance; they embody care.
Closing Thought
The most effective restrictive practice training doesn’t just teach how to hold someone — it teaches how not to.
It prepares staff to de-escalate, to assess risk dynamically, and to see the human being in distress beyond the behaviour in front of them.
That’s what robust training achieves, and that’s what every coroner, every regulator, and every professional in this field ultimately wants: safer outcomes for everyone.
Resolution Education delivers nationally recognised workplace violence prevention and restrictive practices training, based on the ADP Framework, across Australia and New Zealand.
The ADP Restrictive Practices program integrates compliance, compassion, and clinical safety — because prevention is always the best protection.
Read more about restrictive practices and our restrictive practices training and restraint training options.
Contact Resolution Education today to find out more.
