Meet the SMEs at MOHR: Q&A with Teegan Modderman

Teegan Modderman is a leading authority in psychosocial risk management in Australia. She has played a key role in shaping Queensland’s psychosocial hazard legislation, worked with international regulators and peak bodies, and currently serves as Chief Mental Health Officer at Queensland Rail.

Her career spans suicide prevention, workplace mental health, system reform and organisational change, giving her deep, practical insight into what effective psychosocial risk management looks like in real-world environments.

Can you tell us a bit about your background and what led you to your current role?

I’m a psychologist specialising in workplace mental health and psychosocial risk management with more than 20 years’ experience across high‑risk industries including rail, mining, construction, oil and gas, government and regulatory environments. Today I lead Kintinua (a consulting company), serve as Queensland Rail’s Chief Mental Health Officer, and sit on an AHPRA Board Committee. What led me here is simple: I’m driven by creating healthier, safer workplaces and helping organisations build the capability to manage psychosocial risks well.

What drew you to My Occ Health Record (MOHR)?

MOHR is the kind of system‑level innovation occupational health has needed for years. Too often, data is fragmented and processes are siloed. MOHR brings everything together, enabling early detection, better decisions and a more proactive, integrated approach to worker health and safety. That aligns perfectly with my passion for system reform.

Where is the biggest opportunity for innovation in occupational health?

The biggest opportunity is real‑time, integrated visibility of psychosocial risk. When organisations can connect data and see patterns early, they can intervene before harm occurs. Technology that guides leaders, reduces admin and empowers good judgement is where the real transformation lies.

What does “impact” mean to you?

For me, impact means creating lasting, systemic change. It’s not just about delivering a project; it’s about improving the lived experience of workers and building capability within organisations so they can sustain that improvement long after the project ends.

I’m motivated by knowing that my work contributes to safer work design, healthier cultures and leaders who feel confident managing psychosocial risks.

How is the rise of psychosocial regulation changing organisational wellbeing?

This shift is moving organisations from reactive wellbeing initiatives to proactive risk management. Instead of focusing on individual resilience or one‑off wellbeing programs, organisations are now required to examine the design and management of work and the work environment.

It elevates psychosocial safety to the same level of importance as physical safety – something regulators and practitioners have advocated for years. This change is driving more mature, evidence‑based approaches to health and safety.

How can businesses build a culture that genuinely supports mental health?

A genuine culture of care is built through:

• Leadership capability: leaders who understand psychosocial risks and know how to manage them
• Psychological safety: workers feeling safe to speak up early
• Good work design: clarity, manageable demands and supportive systems
• Integrated processes: HR, safety, wellbeing and injury management working together, not in silos
• Visible action: employees seeing that concerns lead to meaningful change.

Compliance sets the minimum standard. Culture is built when organisations go beyond compliance and embed these practices into everyday leadership and team rituals.

What excites you most about contributing to MOHR?

MOHR has the potential to fundamentally change how organisations manage psychosocial risk. It can simplify complexity, give leaders the visibility they’ve been missing, support early intervention and lift capability at scale. For me, it’s a natural extension of my career‑long focus on improving workplace mental health.

Final Thoughts

Working with Teegan reflects MOHR’s belief that good psychosocial risk management starts with understanding people and their day to day experience. Teegan’s depth of experience across regulation, leadership and complex workplaces helps ensure that the MOHR Psychosocial Risk Module is practical, grounded and genuinely useful for those responsible for keeping people safe at work. Together, we are focused on helping organisations create safer work by moving beyond tick-box wellbeing initiatives towards proactive, integrated approaches that improve everyday working lives.