Mat and Sue have over 40 years combined experience working on the ground with communities following disasters and are leaders in developing community-led recovery initiatives. There success was recognised in:
- 2025 with a Resilient Australian National Business Award for “Building Community from the Ground Up : Community Emergency Management Planning
- 2025 with a Resilient Australia Victorian Business Award for “Building Community from the Ground Up : Community Emergency Management Planning
- 2018 with a Resilient Australia Award for their innovative community led recovery strategy post the South West Fires.
- 2018 EMPA Award “Excellence in Emergency Communications” Award
- National Emergency Medals: Vic Fires 2009 & Vic Fires 2019/2020
Their experience in disaster recovery working with communities, local government, federal government and NGO’s is incomparable. The success of their strategies is the recognition that the community is the centre, the strategies are flexible and responsive and engagement supports the community to work together to build social capital.
Mat and Sue have used their lived experiences of working with communities before, during and after disasters to develop this course. This course is everything they wish they knew before taking on a role in recovery. The course is specifically designed to provide practitioners with practical skills and techniques to use in the field before, during and after disasters that will improve recovery outcomes for communities.
About the Course
Disaster recovery work is complex, requiring strong coordination, clear communication and a solid understanding of systems, principles and community needs. Council staff play a critical role in supporting communities to recover and rebuild after disaster.
This one day, practical course builds foundational recovery capability for staff working in
disaster recovery or seeking to strengthen their practice. It combines national frameworks with practical tools, real-world insights and award-winning approaches to community-led recovery.
This course will:
- Translate the National Principles for Disaster Recovery into practical tools you can use for planning, decision-making and delivery.
- Introduce best-practice and award-winning approaches to disaster recovery communication and community engagement.
- Enable you to apply data and local context from your own LGA through practical activities.
- Build your confidence to support and enable community-led recovery.
- Strengthen your ability to support your own wellbeing, your team, and affected communities throughout the recovery journey.
- Equip you with practical tools and resources to strengthen your recovery practice.
- Provide a safe, supported environment to practice new skills and approaches.
Outcomes
Success as a recovery practitioner requires commitment, knowledge and skills. This training will:
- Expose you to best practice and award winning recovery techniques
- Demonstrate award winning engagement and communication systems
- Provide you with opportunities to practice newly learnt skills in immersive interactive scenarios where you will use geographical areas within your own LGA
- Empower you to confidently support community led recovery
- Provide you with resources to add to your recovery toolbox
Who Should Attend?
We would recommend this course to anybody that works in recovery. Including, but not limited to the following:
- Community Recovery Officers
- Community Resilience Builders
- Community Recovery Managers
- Fire/Flood Recovery Managers
- Community Engagement Officers
- Community Development Officers
- Recovery Officers
- Recovery Workers
Click here for more information.
Delivery method
Our training is delivered through reality-based training, simulations, practical scenarios, case studies and problem-based learning where lived experiences are shared to enhance participants learning experience. During our training we share real life experiences, combined with best practice research, to ensure you are provided with current information, strategies and ideas.
Wellbeing is our priority
Our organisation prioritises cultural and gender safety, ensuring all participants feel respected and supported. We focus on creating an environment grounded in empathy and safety, where diverse perspectives are valued, and everyone is empowered to contribute meaningfully. This approach not only enhances the learning experience but also fosters a deeper connection and trust among participants, making sessions truly inclusive and impactful.
Importantly, our organisation uses a trauma informed approach to our work, acknowledging that an individual is more likely than not to have a history of trauma. By appreciating that discussing disasters may trigger a memory of previous trauma we provide participants with details about the early signs of a triggering event and provide strategies to assist participants experiencing a triggering event.
Learning materials
Each participant will be provided with:
- A training folder
- A workbook
The Six C's 