Navigating Leadership Challenges & Mental Health Amidst Catastrophic Fires: Black Saturday to Black Summer
Tracks
Monarch Room
| Tuesday, July 15, 2025 |
| 2:40 PM - 3:00 PM |
Overview
Graeme Simpfendorfer, Peregrine Consultancy Pty Ltd
Speaker
Mr Graeme Simpfendorfer
CEO
Peregrine Consultancy Pty Ltd
Navigating Leadership Challenges & Mental Health Amidst Catastrophic Fires: Black Saturday to Black Summer.
Abstract
This abstract presents a poignant narrative intertwining personal experiences of positive and negative leadership and mental health amidst two catastrophic bushfire events: Black Saturday in 2009 and Black Summer in 2019/20.
Drawing from firsthand encounters, the author delves into the complex interplay between resilience, adaptive leadership, and psychological well-being in the face of unprecedented natural disasters.
The narrative unfolds against the backdrop of Black Saturday, where the author found themselves thrust into a position of leadership amid the chaos and devastation. Through necessity and determination, they navigated the challenges of coordinating the police response, providing support to affected communities, and grappling with the emotional toll of loss and trauma. This pivotal experience laid the groundwork for their understanding of leadership in crisis and the importance of prioritising mental health amidst adversity.
Fast forward a decade, and the author once again finds themselves on the frontlines as Black Summer ravages the landscape with unprecedented ferocity, this time across borders. However, the scars of past trauma run deep, amplifying the psychological toll of the unfolding disaster. Through introspection and resilience, they confront their own mental health struggles while striving to lead with empathy and compassion.
Through this narrative, the author explores the transformative journey of leadership and mental health, navigating the intricate balance between strength and vulnerability, action and introspection. Their story serves as a testament to the resilience of the human spirit in the face of unimaginable challenges and underscores the critical importance of fostering a culture of support and understanding in times of crisis within first responders.
In presenting this narrative, the author aims to provoke reflection and dialogue on the intersectionality of leadership and mental health in disaster contexts, offering insights and lessons learned from their own journey of survival, growth, and continued journey of healing.
Drawing from firsthand encounters, the author delves into the complex interplay between resilience, adaptive leadership, and psychological well-being in the face of unprecedented natural disasters.
The narrative unfolds against the backdrop of Black Saturday, where the author found themselves thrust into a position of leadership amid the chaos and devastation. Through necessity and determination, they navigated the challenges of coordinating the police response, providing support to affected communities, and grappling with the emotional toll of loss and trauma. This pivotal experience laid the groundwork for their understanding of leadership in crisis and the importance of prioritising mental health amidst adversity.
Fast forward a decade, and the author once again finds themselves on the frontlines as Black Summer ravages the landscape with unprecedented ferocity, this time across borders. However, the scars of past trauma run deep, amplifying the psychological toll of the unfolding disaster. Through introspection and resilience, they confront their own mental health struggles while striving to lead with empathy and compassion.
Through this narrative, the author explores the transformative journey of leadership and mental health, navigating the intricate balance between strength and vulnerability, action and introspection. Their story serves as a testament to the resilience of the human spirit in the face of unimaginable challenges and underscores the critical importance of fostering a culture of support and understanding in times of crisis within first responders.
In presenting this narrative, the author aims to provoke reflection and dialogue on the intersectionality of leadership and mental health in disaster contexts, offering insights and lessons learned from their own journey of survival, growth, and continued journey of healing.
Biography
Graeme served with Victoria Police for 27 years with highlights being an investigator with the Homicide and Armed Robbery Squads.
In 2009 he moved to the Northeast of Victoria as the Officer in
Charge, Wodonga Detectives where he later resigned in
2021.
Graeme is the recipient of the NEM (Black Saturday), NM, NPSM and VPESM. He has a Bachelor of
Policing (Investigations) and Certificate
in Fire Investigations from CSU.
After an esteemed policing, Graeme went on to establish Peregrine Consultancy in 2021 and is also the Lead Investigator for the smash hit Channel 10 reality TV show, Hunted Australia!
Vina Varsani
General Manager
Queensland Reconstruction Authority
Enduring Flood Resilience for Queenslanders
Abstract
The 2021-22 rainfall and flooding events were one of the most devastating natural disasters in Queensland’s history, with more than 7,000 homes damaged.
The floods across Queensland and New South Wales were one of the costliest disaster events in Australia’s history.
The Queensland and Australian Governments developed the $741 million Resilient Homes Fund to help Queensland homeowners whose homes were impacted by the flooding event.
The Resilient Homes Fund was the first household resilience program of its kind to be offered in Australia and is a nation-leading flood resilience program.
Under the Fund, homeowners could register to be considered for one of three program options –
Resilient Retrofit, Home Raising or the Voluntary Home Buy-Back (VHBB) program.
An Industry and Communication program was also delivered concurrently, as well as a Flood Information Portals program for local government.
To date, more than 1,400 grants have been approved for the raising or retrofit of flood-impacted homes, while a total of 685 homes were bought back.
In doing so, the Fund has changed people’s lives by improving the resilience of their homes to future flooding – or removing them from harm’s way. Importantly, the programs have empowered residents to proactively manage their flood risk.
Valuable learnings were gained through delivery of this program. These learnings included, but were not limited to, flood data quality, construction complexities, education regarding resilience measures, and the social impact of supporting flood victims.
Participating homeowners have already benefitted from the works, with some spared damage during the ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred weather event earlier this year due to resilient works undertaken on their homes.
Early indications have shown that around 180 Brisbane properties that were bought back would have been impacted by this weather event, had they not been removed.
The Resilient Homes Fund is changing Queenslanders’ lives, as well as the region’s resilience to flooding.
The floods across Queensland and New South Wales were one of the costliest disaster events in Australia’s history.
The Queensland and Australian Governments developed the $741 million Resilient Homes Fund to help Queensland homeowners whose homes were impacted by the flooding event.
The Resilient Homes Fund was the first household resilience program of its kind to be offered in Australia and is a nation-leading flood resilience program.
Under the Fund, homeowners could register to be considered for one of three program options –
Resilient Retrofit, Home Raising or the Voluntary Home Buy-Back (VHBB) program.
An Industry and Communication program was also delivered concurrently, as well as a Flood Information Portals program for local government.
To date, more than 1,400 grants have been approved for the raising or retrofit of flood-impacted homes, while a total of 685 homes were bought back.
In doing so, the Fund has changed people’s lives by improving the resilience of their homes to future flooding – or removing them from harm’s way. Importantly, the programs have empowered residents to proactively manage their flood risk.
Valuable learnings were gained through delivery of this program. These learnings included, but were not limited to, flood data quality, construction complexities, education regarding resilience measures, and the social impact of supporting flood victims.
Participating homeowners have already benefitted from the works, with some spared damage during the ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred weather event earlier this year due to resilient works undertaken on their homes.
Early indications have shown that around 180 Brisbane properties that were bought back would have been impacted by this weather event, had they not been removed.
The Resilient Homes Fund is changing Queenslanders’ lives, as well as the region’s resilience to flooding.
Biography
Ms Vina Varsani is a senior executive who has a passion for delivering positive outcomes for Queenslanders. Vina had ten years’ experience in corporate banking before transitioning into the State Government sector 12 years ago. Vina thrives on merging strategy and policy to create exceptional community results.
Vina is passionate about developing best practice, evidence-based strategies and policies to help communities become resilient and recover stronger from disaster events.
