Crisis Communications Boot Camp Sydney

Crisis Communications Boot Camp Australia

25-26 June 2026, Sydney

About the Event

Crisis Communications Boot Camp Australia
25–26 June 2026 | Sydney

The Crisis Communications Boot Camp Australia Has Been Waiting For.

After 40+ sold-out editions across Europe and North America, the world’s most practical crisis communications training finally arrives in Australia — bringing together leading experts from North America, Europe, Asia and Australia.

Built for communicators who need to lead with clarity in chaos, this Boot Camp delivers real frameworks, real tools, and real crisis readiness for a volatile world.

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What You’ll Learn

Understand How Global Forces Shape Your Next Crisis
Gain the strategic foresight to navigate geopolitical tensions, polarization, public expectations, and regulatory shifts — and translate them into actionable crisis plans.
Use AI as a Competitive Advantage in Crisis Response
See how AI accelerates crisis detection, decision-making, content creation, sentiment tracking, and long-term reputation analysis. Walk away knowing exactly where AI fits into your workflow.
Master High-Stakes Media Engagement
Learn how to communicate with precision when the narrative is shifting by the hour, the media cycle is unforgiving, and every word matters.
Measure What Truly Mattered
Discover how to evaluate crisis performance using clear KPIs, data-driven insights, and accountability frameworks that prove your strategy worked — or reveal what must change.
Build Your Own AI-Powered Crisis Strategy
Step-by-step, you’ll create a realistic, modern, AI-enhanced crisis response plan that you can immediately implement within your organization.

Day 2: Full-Day AI Workshop – AI-Powered Crisis Communication

Led by Peter Heneghan, Former Director of Digital Communications, 10 Downing Street

This highly interactive workshop gives you the tools and confidence to transform your crisis response using AI:

Integrate AI into every phase of your crisis plan — from scenario planning and messaging to monitoring, escalation, and simulation.
Sharpen decision-making with AI tools that reduce noise, highlight risks, and speed up response time.
Build and stress-test a fully operational AI-enhanced crisis plan, customized to your team, threats, and industry.

You’ll walk away with a working plan — not theory.

A High-Impact, High-Value Experience

Participation is strictly limited to 80 attendees to ensure intimate discussions, personalised feedback, and direct access to global crisis leaders.

Be Ready for Whatever Comes Next

Join communications, PR, corporate affairs, and public-sector leaders for two days of the most practical, future-focused crisis training available — now finally in Australia.

Only

154days

17hours

37min

UNTIL THE EVENT

Brochure Download

Facts & Figures

The Crisis Communications Boot Camp is one of the world’s leading crisis training experiences, trusted by communication, PR, and corporate affairs professionals across every major industry.
With over 40+ editions in 30+ countries across North America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East, the Boot Camp has become a truly global platform for high-impact crisis learning — and now, for the first time, it comes to Australia.
More than 4,000 PR and communications leaders worldwide have completed this program, making it one of the most influential and practical crisis communications trainings available today.
The Boot Camp is renowned for delivering real-world, actionable learning — combining expert-led sessions, hands-on crisis simulations, advanced AI applications, and global case studies that equip attendees to handle the most complex reputation challenges.
Participants represent some of the world’s most respected corporate, government, nonprofit, and healthcare organizations, as well as universities and public institutions — all seeking a stronger, faster, more resilient crisis response.
Each edition of the Boot Camp is built around the most urgent issues shaping crisis communications today, including AI and misinformation, digital escalation, media pressure, rage farming, polarization, and internal communications under stress — making it the most relevant and future-ready crisis training for Australian communicators.

Speakers

Colleen Harris Former Press Secretary To Princes Charles, William And Harry

Nicole Moreo LinkedIn

Dave Fleet Edelman

Peter Heneghan Former Deputy Director of Digital Communications, 10 Downing Street

Desiree Schmucker Dubai Airports

Nicole McKechnie EnergyAustralia

Proving Impact Under Pressure: How to Measure What Matters in a Crisis
When a crisis hits, you are expected to move fast, protect trust, and advise leadership with confidence, but once the pressure eases, one question always remains: did it actually work? In this session, you will learn how to measure crisis communications in a way that goes beyond activity and vanity metrics and focuses on real impact. You will discover how to define success before a crisis unfolds, what to measure while events are still evolving, and how to assess outcomes when scrutiny is at its highest. The session will guide you through a practical, decision-driven framework to help you identify the KPIs that truly signal trust, risk reduction, and recovery, use real-time data to adjust your response while a crisis is live, and translate measurement into insights senior leaders actually care about. This session is designed to help you prove value under pressure, strengthen future preparedness, and approach your next crisis with clarity, credibility, and control.
Nicole Moreo, Director, Marketing Science & Technology, North America, LinkedIn

Behind Palace Doors: Managing Reputation at the Highest Level
What does it really take to protect trust, credibility, and continuity when the entire world is watching your every move? In this opening fireside chat, you’ll go behind the scenes of one of the most scrutinized institutions on the planet and gain rare insight into reputation management at the very highest level. Drawing on first-hand experience from inside the British Royal Household, this session explores how reputations are shaped, protected, and evolved under constant global pressure, intense media scrutiny, and moments of deep public tension. You’ll gain practical lessons on managing long-term reputation rather than short-term headlines, anchoring a global brand in values and consistency during turbulence, and making disciplined communication choices when every word carries weight. This marks a rare opportunity to hear these insights in person, as Colleen is speaking in Australia for the first time ever.
Colleen Harris, Former Press Secretary to HRH The Prince of Wales (now King Charles III)

The World Is Changing: How Corporate Affairs Leaders Navigate the Known and the Unknown
In an era of rapid change, constant scrutiny, and deep polarization, this session explores how corporate affairs leaders communicate with clarity and intent. It focuses on navigating divided environments, rebuilding trust under scrutiny, and developing a deeper understanding of reputation. The session will also look at how to identify weak spots early and build a reputation strategy that prepares organizations for both known risks and unknown challenges ahead.
Nicole McKechnie, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer, EnergyAustralia

Deepfakes and Disinformation: Navigating the New Frontlines of Crisis Response
False narratives now spread faster than facts, and AI-generated deepfakes can destabilize trust and damage reputations in minutes. In this session, you’ll step inside the mechanics of modern disinformation and understand how AI-fueled campaigns are built, amplified, and weaponized against organizations and leaders. You’ll learn where your biggest vulnerabilities lie, how to spot early warning signals before a false narrative takes hold, and what effective response looks like when speed and credibility are everything. The session will equip you with practical strategies for detection, escalation, and mitigation, from advanced monitoring and verification techniques to rapid-response protocols that help you contain impact and protect trust. You’ll leave better prepared to defend credibility and make confident decisions in a crisis environment where seeing is no longer believing.
Dave Fleet, Managing Director, Global Head of Digital Crisis, Edelman

10.00-16.30
A Full-Day Workshop – AI-Powered Crisis Communication: Navigating Turbulent Times with Peter Heneghan, Former Digital Communications Director at 10 Downing Street

In today’s fast-moving media and reputational environment, traditional crisis plans are no longer enough. Crises now unfold in real time, amplified by AI, misinformation, public backlash, and intense stakeholder scrutiny. As a communicator, you are expected to anticipate risk, respond faster than narratives spread, and support leadership decisions while the situation is still evolving.
This full-day, hands-on workshop is designed to help you understand the practical role artificial intelligence can play in strengthening crisis preparedness and response. You will explore how to integrate AI tools across every stage of the crisis lifecycle, from planning and scenario testing to real-time monitoring, analysis, and message development. Whether you are new to AI or already experimenting with it, this session will give you the clarity, confidence, and practical skills to future-proof your crisis communications strategy.

What You’ll Gain:
- A clear understanding of how AI is reshaping the crisis communications landscape
- Practical experience with tools that improve speed, accuracy, and decision-making under pressure
- A tailored, AI-enhanced crisis communications plan you can take back to your organization
- Greater confidence in managing complexity, uncertainty, and fast-moving situations
- A clear view of the ethical boundaries and responsible use of AI in public communication
- Hands-on experience through a realistic crisis simulation in a safe, controlled environment

Workshop Agenda:

Part 1: Understanding the New Complexity of Crises
- Explore how social movements, geopolitics, and the era of permacrisis are changing the nature of crises
- Discuss why crisis strategies must evolve to manage interconnected and overlapping risks

Part 2: Introduction to Artificial Intelligence in Crisis Management
- Overview of AI, its capabilities, and ethical considerations in crisis communications
- Understanding the fundamentals of machine learning and natural language processing in a practical context

Part 3: AI Tools Across the Crisis Communication Cycle
- Deep dive into AI tools for planning, monitoring, content creation, analysis, and reporting
- Live demonstrations showing how these tools can be applied during real crisis situations

Part 4: Crafting Your AI-Enhanced Crisis Communication Plan
- Hands-on session to build or refine your crisis communications plan using AI
- Focus on scenario identification, stakeholder mapping, and strategic message development

Part 5: Crisis Simulation Exercise
- Participate in a realistic crisis simulation to test your plan under pressure
- Apply real-time decision-making, digital monitoring, and AI tools in a live scenario

About Your Workshop Leader:
Peter Heneghan is a senior communications and AI expert with leadership roles at BBC News, BuzzFeed, and 10 Downing Street, where he helped transform UK Government digital communications during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2023, he founded The Future Communicator, supporting organizations of all sizes in adopting and integrating AI, with clients including the United Nations, global sports bodies, and FTSE 100 companies. His agency was named an “agency to watch” by PR Week, and he regularly speaks and lectures on executive programmes at London Business School.