It’s not every day that you get to take charge of Australia’s geospatial intelligence organisation (AGO), tasked to track a catastrophic bushfire while simultaneously battling nefarious cybercriminals, falling satellites, and cutthroat negotiations with a profiteering government contractor. But at the 2026 Australian Crisis Simulation Summit, that’s exactly what I had to do.
It’s difficult to describe the experience of being in a crisis simulation. To an outsider, it must look extremely odd: fifty well-dressed undergraduates running frantically around the halls of ANU’s national security college, passing notes between rooms, huddled intensely around laptops, and pacing back and forth revising a “nationwide” address that won’t ever be heard outside of the building. But when you’re there, fully immersed, it truly feels like the fate of the country is on the line and every decision means life or death.
One of the memories that stands out most to me is a particularly tense negotiation with the Australian Defence Force. A cyber-attack had taken our aerial imaging offline (literally causing satellites to crash into the ground), and as the head of the AGO nothing was more important to me than restoring this capability to assist firefighting efforts on the ground. After hours of concentrated effort, we finally received intelligence as to where the satellites fell. This was enormous for us, as retrieving and relaunching them would mean accurate bushfire imaging and improved ability to combat the fire. However, when we ran to the office of the ADF with this crucial information, they shut the door on us and said they had more pressing priorities than finding space junk.
As much as it frustrated me at the time, I later learnt that they were concentrating all their efforts on helping evacuate people trapped by the fires. Given context, it made sense that they’d want to keep people out of immediate danger before worrying about our satellites. The whole experience just showed to me that people have their own goals and priorities, especially in high-pressure situations. It reinforced that effective teamwork isn't just about aggressively pursuing your own objectives. It requires empathy, clear communication, and the ability to step back and see the bigger picture. We were ultimately fighting the same fire, just from entirely different angles!
The 2026 ACSS was an incredibly unique experience, and I come away from it with lessons, experiences, and connections I could have never found anywhere else. Thanks so much to the Liveris Academy for making it possible!
