12.00pm-2.30pm, Tuesday 24 February 2026
There is no cost to participate

The sudden and significant loss of life and serious injury, whether from disasters or from acts of violence, can give rise to what sociologist Kai Erickson calls a collective trauma response that extends far beyond the immediate scene. Such events can be deeply disruptive to the fabric of communities, with impacts that reach well beyond the place and time of the incident.

Unlike many other disasters, sudden impact collective trauma events can fracture trust, identity and social cohesion, and often involve profound disruptions to people’s sense of safety, stability and wellbeing, with lasting psychosocial impacts. 

Many events, including the recent tragic event at Bondi Beach in late 2025, the Hillcrest Jumping Castle tragedy, Bourke St Mall tragedy, have shown how quickly traumatic events can affect not only individuals, local communities, as well as the nation. The events can leave many questioning their sense of safety in everyday places, carrying collective grief and uncertainty, and raising complex questions for recovery planning, roles and responsibilities. These incidents can also be socially divisive, sometimes amplifying tensions, misinformation, scapegoating and hate incidents, which can further strain cohesion and complicate recovery.

To explore this complex and evolving topic, we are hosting an extended Possibility Lab session in February and warmly invite an expanded audience to join us. This session will provide space to reflect on what distinguishes sudden-impact collective trauma events, what this means for recovery planning and practice, and how systems and practitioners can better support communities—safely, inclusively, and over the long term.

Presenters

• Andrew Coghlan, Australian Red Cross
• Kate Brady, How We Survive, University of NSW
• Dean Griggs, Think Social Group
• Malcolm Haddon, Multicultural NSW
• Ika Trijsburg, Australian National University

Moderator

• John Richardson, Australian Institute for Disaster Resilience

Facilitators

• Catherine Gearing, Social Recovery Reference Group
• Sally McKay, Guest facilitator
• Peter Pigott, Guest facilitator

Session format

This extended 2.5-hour session will be delivered in two parts:

• Part 1 - 12pm-1.30pm (90 minutes)
  Presentations and a facilitated panel discussion to surface key insights, tensions, and emerging considerations
  
  
• Part 2 - 1.30pm-2.30pm (60 minutes)
  All participants are invited to stay for an interactive workshop with small group discussions to unpack practical implications and identify opportunities for action and learning

This extended Possibility Lab is intended to support shared learning across sectors and disciplines, and to strengthen our understanding of how recovery approaches may need to adapt in the context of collective grief and trauma.

We hope you can join us for this important conversation.

This special extended Possibility Lab is the result of collaboration between the Social Recovery Reference Group (SRRG), Australian Red Cross, and Australian Institute for Disaster Resilience (AIDR).