Emergency Preparedness Drills & Emergency Management Exercises
Tailored Emergency Management & Stimulation Exercises
Emergency and Crisis exercises help to prepare an organisation to be ready to respond to any emergency or crisis event. Exercising is critical to the preparedness phase of the emergency management cycle as it allows team members to practice discharging their duties without real world consequences and tests the appropriateness of the processes and procedures, they have available to them.
At Resilient Services, we specialise in delivering practical, challenging, yet solvable emergency and crisis exercises. As one of the leading emergency management consulting companies, we take a collaborative approach to exercise planning. By working closely with your organisation’s emergency preparedness consultant or subject matter experts, we ensure exercises are relevant, plausible, and engaging. Whether you need a discussion-based exercise, live field deployment, or anything in between, we deliver tailored solutions to meet your needs.
What is an Emergency Management & Stimulation Exercise?
An exercise is a controlled, objective-driven activity used for testing, practising or valuating processes or capabilities.
An exercise can be as simple as a planning group discussing an emergency plan or as complex as a major multi-agency event involving several organisations and
participants.*
*SOURCE: Handbook 3 of the Australian Institute for Disaster Resilience (AIDR) series, Managing Exercises.
Resilient Services remove the hassle of emergency exercise delivery
We will create all documentation and undertake all exercise planning, right through to facilitating the exercise for your organisation and providing an exercise report inclusive of recommendations to satisfy regulatory responsibilities.
A Resilient Services emergency exercise generally includes three to four hours of active simulation; however, full or multi-day exercises are available as well, with 24/7 observation provided, and all exercises conclude with a hot debrief of participants.
We design and manage our emergency exercises in accordance with Handbook 3 of the Australian Institute for Disaster Resilience (AIDR) series, Managing Exercises.
To discuss your exercise needs, please get in touch with us today.
The Phases of Emergency Exercises:
The effectiveness of an emergency exercise and simulation drill relies on using a structured approach. The exercise management model outlines the key phases involved in designing, planning, delivering, and evaluating a successful exercise.
The Benefits of Realistic Emergency Preparedness Exercises & Stimulation Drills:
Improved Preparedness
Organisations that participate in realistic simulations are far better equipped to respond effectively when real emergencies arise. By exposing staff to challenging scenarios in a controlled environment, these exercises build familiarity and confidence in executing emergency plans. As a result, teams are more likely to act decisively and maintain composure during actual crises, reducing the potential for confusion and error.
Enhanced Teamwork
Exercises provide an invaluable opportunity for teams to practice communication, coordination, and decision-making under pressure. When individuals from different departments come together to work through a scenario, they develop a stronger understanding of each other’s roles and how their actions interconnect. This shared experience fosters trust and collaboration, which are essential for an effective emergency response.
Identifying Gaps
Running regular exercises helps organisations uncover gaps or weaknesses in their emergency plans and procedures before a crisis occurs. Whether it is outdated contact lists, unclear responsibilities, or insufficient resources, identifying these issues during practice means they can be corrected proactively. This continuous improvement cycle strengthens overall resilience and ensures readiness for a broad range of incidents.
Compliance and Assurance
Participating in exercises demonstrates due diligence and supports compliance with relevant regulatory requirements and industry standards. It provides evidence to stakeholders—such as clients, regulators, and insurers—that the organisation is committed to preparedness and risk management. This not only builds confidence in the organisation’s ability to protect people and assets but can also assist in negotiating more favourable insurance premiums by proving that robust mitigation measures are in place.
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Industries that are offered Emergency Exercises
Resilient Services provides emergency exercises to clients across New Zealand and Australia in metropolitan cities such as Melbourne, Perth, Sydney, Adelaide, and Brisbane. These industries include, but are not limited to:
Test Your Response Plans with Our Emergency Exercises
Complete the enquiry form or contact us on 0493 700 661 to learn how we can design and run drills, simulations, or tabletop exercises that help your organisation prepare for real‑world emergencies.
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Your Emergency Exercises questions answered
Common questions
What industries does Resilient Services specialise in serving?
Resilient Services specialises in serving a variety of industries, including:
- Critical Infrastructure
- Energy and Power
- Government and Regulators
- Industrial and
- Manufacturing
- Maritime
- Mining
- Office/Corporate
- Oil, Gas and Petroleum
- Water
What are emergency exercises?
Emergency exercises are structured simulations and practice scenarios that organisations use to test their emergency response plans, procedures and capabilities in a controlled environment. These exercises can be simple discussion-based activities or realistic, complex scenarios that involve key personnel and stakeholders responding as they would in a real emergency.
Why should our organisation run emergency exercises?
Emergency exercises help organisations:
Validate and improve emergency plans and systems to ensure they perform as intended under pressure.
Build team confidence and competence by practising roles, responsibilities and decision-making.
Identify gaps or weaknesses in policies, communication protocols or coordination before a real crisis occurs.
Strengthen organisational preparedness and readiness across teams so that people can act quickly and confidently during actual emergencies.
What types of emergency exercises are there?
There are several common exercise formats, including:
- Discussion-based exercises: These focus on talking through plans and decisions in a structured way, such as tabletop exercises where participants walk through scenarios together.
- Functional exercises: These simulate real-world conditions in which teams practise their specific functions without full resource deployment.
- Full-scale or field exercises: These simulate real emergency conditions through physical actions, multiple roles, and interagency coordination to test end-to-end readiness.
Each type serves a different purpose and can be tailored to your organisation’s size, risk profile, and preparedness level.
Who should participate in emergency exercises?
Participation should involve:
Leadership and decision-makers who will be responsible for activating plans and making critical calls.
Operational staff who execute emergency procedures and coordination.
Communications teams to practise internal and external messaging.
Support functions such as HR, safety, IT and facilities management.
Involving representative stakeholders ensures that exercises reflect real roles and responsibilities across the organisation.
How do emergency exercises support broader emergency planning?
Exercises are a practical extension of emergency planning: they test the plans in action. While planning defines what should happen, exercises validate whether people, processes and systems can deliver under realistic pressure. They also provide insights that improve the quality and relevance of plans, making emergency planning more robust and responsive to actual organisational risk profiles.
What role does Resilient Services play in emergency exercises?
Resilient Services works with organisations to design, plan and run tailored emergency exercises based on specific risks, operational contexts and industry needs. This includes:
Building realistic scenarios reflective of your risk exposure.
Facilitating exercise delivery and coordination.
Providing structured debriefs and improvement recommendations.
Whether you’re testing simple readiness or complex multi-phase reactions, Resilient Services helps ensure exercises are practical, relevant and linked to measurable resilience outcomes.
Can emergency exercises be integrated with other risk or continuity programs?
Absolutely. Emergency exercises play a central role in integrated risk, crisis and continuity planning. By bringing together emergency response, business continuity, crisis management and resilience practitioners, exercises enable organisations to test interconnected systems and ensure that emergency actions support continuity and recovery outcomes.