Employee Assistance Program (EAP) Crisis Response: Protecting Staff After Distressing Events

The distressing events at Bondi Beach on Sunday, 14th December 2025, which resulted in significant loss of life, has prompted Australian businesses to confront an urgent and profound challenge: the need for a mature, proactive crisis response strategy.

When a community is fractured by unpredictable mass violence, the first line of defence for staff wellbeing at workplaces is not a physical barrier, but a comprehensive, well-executed Employee Assistance Program (EAP).

For executives, HR professionals, and WHS/OHS managers, the question is no longer if a critical incident will occur, but how quickly and effectively the organisation can manage the resulting psychological fallout. An EAP is not merely a benefit; it is a critical infrastructure for organisational resilience and business continuity.

EAP as a Core Component of a Workplace Violence Prevention Program

In Australia, the duty of care under WHS (Work Health and Safety) legislation is broad. It extends beyond ensuring a physically safe workplace to providing a psychologically safe work environment.

A tragedy of this scale, like the one witnessed in Sydney, generates an acute and pervasive psychosocial risk that must be managed immediately and systematically.

When an organisation faces the aftermath of mass violence, the EAP should be integrated into its broader workplace violence prevention program. This strategic alignment ensures that psychological care is not an afterthought, but a mandatory operational tool for risk mitigation.

WHS and the Duty of Care Obligation

Under the WHS Act, health and safety colleagues have a non-delegable duty to exercise due diligence to ensure the wellbeing of their workers. This duty explicitly includes managing psychological hazards. In the context of a community trauma:

• Risk Identification: Managers must be trained to identify workers showing signs of distress, fear, or anxiety following a critical incident.

• Control Measures: The EAP, along with Critical Incident Stress Debriefing (CISD), serves as a primary control measure to mitigate the psychological harm caused by the incident.

• Consultation: Employers must consult with workers and WHS representatives on the support systems in place, ensuring the EAP meets the specific needs of an affected team.

Failure to provide accessible, trauma-informed support can expose the organisation to potential regulatory action and increased mental health-related workers’ compensation claims.

The Unique Psychological Impact: Trauma Support for Employees

The nature of the Bondi Beach attack - sudden, public, and violent - layers deep psychological damage onto the mass shock. An effective EAP must be prepared to offer trauma support for employees across three distinct groups:

1. Direct and Immediate Victims

This includes employees who were present at the scene, those who witnessed the violence, or staff (such as retail, hospitality, or security personnel) who may have been forced into lockdown or assisted injured victims. Their reactions are often acute, including shock, panic attacks, dissociation, or a strong desire to avoid the workplace.

2. Vicarious and Secondary Victims

This is often the largest group. It includes staff exposed to continuous, graphic media coverage, those who live or commute near the affected area, or members of the targeted community. They experience vicarious trauma and heightened anxiety, often manifesting as sleep disturbance, difficulty concentrating (including presenteeism), and avoidance of public places.

3. Frontline Responders and Management

Managers, HR staff, and internal security teams are tasked with supporting others while often suppressing their own trauma. A good EAP will be able to provide manager training for critical incident support, offering confidential coaching to leaders who must remain visible and composed while navigating a crisis.

Critical Incident Stress Debriefing (CISD): Immediate EAP Activation

The value of an EAP crisis response is measured by speed, clinical expertise, and accessibility. The immediate activation of Critical Incident Stress Debriefing (CISD) protocols is non-negotiable and represents the most immediate, structured intervention an organisation can deploy.

Triage and Mobilisation

A high-quality EAP ensures that triage and clinical mobilisation occur within hours of the incident:

• 24/7 Access: Employees require immediate phone access to trauma-trained clinical counsellors, not just a switchboard such as the helpline provided by Wisdom Wellbeing

• Trained Clinicians: The deployment must be led by specialists in trauma and crisis management, who understand the specific dynamics of mass violence and terrorism. All Wisdom Wellbeing counsellors are clinically trained.

• Onsite/Virtual Deployment: Clinicians must be ready to deploy physically to affected worksites (e.g., local businesses near the beach) or rapidly set up virtual group debriefing sessions for remote staff.

The CISD Process

CISD provides a structured, phased approach to processing the trauma in a group setting. It aims to prevent acute stress reactions from developing into long-term conditions like Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). The process includes:

• Introduction: Establishing confidentiality and setting expectations.

• Fact Phase: Allowing employees to recount the events as they saw them, without judgement.

• Thought/Feeling Phases: Encouraging the sharing of overwhelming emotional reactions and normalising those responses.

• Symptom/Teaching Phases: Discussing common stress symptoms and providing practical, actionable coping strategies and educational resources on trauma.

This immediate, structured intervention is key to stabilising employees and identifying those who require intensive, one-on-one follow-up counselling.

Beyond Counselling: Building Organisational Resilience

An effective EAP is a strategic partner in building organisational resilience. Its role extends well beyond the initial days of crisis management into the prolonged phase of recovery and return to function. If you are looking for a trusted EAP provider to partner with, feel free to have a conversation with one of our wellbeing consultants on 1800 868 659.

Manager Training and Leadership Coaching

Managers must be equipped with the skills to lead during a crisis. A robust EAP, such as Wisdom Wellbeing provides essential tools to businesses:

• Psychological First Aid: Training managers to recognise severe distress indicators, approach employees with empathy, and make sensitive referrals without attempting to be the counsellor themselves.

• Communication Guidance: Coaching leadership on crafting sensitive, factual internal communications that acknowledge the grief, validate feelings, and clearly signpost available support.

• Return-to-Work Planning: Assisting HR in creating phased and flexible return-to-work plans for employees who worked at the site of the incident, recognising that returning to a place associated with terror is a major psychological hurdle.

Long-Term Monitoring and Support

The impact of mass trauma often delays. Symptoms of PTSD or severe anxiety can appear weeks or months after the initial event. The EAP maintains its critical role through:

• Individualised Therapy: Offering confidential, short-term counselling focused on trauma recovery, available to employees and their immediate families.

• Psychoeducational Resources: Providing workshops and online materials focusing on stress management, dealing with media saturation, and maintaining mental health in an environment of prolonged uncertainty.

For employers operating in modern Australia, an EAP is no longer a discretionary employee perk. It is a mandatory requirement for managing psychosocial risks, fulfilling WHS duties, and ensuring business continuity in an age where the threat of catastrophic violence is a tragic reality. Investing in a high-quality, clinically robust EAP is an investment in human capital and organisational resilience.

We at Wisdom Wellbeing express our deepest condolences to the families and loved ones impacted by the tragedy the occurred this weekend.

To find out how Wisdom Wellbeing can support your business during tragic and unexpected events, contact us today on 1800 868 659.