When the Helpers Are Harmed: Managing Moral Injury Risk in Frontline and Organisational Contexts
| Thursday, May 21, 2026 |
| 5:01 PM - 5:02 PM |
Speaker
Mr Paul McFarlane
Managing Director
Responder Care
When the Helpers Are Harmed: Managing Moral Injury Risk in Frontline and Organisational Contexts
Abstract Document
Moral injury is becoming increasingly viewed through a clinical or therapeutic lens, yet its origins and solutions are firmly embedded in the structures and leadership cultures of our organisations. Drawing on three decades of experience in emergency services and wellbeing roles, including as Senior Chaplain with NSW Ambulance and now founder of Responder Care, Paul McFarlane explores how moral injury can be recognised and mitigated through a proactive risk-management approach rather than solely a reactive treatment model.
Through frontline narratives shared in his forthcoming book Charlie 1: Wellbeing Lessons from the Front Line, Paul reflects on the unseen moral pressures experienced by paramedics and other first responders when institutional decisions, operational constraints, or leadership silence compound the human cost of trauma. These stories reveal how systems, not just individuals, can either protect or harm the moral core of their people.
By bridging moral injury research, workplace wellbeing legislation, and lived experience from high-risk environments, this session invites participants to reimagine moral injury prevention as both a human and organisational responsibility. It offers hope that, with courageous leadership and structured care, workplaces can become places of recovery rather than re-injury.
Through frontline narratives shared in his forthcoming book Charlie 1: Wellbeing Lessons from the Front Line, Paul reflects on the unseen moral pressures experienced by paramedics and other first responders when institutional decisions, operational constraints, or leadership silence compound the human cost of trauma. These stories reveal how systems, not just individuals, can either protect or harm the moral core of their people.
By bridging moral injury research, workplace wellbeing legislation, and lived experience from high-risk environments, this session invites participants to reimagine moral injury prevention as both a human and organisational responsibility. It offers hope that, with courageous leadership and structured care, workplaces can become places of recovery rather than re-injury.
Biography
Paul McFarlane has spent more than 30 years working at the intersection of trauma, leadership, and human care. A former Registered Nurse and long-serving Senior Chaplain with NSW Ambulance, Paul has supported frontline responders and communities through some of Australia’s most confronting events, including the Lindt Café Siege, natural disasters, and critical incidents across the state.
He currently serves as Managing Director of Responder Group Pty Ltd, leading two initiatives: Responder Aid, which equips first responders with lifesaving medical tools, and Responder Care, a consultancy helping small and medium businesses manage psychosocial risks and promote wellbeing under the new WHS framework.
Paul’s forthcoming book, Charlie 1: Wellbeing Lessons from the Front Line, draws on his lived experience of moral challenge, leadership, and recovery in emergency service culture. Blending insight, empathy, and practical strategies, Paul is committed to helping leaders and organisations create environments where people can thrive after trauma - not merely survive it.
