Your staff are the people most likely to notice something is wrong, and the first to respond if an attack happens. This situational awareness and active armed offender training teaches them to recognise hostile behaviour, report it early, and know exactly what to do in the first minutes of an armed attack, lockdown, bomb threat or suspicious item, using your own sites and procedures.
What your organisation gains
- Staff who notice and report unusual behaviour before an incident occurs.
- A workforce that knows how to apply Escape. Hide. Tell. at your own sites.
- Clear roles in lockdown, evacuation and bomb threat procedures.
- Preparation aligned with Australia’s Strategy for Protecting Crowded Places from Terrorism.
Why train with Agilient
Taught by practitioners
Every Agilient consultant has at least 20 years of experience, typically as security managers within large organisations, and has dealt first hand with the issues the course covers.
Built for your organisation
Content, examples and scenarios are shaped around your sites, policies and incident history, not an off-the-shelf syllabus that dates quickly.
Active learning
Participants work through case studies and carry out the activities themselves, so the skills stick after the day.
Designed for you to own
Train-the-trainer options and a strategy for moving the course into your own online learning mean the capability stays in-house.
Why this training matters now
Australia’s National Terrorism Threat Level has been PROBABLE since August 2024. The Australian Government advises that a crowded place in a major city is the most likely location for an attack, and that an attack is most likely to come from a lone actor or small group with little or no warning. Owners and operators of crowded places, such as shopping centres, venues, campuses, hospitals, transport hubs and council facilities, are expected to understand their risk and prepare their people.
Australia’s Strategy for Protecting Crowded Places from Terrorism and the Active Armed Offender Guidelines for Crowded Places set out what good preparation looks like, including the national Escape. Hide. Tell. advice for anyone caught up in an attack. Staff who have been trained to notice unusual behaviour, report it early and know what to do in the first minutes of an incident can make a real difference to the outcome.
What the course covers
- The current threat environment The national threat level, the types of attack most likely in Australia and what they mean for your sites.
- Situational awareness Noticing what is normal for your site, recognising unusual or hostile behaviour, and trusting and acting on that observation.
- Hostile reconnaissance How attackers and criminals plan, the behaviours that can reveal them, and how staff can deter and report.
- Reporting concerns What to report, to whom and how, including your own procedures, police and the National Security Hotline.
- Active armed offender response Escape. Hide. Tell. in practice at your sites, helping others, and what to expect when police arrive.
- Lockdown and shelter in place When to lock down or evacuate, roles for staff and managers, and communicating with people on site.
- Bomb threats and suspicious items Handling threats by phone, email or letter, and recognising and responding to a suspicious item.
- After the incident Accounting for people, supporting staff, working with police and learning from the event.
- Walk-through and scenarios Applying the principles on your own site, testing exits, hiding places and communication, with a facilitated scenario.
What participants will be able to do
- Recognise unusual and hostile behaviour and report it promptly through the right channels.
- Apply Escape. Hide. Tell. at their own workplace and help others to safety.
- Carry out their role in a lockdown or evacuation.
- Respond correctly to a bomb threat or suspicious item.
- Support colleagues and the organisation’s recovery after an incident.
Who should attend
- Frontline and customer service staff
- Venue, centre and facility managers
- Security officers and supervisors
- Reception, concierge and front of house teams
- Wardens and emergency control organisation members
Choose the level and format that suits you
The course can be run at more than one level, so governance and day-to-day practice are covered together.
- Executive briefing. A short session for executives and boards on accountability, obligations, risk appetite and what good looks like.
- Manager and practitioner workshop. The full course, with case studies and practical exercises for the people who manage the risk day to day.
- Train-the-trainer. Preparing your own trainers to deliver the course inside your organisation, with the materials and guidance to do it well.
- In person or online. Delivered at your premises, at a venue you choose, or live online through Microsoft Teams and other platforms.
Bringing the capability in-house, with Agilient as your partner
More organisations want to build and keep this capability within their own teams. Agilient supports that. After delivering the course, Agilient can train your trainers, help your learning and development team plan the conversion of the course into an online module, and stay involved as an adviser, so your people deliver it with the benefit of Agilient’s hands-on experience.
How it works
- Get in touch. Tell us which course you are interested in, roughly how many people, where and when.
- Scoping conversation. An Agilient consultant discusses your people, sites, policies and recent incidents, and agrees the level, format and duration with you.
- Tailored content. Case studies, scenarios and exercises are built around your own environment and procedures.
- Delivery and handover. The course is delivered in person or online. Agilient can then train your trainers, support an online version, or review related procedures, controls or risk assessments.
Related Agilient services and resources
- Counter terrorism consulting for crowded place risk assessments and security plans
- Hostile vehicle mitigation
- Protecting crowded places from terrorism
- Emergency management services
Frequently asked questions
What is situational awareness training?
Situational awareness training teaches staff to understand what is normal in their workplace, notice behaviour or activity that is out of place, and act on it by reporting early. In a security setting it is the first line of defence against crime, violence and terrorism.
What does Escape. Hide. Tell. mean?
It is the Australian Government’s advice for anyone caught up in an armed attack: escape if it is safe to do so, hide if escape is not possible, and tell police when it is safe. Agilient’s course applies this advice to your own sites, exits and procedures.
Is this course only relevant to large venues?
No. It suits any organisation where the public gathers or staff work in public-facing roles, including councils, hospitals, universities, schools, retail, offices and transport. Content is scaled to your sites and risk.
Does the course include lockdown drills?
It can. Agilient can facilitate a walk-through or lockdown drill at your site as part of the course, or as a separate exercise, and review your lockdown procedures beforehand.
How long is the course?
Duration is agreed with you. Courses range from a two-hour briefing to a one, one and a half or two-day program, depending on your audience, risks and how much practical work you want included.
Can the course be delivered online?
Yes. Agilient delivers courses in person at your premises and live online through Microsoft Teams and other platforms, and can combine the two for teams spread across several locations.
Can our own team deliver this training in future?
Yes. Agilient runs train-the-trainer sessions so your people can deliver the course themselves, and can work with your learning and development team on a strategy for converting the course into an online module for induction and refreshers.
Can individuals book a place on this course?
No. Agilient runs its training in-house for organisations rather than as public courses, so individual places are not available. Group size, timing and content are agreed with each organisation.
Is this an accredited course?
No, and that is deliberate. It is not a nationally recognised qualification that follows a fixed syllabus, which can date quickly. It is designed and delivered by practitioners who have dealt with these issues first hand, tailored to your organisation, and built on case studies, active learning and practical exercises.
Ready to build this capability in your organisation?
Tell us what you need. Agilient will recommend the right level, format and duration, and tailor the course to your organisation.
Other in-house security training courses
- Security Risk Assessment and Management Course
- Security Threat Assessment Training
- Insider Threat Training
- Security Awareness Training Course
- Customer Aggression Training for Managers
- De-escalation Training for Customer-Facing Staff
- Managing Physical Aggression in the Workplace
- Patient De-escalation Training for Healthcare Workers
- Occupational Violence and Aggression (OVA) Training for Healthcare
- Crisis Management Team Training and Tabletop Exercises
- Physical Restraint and Personal Protection Training
- CPTED Training: Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design
Sources
- Current National Terrorism Threat Level, Australian Government
- Active Armed Offender Guidelines for Crowded Places, ANZCTC
- Australia’s Strategy for Protecting Crowded Places from Terrorism
- What to do in an attack, Australian National Security
Last updated 29/09/2026.