Advanced Critical Incident Leadership unit (PEM502)

Online

Introduction

In this unit, higher level workplace managers/supervisors will develop higher order decision making skills and capabilities required of critical incident response operational leadership in increasingly complex social, cultural, and economic environments. This is because critical incidents are often dynamic and require operational commanders to adapt responses as incidents unfold over time, simultaneously focusing on response and recovery, and to do this within the multifarious, diverse constraints of relevant legislation, policies, and best practice. Students will practice strategic decision making around managing response to, and ongoing recovery of, critical incidents because they are responsible for commanding these responses for their organisations. Importantly, they will also develop intrapersonal skills by critically analysing and reflecting upon their own, and others’, critical incident response practices to ensure they role model ethical leadership in their own critical incident response and recovery. They will employ interpersonal skills in their collaborations with other government and community stakeholders to build resilient communities and respond appropriately when required through command, control, and coordination principles. Students will develop these interpersonal and intrapersonal skills in collaborative, ethical ways to synthesise their performance and the issues facing critical incident response leaders today.

Summary

Unit name	Advanced Critical Incident Leadership
Unit code	PEM502
Credit points	25
College/School	Health School of Paramedicine and Public Safety
Discipline	Policing and Emergency Management
Coordinator	Doctor Nick Evans
Delivered By	University of Tasmania
Level	Postgraduate

Availability

Location	Study period	Attendance options		Available to
Online	Semester 1
Online	Semester 2
Online	Trimester

Note

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Units are offered in attending mode unless otherwise indicated (that is attendance is required at the campus identified). A unit identified as offered by distance, that is there is no requirement for attendance, is identified with a nominal enrolment campus. A unit offered to both attending students and by distance from the same campus is identified as having both modes of study.

Key Dates

Study Period	Start date	Census date	WW date	End date
Trimester	1/11/2026	23/11/2026	23/12/2026	13/2/2027
Semester 2	5/7/2026	27/7/2026	30/8/2026	24/10/2026
Semester 1	22/2/2026	16/3/2026	19/4/2026	13/6/2026

* The Final WW Date is the final date from which you can withdraw from the unit without academic penalty, however you will still incur a financial liability (refer to How do I withdraw from a unit? for more information).

Unit census dates currently displaying for 2026 are indicative and subject to change. Finalised census dates for 2026 will be available from the 1st October 2025. Note census date cutoff is 11.59pm AEST (AEDT during October to March).

About Census Dates

Learning Outcomes

• Analyse responses to critical incidents drawing on research evidence
• Apply theories of leadership in making independent judgments and developing a planned response within dynamic critical incident response environments
• Collaborate with diverse stakeholders in supervising and taking command and control of critical incidents
• Evaluate and analyse different approaches to ethical decision-making in the context of critical incident leadership
• Communicate across diverse settings and audiences at a level commensurate with an ethical critical incident response leader

Fee Information

Field of Education	Commencing Student Contribution 1,3	Grandfathered Student Contribution 1,3	Approved Pathway Course Student Contribution 2,3	Domestic Full Fee 4
090399	$4,349.00	$2,041.00	not applicable	$5,124.00

• FEE-HELP is available on this unit, depending on your eligibility⁴

¹ Please refer to more information on student contribution amounts.
² Please refer to more information on eligibility and Approved Pathway courses.
³ Please refer to more information on eligibility for HECS-HELP.
⁴ Please refer to more information on eligibility for FEE-HELP.

If you have any questions in relation to the fees, please contact UniConnect or more information is available on StudyAssist.

Please note: international students should refer to What is an indicative Fee? to get an indicative course cost.

Requisites

Mutual Exclusions

You cannot enrol in this unit as well as the following:

HSP402, HSP405

Teaching

Teaching Pattern	Workshop, 6.5 hours per day for 7-days of a face to face intensive course, which will involve interacting with a range of government, university, police, and community stakeholders. Tutorial, 4 x 1 hour online tutorials using Microsoft Teams to workshop each of the assignments and support academic literacy skill development.
Assessment	Operational Capability Assessment|Leadership in the Workplace (10%)|Critical analysis of critical incident response (45%)|Scenario Response Essay (45%)
Timetable	View the lecture timetable | View the full unit timetable

Textbooks

Required	Any Required Readings are those provided by your Unit Coordinator.
Recommended	Any Recommended Readings are those provided by your Unit Coordinator.

The University reserves the right to amend or remove courses and unit availabilities, as appropriate.