The Torrens Resilience Initiative has been established to improve the capacity of organisations and societies to respond to disruptive challenges which have the potential to overwhelm local disaster management capabilities and plans. We aim to be a national and international centre of excellence through the development of advanced thinking in the concept of resilience. Our mission is to assist the Federal and State Governments, the emergency services, organisations and civil society enhance their leadership and management capabilities, and thus enable them to prepare for, and respond better to, disruptive challenges. In addition to building national and community resilience within Australia, our work assists the Federal and State Governments achieve their foreign policy and humanitarian objectives by developing resilient national capacities in the countries of South East Asia and the Pacific Rim.