About Peter Baines OAM

Leadership shaped in crisis, sustained through purpose and delivered from lived experience.

Peter Baines OAM is an Australian leadership keynote speaker and former NSW Police forensic leader. He speaks on crisis leadership, resilience and purpose-led leadership, drawing on his response to the Bali Bombings and the 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami, and his work founding Hands Across the Water. Keynote fees start from $15,000 + GST.

❋ Former NSW Police forensic leader

❋ Author of four books

❋ Founder of Hands Across the Water

❋ Leadership Keynote Speaker

From crisis response to purpose-led leadership

Peter Baines OAM has spent much of his career leading in environments where pressure is high, information is incomplete and decisions carry real consequence.

As a former police forensic leader, Peter worked in some of the most complex crisis environments of the past two decades, including the Bali Bombings and the 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami. These experiences shaped his understanding of leadership, trust, responsibility and the importance of showing up when it matters most.

In the aftermath of the tsunami, Peter founded Hands Across the Water, a charity created to provide long-term support for children and communities in Thailand. What began as a response to tragedy has become a lasting example of purpose-led leadership, resilience and sustained commitment.

Today, Peter brings these lessons to corporate, government and industry audiences through keynote presentations, leadership programs, shared experiences and his books.

Why Peter’s story resonates with leaders

Peter’s work resonates with corporate audiences because his stories translate directly into the pressures leaders face today.

Uncertainty. Responsibility. Fatigue. Decision-making. Trust. Culture. Purpose. The need to keep showing up when others are relying on you.

Peter does not speak from theory alone. He speaks from lived experience, giving audiences a powerful and practical perspective on leadership when it matters most.

Peter Baines OAM during his 22 years with NSW Police forensic leadership

Crisis leadership lived, not studied

Peter Baines has spent much of his life working in places most people only ever hear about after the fact.

Crime scenes. Forensic investigations. Unusual cases. Natural disasters. International crises. Moments where the ordinary rules of leadership no longer apply and people are looking for someone to bring calm, clarity and direction.

During 22 years with the NSW Police, including many years living and working in Tamworth, Peter developed a deep understanding of human behaviour, pressure and responsibility. His work later took him into major crisis and disaster environments, including the Waterfall train disaster, the Bali Bombings, the 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami and floods in Saudi Arabia.

These experiences shaped the way Peter thinks about leadership. Not as theory. Not as a title. But as the ability to make decisions, build trust and keep showing up when conditions are uncertain and the stakes are high.

Today, Peter brings that rare perspective to corporate, government and industry audiences, helping leaders understand what pressure reveals, what trust requires and what it means to lead when others are relying on you.

Peter Baines founder of Hands Across the Water in Thailand

A commitment that became a legacy

Following the 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami, Peter founded Hands Across the Water to support children who had lost family, home and security.

Hands Across the Water was not created as a short-term response. It was built as a long-term commitment. Over time, that commitment has grown into a movement supporting children and communities in Thailand through care, education, opportunity and pathways to independence.

For Peter, Hands Across the Water is a living example of leadership beyond intention. It is about action, responsibility and staying committed long after the moment has passed.

Peter Baines Run to Remember 1400km Thailand

Resilience over time

Twenty years after the Boxing Day Tsunami, Peter returned to Thailand to mark the anniversary in a deeply personal way.

Over 26 days, he ran 1,400 kilometres across the country, beginning at Home Hug in Yasothon and finishing at Baan Tharn Namchai in Khao Lak, the home that became the beginning of Hands Across the Water.

The run was physically demanding, but it was never just about distance. It was about honouring the children, families and communities whose lives had been shaped by the tsunami, and recognising the long road that had followed.

It was also a powerful reminder that no meaningful journey is completed alone. Behind every kilometre was a team: the crew on the road, the children and homes in Thailand, the supporters following from afar, and the people who continued to believe in the purpose behind the run.

For Peter, the experience became another lesson in resilience, discipline, purpose and the power of shared commitment. It reinforced what he now shares with audiences through Together We Can: resilience is not built in isolation. It is built through connection, trust, support and the decision to keep moving together when the road ahead is long.

Resilience is not dramatic. It is deliberate.

  • Peter Baines OAM is an Australian leadership keynote speaker, author, former police forensic leader and founder of Hands Across the Water. He speaks on leadership under pressure, crisis leadership, resilience, purpose-led leadership and building high-trust teams.

  • Peter is known for his crisis leadership experience, his work following the Bali Bombings and the 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami, founding Hands Across the Water, writing books on leadership and purpose, and speaking to corporate and industry audiences across Australia and internationally.

  • Peter speaks about leadership under pressure, resilience, decision-making, purpose-led leadership, trust, shared experience and the responsibility leaders carry when others are relying on them.

  • Peter is based in New South Wales, Australia, and speaks at events across Australia and internationally.