Paul Featherstone

Paul Featherstone is a highly respected emergency response specialist who has spent more than 40 years operating at the frontline of life-threatening situations. His career has been dedicated to the recovery, care, and survival of people in extreme and hostile environments—where precision, teamwork, and rapid decision-making can mean the difference between life and death.

Paul joined the NSW Ambulance Service in 1972 and quickly became a driving force in advancing emergency medical care in Australia. In 1976, he pioneered the Ambulance Service’s now-acclaimed Paramedic system, fundamentally reshaping pre-hospital emergency response. In 1986, he conceived and developed the Special Casualty Access Team (S.C.A.T.), an elite capability designed to access, treat, and recover patients from environments previously considered unreachable.

Throughout his career, Paul has been a team leader in developing advanced patient access techniques and delivering high-level medical care under hostile and high-risk conditions. His expertise spans complex rescue scenarios where meticulous planning, rapid assessment, and decisive action are critical to preventing injury and saving lives. When injuries do occur, Paul is skilled in accessing, stabilising, and transporting patients by foot, road, air, or sea.

Paul’s lived experience positions him as a specialist in high-stakes environments where pressure is intense, margins for error are minimal, and teamwork is essential. Drawing on real-world operations, he has developed powerful presentations and training programs that translate emergency response principles into practical lessons for leadership, safety, risk management, and performance under pressure.

As a speaker, Paul Featherstone delivers authentic, compelling insights into human behaviour in crisis. His message centres on preparation, self-motivation, trust, and teamwork—lessons forged in moments where lives were truly on the line.