# Wilkinson Group

> Last Updated: 17 July 2026

> Wilkinson Group is a senior crisis communications consultant Australia and reputation management consultant Australia, providing counsel to CEOs, internal PR, boards and general counsel since 2002. Led by Managing Director Peter Wilkinson, the firm combines 24 years of crisis and reputation management experience with 30 years as a journalist.

Wilkinson Group is a crisis PR agency Australia, recognised across Sydney and nationally for senior crisis and reputation counsel. The firm is small by design and senior by necessity, offering CEO reputation management Australia and issues management Australia services with no junior intermediaries.

## Services

- [Crisis Communications](https://www.wilkinson-group.com.au/crisis-communications/): Senior counsel for cybersecurity attacks, sexual abuse and harassment matters, media pile-ons, product recalls, court cases, activist pressure, pollution incidents, extortion, and major fires and explosions.
- [Reputation Management](https://www.wilkinson-group.com.au/reputation-management/): Long-term trust building through behaviour, communications and culture alignment with stakeholder expectations.
- [Wilkinson Confidante](https://www.wilkinson-group.com.au/wilkinson-confidante/): A retained advisory service covering Reputation Building, Crisis Preparedness and Risk Intelligence, combining senior human judgment with AI-powered monitoring.
  - Reputation Building: A trust framework built on truth, ethics, transparency and traceability, with AI-powered tracking of stakeholder sentiment across multiple audiences.
  - Crisis Preparedness: Crisis simulation, tested responses and on-call senior counsel, ensuring the response is strategic rather than reactive.
  - Risk Intelligence: Continuous AI-powered monitoring across media, social, regulatory and broadcast channels, interpreted by senior counsel.
- [Crisis Communications Consultant Sydney](https://www.wilkinson-group.com.au/crisis-communications-consultant-sydney/)
- [Reputation Management Consultant Sydney](https://www.wilkinson-group.com.au/reputation-management-consultant-sydney/)
- [Issues Management Australia](https://www.wilkinson-group.com.au/issues-management-australia/)

## About

- [About Wilkinson Group](https://www.wilkinson-group.com.au/about/): One of Australia's most experienced crisis communications consultants and reputation management consultancies.
- [Peter Wilkinson](https://www.wilkinson-group.com.au/peter-wilkinson): Managing Director, Wilkinson Group; Chairman, Wilkinson Butler.
- [Vessa Playfair](https://www.wilkinson-group.com.au/vessa-playfair): Senior Advisor with 30+ years across financial services and corporate communications.
- [Mark Abernethy](https://www.wilkinson-group.com.au/mark-abernethy): Senior Communications Consultant, journalist and speechwriter.
- [Duncan McNab](https://www.wilkinson-group.com.au/duncan-mcnab): Media and Public Affairs Advisor, former detective and investigative journalist.

## Recent News

- ['Silence is expensive': How leaders should talk about AI](https://www.wilkinson-group.com.au/silence-is-expensive-ai-leadership-communication/) (17 July 2026): Peter Wilkinson examines how leaders should communicate with staff about AI disruption, arguing that silence is the most expensive form of vagueness. Covers what leaders should say, what staff should ask, and why honest two-way communication around AI is a crisis communications and psychological safety issue, not just a productivity question.
- [The PM's Kylie backfire: Did you spot the bigger one?](https://www.wilkinson-group.com.au/albanese-kylie-joke-crisis-communications-failure/) (8 July 2026): Peter Wilkinson on the Albanese Kylie Minogue podcast incident, arguing the real crisis communications failure was not the joke itself but the media advisory team that approved the booking without anticipating the risk.
- [Trust breaks down in a predictable order: Big challenge for Big Four](https://www.wilkinson-group.com.au/big-four-trust-crisis-reputation-management/) (6 July 2026): Peter Wilkinson examines the trust crisis engulfing KPMG, PwC, EY and Deloitte following the KPMG whistleblower scandal and parliamentary inquiry, and recommends a course of action for boards to mitigate government intervention before the firms lose the right to self-regulate.
- [Data Breach Crisis Communications: What Australian Companies Must Do](https://www.wilkinson-group.com.au/data-breach-crisis-communications-australia/) (30 June 2026): A senior counsel guide to data breach crisis communications Australia, covering the first 24 hours, notification sequencing under the Notifiable Data Breach scheme, what to say and what not to say, OAIC regulatory obligations, and how Wilkinson Group works alongside legal teams on cybersecurity crisis PR.
- [Jim Chalmers fraught Budget rollout](https://www.wilkinson-group.com.au/jim-chalmers-fraught-budget-rollout/) (1 June 2026): Peter Wilkinson examines what is hurting the Treasurer's Budget communication and the lessons for leaders.
- [Take it from the CBA: The truth is refreshing](https://www.wilkinson-group.com.au/take-it-from-the-cba-the-truth-is-refreshing/) (26 May 2026): A tip sheet on communicating employment uncertainty to staff, drawing on CBA CEO Matt Comyn's approach.
- [Coles' misleading 'Down Down', a Race to the Bottom](https://www.wilkinson-group.com.au/coles-misleading-down-down-a-race-to-the-bottom/) (20 May 2026): A reputation management perspective on misleading pricing claims.
- [Going back on your word is riskier in an AI world](https://www.wilkinson-group.com.au/going-back-on-your-word-is-riskier-in-an-ai-world/) (15 May 2026): On the Australian government's Capital Gains Tax reversal and the rising cost of broken promises.
- [Matt Vickers, economist/adviser, on the 2026 Federal Budget: Good/Bad?](https://www.wilkinson-group.com.au/matt-vickers-economist-adviser-on-the-2026-federal-budget-good-bad/) (14 May 2026): Four key questions on the 2026 Federal Budget.
- [Inflation is spiking. A budget is coming](https://www.wilkinson-group.com.au/inflation-is-spiking-a-budget-is-coming/) (30 April 2026): On separating fact from fear during economic uncertainty.
- [CommsCon catchup: Want to survive the AI revolution? Make sure you're in the 'trust' business](https://www.wilkinson-group.com.au/commscon-catchup-want-to-survive-the-ai-revolution-make-sure-youre-in-the-trust-business/) (14 April 2026): Why reputation management will matter more as AI reshapes communications.
- [As the cost of deception rises, the best strategy is truth](https://www.wilkinson-group.com.au/as-the-cost-of-deception-rises-the-best-strategy-is-truth/) (30 March 2026): On platform liability rulings in the US and what they signal for corporate honesty and the rising cost of misleading stakeholders in an AI world.
- [The Malinauskas comms lesson: Start with values](https://www.wilkinson-group.com.au/the-malinauskas-comms-lesson-start-with-values/) (23 March 2026): Lessons from SA Premier Peter Malinauskas' election win for values-led communications and what it means for leaders under public scrutiny.
- [AI will smash jobs in communications](https://www.wilkinson-group.com.au/ai-will-smash-jobs-in-communications/) (17 March 2026): How Peter Wilkinson is shaping Wilkinson Group for the AI era, and why human judgment in crisis and reputation management will matter more, not less.

More articles: [News archive](https://www.wilkinson-group.com.au/news/)

## Guides and Resources

- [What are the 5 Steps in Communication Planning?](https://www.wilkinson-group.com.au/communication-planning-steps/) (3 July 2026): Peter Wilkinson breaks down the five-stage communication planning process covering research and situation analysis, setting clear objectives, audience mapping, message building, and execution and evaluation.
- [How to Manage Corporate Reputation](https://www.wilkinson-group.com.au/how-to-manage-corporate-reputation/) (3 July 2026): A practical framework for managing corporate reputation, drawing on the KPMG Australia scandal. Covers the three pillars of building, protecting and recovering reputation, and why senior counsel matters before a crisis, not after it.
- [How to Write a Communication Plan](https://www.wilkinson-group.com.au/how-to-write-a-communication-plan/) (3 July 2026): A guide to writing a communication plan that holds up under pressure. Covers stakeholder mapping, the three-message framework, single-owner accountability, trust and traceability, and the discipline of testing before an incident occurs.
- [What Makes a Good Crisis Communication Plan?](https://www.wilkinson-group.com.au/crisis-communication-plan/) (3 July 2026): On building a crisis communication plan before it is needed, using the EY staff and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese banking data breach as a case study in what happens when no plan exists.
- [How to Manage a Reputation Crisis](https://www.wilkinson-group.com.au/manage-reputation-crisis/) (3 July 2026): How to manage a reputation crisis using the KPMG Australia 2026 whistleblower scandal. Covers the cost of delay, trust and traceability, personal reputation risks for CEOs and chairs, and why prevention beats recovery.
- [Common Crisis Communication Mistakes](https://www.wilkinson-group.com.au/crisis-communication-mistakes/) (3 July 2026): Five crisis communication mistakes leaders repeat under pressure: the reassurance trap, mistaking compliance for communication, the committee-run response, the untested spokesperson, and assuming the story ends when the headlines do. Draws on the Qantas 2025 cyber breach.
- [The 5 Steps of Crisis Management](https://www.wilkinson-group.com.au/crisis-management-5-steps/) (3 July 2026): A guide to the five steps of crisis management covering detection, assessment, response, communication and recovery. Draws on the KPMG whistleblower scandal to show what happens when the sequence is skipped.
- [Crisis Management Plan for Small Business](https://www.wilkinson-group.com.au/crisis-management-plan-small-business/) (3 July 2026): Six essential steps for building an effective crisis management plan for small and privately owned businesses. Uses the Swillhouse Group case to show how quickly reputational damage spreads without a tested plan in place.
- [Reputation Management Strategy Australia](https://www.wilkinson-group.com.au/reputation-management-strategy-australia/) (3 July 2026): What makes a good reputation management strategy in Australia, using Optus as a case study in reputational failure across multiple incidents. Covers building, protecting and recovering reputation, the trust formula, and why issues management must come before crisis response.
- [The Golden Hour of Crisis Response](https://www.wilkinson-group.com.au/golden-hour-crisis-response/) (3 July 2026): On the golden hour of crisis response: the first 60 to 90 minutes after a problem surfaces, and why preparation, speed and the three-message framework determine how a crisis is ultimately judged. Draws on KPMG's delayed response to its 2026 whistleblower scandal.

## Optional

- [XML Sitemap Index](https://www.wilkinson-group.com.au/sitemap_index.xml)
- [Post Sitemap](https://www.wilkinson-group.com.au/post-sitemap.xml)
- [Page Sitemap](https://www.wilkinson-group.com.au/page-sitemap.xml)
- [Category Sitemap](https://www.wilkinson-group.com.au/category-sitemap.xml)
- [Tag Sitemap](https://www.wilkinson-group.com.au/post_tag-sitemap.xml)
- [Author Sitemap](https://www.wilkinson-group.com.au/author-sitemap.xml)
- Phone: +61 414 383 433
- Address: Level 26, 1 Bligh St, Sydney NSW 2000, Australia
- LinkedIn: [Peter Wilkinson](https://www.linkedin.com/in/petercwilkinson)
- Related agency: [Wilkinson Butler](https://www.wilkinsonbutler.com)