As Australia approaches its bushfire season once again, its actions on environmental resilience and global image make headline headlines.

During the 2019-20 “Black Summer” bushfires, major Australian celebrities stepped into the spotlight—raising millions for relief efforts and amplifying domestic and international attention.

Yet while those campaigns drew substantial public support and media coverage, they did not translate into a sustained strategic framework for leveraging celebrity influence in national crisis response.

Public figures such as Chris Hemsworth, Kylie Minogue and Nicole Kidman emerged as powerful advocates during the 2019-20 fires.

Their efforts helped raise vital funds and protect Australia’s brand as a tourist and investment destination.

One poll by Tourism Australia found that the media narrative around the fires had damaged Australia’s global image, portraying the country as unsafe and environmentally unstable.

The celebrities’ efforts mitigated that to some extent but underscored a missed strategic opportunity.

Although celebrity advocacy is embedded in the operations of major non-governmental organisations such as UNICEF Australia and World Vision Australia, at the governmental level Australia lacks a cohesive framework.

Studies show that while celebrities can significantly increase awareness and engagement, their impact is often transient, fading once media attention subsides.

Without policy-driven coordination, those bursts of influence fail to turn into long-term resilience messaging.

Experts have argued that to strengthen impact, celebrity endorsements should be tied into formal crisis communication systems.

They suggest a five-point policy model: establishment of a dedicated celebrity liaison unit within the national emergency agency; pre-crisis communication training for high-profile figures; extension of partnerships beyond donation appeals into resilience and recovery themes; integration with public broadcasting and digital campaigns; and the shift from ad-hoc reactions to long-term ambassador programs delivering consistent messaging.

Australia’s institutional disaster management frameworks are well developed—such as the National Disaster Risk Reduction Framework, endorsed by the government, and the Australian Disaster Recovery Framework, endorsed in 2022. But analysts argue these systems still do not recognise or fully harness the strategic potential of celebrity diplomacy in strengthening national resilience narratives.

The approach remains largely reactive, rather than integrated.

In an era of escalating climate-driven hazards and intensifying global scrutiny of national environmental credentials, well-orchestrated celebrity advocacy could serve Australia’s soft power ambitions.

Trusted public figures have the ability to amplify preparedness messaging, strengthen international reputation and build domestic social capital.

Yet for this potential to be realised, a move beyond fundraising headlines to enduring strategic partnership is required.

As Australia moves towards its next phase of climate and disaster risk management, the alignment of celebrity influence with formal policy mechanisms may determine whether such efforts translate into long-lasting international and domestic dividends.

The country’s soft power credentials—and its readiness for future national-scale disasters—may well depend on it.