A willingness to help when it matters the most: celebrating our SES volunteers

Becoming an SES volunteer was a dream of Bryan Galliford’s since he was a young Scout nearly 40 years ago. During those days, he admired his friend’s father, an SES volunteer who would talk to the Scouts about wild weather events and how he served the community.

“I remember him coming in wearing his orange uniform - I used to think of it as a superhero costume when I was a kid,” Bryan said.

“He would talk about helping people and keeping them safe, and I thought that sounded really important; I wanted to do that too one day.”

The vision of joining the SES would continue to enter Bryan’s mind through adulthood, including his 11 years at Suncorp working in the customer marketing team, where he helps ensure customers have a positive online experience.

Bryan witnessed many extreme weather events across Queensland during his Suncorp tenure, including 2022’s devastating Brisbane floods, which were the final trigger that progressed his SES vision to reality.

“I saw one of the service trucks in the pouring rain, with SES volunteers helping people, and decided then to sign up.

“They welcomed me with open arms. They are a wonderful group of people who just want to do anything they can to help."

Suncorp is proud to be a Principal Community Partner of the SES

Wear Orange Wednesday (WOW) 2025 is celebrated on Wednesday, 21 May and is an opportunity for businesses and communities to recognise the dedication of SES volunteers who give their time, skills and empathy to help communities in times of need. 

Suncorp has a proud history of close partnership with the SES. The insurer has been in a Principal Community Partnership with Queensland SES since 2020. In Victoria, Suncorp’s brand AAMI has provided support to Victoria SES as Co- Principal Community Partner for more than 20 years, and in 2023, AAMI established a major partnership agreement with New South Wales SES.  

Suncorp and its SES partners share a commitment to providing assistance to communities during the response, recovery and resilience phases of disaster management. Suncorp is also committed to educating customers on how to prepare their home for severe weather and reduce their risk of damage. Together in partnership, Suncorp and the SES advocate for preparedness and help create more resilient communities.  

Suncorp Chief Executive Consumer Insurance, Lisa Harrison, highlighted the importance of Wear Orange Wednesday in celebrating the remarkable work of SES volunteers.

“As one of Australia’s largest insurers, we know the importance of being there for our customers, especially when natural disasters strike.

“Like our Suncorp teams, our SES partners and volunteers are there in the moments that matter, helping communities prepare and get back on their feet after a crisis.

“These partnerships are so important in the face of more frequent severe weather, which we saw first-hand recently as we responded to ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred,” Ms Harrison said. 

Bryan supported the local community before and after ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred 

While communities anxiously watched the path of ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred in the days before it made landfall in March 2025, SES volunteers like Bryan were ‘called up’ to help those at risk prepare.  

As Suncorp quickly scaled up resources and support teams in preparation to help its customers, Bryan spoke to his manager about emergency services leave. “I explained that community requests were rapidly coming in, and that SES volunteers were needed to help prepare homes for the cyclone. My leader was great and immediately approved me to take the leave.” 

Suncorp supports its people who dedicate their time to volunteer with the SES, with options such as unlimited paid emergency response leave.

Bryan spent three days in the lead up to the cyclone preparing properties by sandbagging doors and talking to people about potential evacuation, particularly vulnerable members of the community.

“People always want to talk about their homes and whether they've had problems in the past. Having these conversations is an important part of my role in the SES. We reassure them and make sure they feel heard, especially the more vulnerable people in the community.

“Helping them prepare feels like a very small thing. But to them, it's huge. The person says: You've saved my house.

"They are so grateful.”

Some of Bryan’s ex-TC Alfred aftermath stories are more harrowing, like helping a terrified resident whose roof collapsed into her loungeroom when a large tree fell through it. She had narrowly escaped severe injury; had it not been for a power outage earlier, she would have been sitting on the lounge room couch watching TV, directly underneath the collapsed roof.

Bryan and his team secured a tarp on the roof to keep the rain out, covered her belongings and reassured the resident while they waited for the specialist height safety team. The SES are able to make temporary repairs while residents await permanent repairs to their homes.

“I’ve learned many valuable skills from my time in the SES. I am more capable of helping my family stay safe.

"My SES training also reinforced the genuine value of the messages we send to customers about regular home resilience measures like cleaning gutters. I’ve seen firsthand what a difference some of these tips can make in a severe weather event."