Canberra Business Owner Spotlight Hub
How ACTWELL Is Changing the Way Canberra Businesses Think About Emergency Training
Canberra business ACTWELL First Aid Training helps workplaces build confidence in first aid, emergency response, and emergency management training.
Business Snapshot
Business Name: ACTWELL First Aid Training
Owners: Phil Henderson and Jaclyn Van De Wetering
Industry: Emergency Training & Workplace Compliance
Location: Canberra
Who They Help: Businesses, schools, organisations, and individuals needing first aid, fire safety, and emergency management training
Website: https://www.actwell.com.au/
ACTWELL First Aid Training started with a simple but important belief: people should leave first aid training feeling confident enough to actually step in during an emergency.
Founded in Canberra in 2012, the business has grown from a small first aid operation into a broader emergency management and training company working with businesses, schools, and government organisations across the region.
What stood out most in this conversation with Phil Henderson and Jaclyn Van De Wetering was the clarity behind the business’s purpose. Every decision — from who delivers the training through to how clients are supported — comes back to creating better emergency outcomes and making people feel capable when it matters most.
About The Business
ACTWELL First Aid Training began in 2012 with a trainer, a bag of mannequins, and a mission to improve the way people experienced first aid education.
Over time, the business expanded far beyond traditional first aid courses. Today, ACTWELL delivers workplace first aid training, fire safety training, emergency warden programs, evacuation diagrams, emergency planning, and broader emergency management support for Canberra organisations.
What makes the business different is the operational experience behind the training itself.
Many of ACTWELL’s trainers come directly from emergency services backgrounds, including firefighters, paramedics, emergency nurses, and combat medics. For Phil Henderson and Jaclyn Van De Wetering, that practical experience is central to the company’s philosophy. The focus isn’t simply on delivering compliance certificates — it’s about helping people feel calm and capable enough to act during high-pressure situations.
As the business grew, so did the complexity behind the scenes.
“ACTWELL grew by combining real-world emergency experience with a clear
focus on helping people feel capable under pressure.”
What originally worked as a small, highly flexible operation eventually created pressure as the business scaled. Phil and Jaclyn spoke openly about the challenges of transitioning from a reactive “everyone does everything” approach into a more structured business with clearer systems, accountability, and operational boundaries.
That shift also led to bigger strategic decisions.
Rather than trying to service everyone, ACTWELL gradually refined its focus toward larger organisations needing ongoing emergency management support and integrated training solutions. Saying no to the wrong opportunities became just as important as saying yes to the right ones.
Today, ACTWELL continues growing through reputation, referrals, and long-term relationships with Canberra organisations while maintaining a strong focus on quality, confidence, and real-world outcomes.
Q&A with Phil & Jaclyn
What inspired the business originally?
We noticed there was a gap between people completing first aid courses and actually feeling confident enough to step in during a real emergency. We wanted to change that.
What are you most proud of so far?
When people come back and tell us they used their training to help save someone’s life. That’s the part that really matters to us.
What has been one of the biggest challenges?
The things that made us successful as a small business eventually became the things limiting our growth. We had to move from everyone doing everything to building clearer systems and roles.
What decision helped the business grow the most?
Learning to say no more often. Saying no to the wrong work, the wrong opportunities, or work that pulled us away from what we actually wanted the business to become.
What’s the best business advice you’ve received?
Be ruthless about setting standards and then consistently following through on them, even when it’s uncomfortable.
What advice would you give other business owners?
Get really clear on what your business stands for and what it doesn’t stand for. It makes decision-making much easier.
What’s your long-term vision for ACTWELL?
We want businesses to see ACTWELL as the place that handles everything around emergency management and emergency training, while also creating a genuinely excellent experience for clients from start to finish.
One thing that stood out
One thing that stood out in this conversation was how often growth required the business to become more selective, not less.
Many Canberra businesses initially grow by saying yes to every opportunity, client, or request that comes through the door. But over time, sustainable growth usually requires clearer positioning, stronger systems, and a willingness to define what the business will no longer do.
This is a transition that regularly appears in established Canberra businesses moving from highly reactive operations into more structured growth phases.
If your organisation is reviewing workplace first aid, emergency management, or fire safety training, ACTWELL is worth exploring for its practical and highly experienced approach.
Let’s Put Your Business in the Spotlight
Canberra Business Accelerators helps growth-focused business owners build profitable, scalable and self-sustaining businesses. We work with established Canberra businesses turning over $1M+ and employing from small to large teams. Our clients are ambitious but often stretched too thin, juggling staff challenges, inconsistent systems, patchy marketing and thin margins. Through practical coaching, tailored strategy and hands-on tools, we help owners take control of their time, team and bottom line. Our programs include one-to-one coaching, business planning days, team development workshops and leadership support designed to get real-world results. We specialise in helping business owners to strengthen their leadership team, improve profitability and cash flow, systemise operations for consistent delivery and attract better clients with smarter marketing. Unlike generic business coaches, we’re based locally and work directly with owners and their teams to implement strategies that stick. Our goal is to help you build a business that works for you, not the other way around.
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