In a small office in Barton, a team of engineers and computer scientists analyse satellite images from disaster affected zones from across the world.
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Local intelligence company Geospatial Intelligence provides solutions to governments about their homeland security and disaster response efforts.
With high demand for their service they're also feeling the pressure of skills shortages in Australian industry.
CEO Rob Coorey hires graduates from Canberra's universities who can assess and describe information about physical features of Earth captured by their satellites.
Mr Coorey says graduates with the required skill set to work at his company are hard to attract, and the Australia-UK free trade agreement comes at a time when local businesses across Australia are facing serious skilled labour shortages.
"Under the FTA they have changed the threshold for bringing people from the UK to Australia - we hope to use that agreement to bring skilled labour to us," Mr Coorey said.
With climate change exacerbating natural disasters, governments are relying on satellite imagery to assess the effects of disasters and improve their geography to protect communities at risk.
Recently Geospatial Intelligence assisted the Western Australian government in recovery efforts during Cyclone Isla. Their imagery allows state governments to determine the geographic extent of disasters and ensure communities most at need receive the help they need.
Rob Coorey worked for the government in bushfire modelling and today his business has access to more than 100 satellites around the world that assists the Australian government in homeland security and disaster response.
During Cyclone Isla, Geospatial Intelligence was tasked with assisting emergency services. The satellite imagery identified bridges and roads leading to remote indigenous communities that had been affected by the cyclone.
"We were using satellite imagery to map the flood extent to make sure that Indigenous communities could receive access for support," Mr Coorey said.
Homeland security is also another area of satellite imagery the company provides solutions for.
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Geospatial Intelligence monitors illegal fishing off the West Australian and Northern Territory coasts.
"From space we can actually monitor vessels that a fishing illegally which is a key issue for nations in the Pacific," Mr Coorey said.
The connection between the company and the Australia-UK FTA is the current work Geospatial Intelligence coordinates with the UK and Indian governments in identifying early symptoms of disease outbreak.
Once an epidemic hotspot is identified, they will use satellite imagery to identify the distribution of the disease.
Working with governments to prevent and plan for the next global pandemic, Geospatial Intelligence is providing accurate and detailed images about where diseases are found and how environmental factors can affect its spread.
"Our focus at the moment in the Middle-East - we're mapping the species of mosquitoes because certain species carry certain disease types," Mr Coorey said.
During his recent visit to the United Kingdom, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced May 31 as the date of entry into force of the Australia-United Kingdom Free Trade Agreement.
"We hope to use that agreement to bring skilled labour to us - and to actually have some of our people to get experience in the UK," Mr Coorey said.
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