We specialise in development facilitation and management, and delivering planning approvals for a diverse range of projects within both urban and regional settings. We offer detailed preliminary advice to guide the design process, enabling minimal adjustments as the concept develops.

Our value is provided in:

We manage and coordinate the entire application process, delivering comprehensive planning submissions that clearly demonstrate alignment with relevant policy to support project success.

From inception to delivery, we provide private, government, and institutional clients not only our insights and expert advice, but also our proven ability to achieve practical implementable outcomes.

When needed, we can assemble project teams from our trusted network of allied professionals. We can also draw on our Urban Design, Landscape Architecture, engagement and Media teams if required.

Our depth of knowledge and diverse team of specialists give us strong capabilities in strategic planning at local, regional, state, and national levels. We recognise the long-term impact of strategic planning decisions and the importance of getting them right from the start. With a deep understanding of the planning system and its evolving challenges, we develop practical, forward-thinking strategies supported by robust and adaptable implementation plans.

We bring extensive experience in preparing planning reports and managing strategic zoning changes and rezoning requests. With offices in both metropolitan and regional areas across the nation, we remain at the forefront of major policy changes and are well-positioned to provide expert guidance on planning processes and pathways.

Having unlocked some of Australia’s most significant sites through development plans, our multidisciplinary services position us in the vanguard of the development plan preparation and approval process.

Typically supported by our Urban Design and Landscape Architecture inputs, our development plans range from simple plan-based documents to detailed strategic reports supported by a range of key inputs to suit the needs of the project. We deliver development plans and head provisions that are feasible, deliverable, and flexible to adapt to changing market needs and emerging technologies while integrating with and enhancing existing communities.

Often the value that is added to a development site has its genesis in the pre-planning phase. We understand the critical role of accurate, realistic, and timely feasibility advice as part of our clients’ due diligence process.

Our strength lies in anticipating future changes to planning schemes and helping clients navigate potential risks. Our preliminary planning advice is highly valued for its clarity and insight, empowering clients to assess a property’s development potential and make informed decisions about acquisitions or project commitments.

We prepare and coordinate the approval of precinct structure plans, local masterplans and regional plans to facilitate the delivery of high-quality master planned communities. Working closely with developers and authorities, we deliver plans that are cost-effective, respond to local and regional aspirations and deliver a strong sense of place.

We advise clients throughout the approval process and coordinate the preparation of supporting materials such as Servicing Plans; Infrastructure or Development Contribution Plans and Native Vegetation Precinct Plans. Where prepared by others, we advocate effectively for our clients through the public exhibition phase, and scrutinise the detail with an eye to the realities of future delivery of development under the plan.

Our understanding of regulatory frameworks and approvals processes for major projects underpins our management and preparation of Environmental Impact Assessments and Environmental Effects Statements.

Our approach to environmental assessment starts with a detailed understanding of the site and its context and draws on our strategic planning skills to unpack the impacts of a project and its wider shaping forces.

We assemble and work with other experts to produce comprehensive assessments that accurately describe the potential impacts of a project and methods to minimise those impacts.

Effective consultation and engagement strategies are an integral component of our project delivery. We adopt the IAP2 Spectrum of Public Participation of inform, consult, involve, collaborate, and empower – and tailor this to the needs of each project.

We use online and social media portals – often developed in-house – to consult the target community with a much broader, richer, and more engaging reach. For all projects, our intent is to ensure sufficient, relevant, accurate and consistent information to all stakeholders.

At the interface of strategic and statutory planning is the implementation of policy into statute. We advise governments on how existing and proposed policies and provisions can be improved, streamlined, and made more effective.

We regularly review planning schemes on behalf of planning authorities, and we develop regulatory frameworks which are at once robust and adaptable. Our development approval experience ensures that ‘implementation’ and ‘solutions thinking’ guide our delivery of useable, transparent, and concise planning provisions.

Research forms a key input into the development of policy and strategies and can also form the basis of standalone, out-of-the-ordinary publications. We offer skills and expertise in the preparation of planning studies covering a broad range of urban, regional, and environmental issues. Essential to the success of these studies is our detailed understanding of contemporary policy challenges and emerging technologies.

Our reports are comprehensive, accurate, and well-considered, and have been published in mainstream media outlets as well as academic journals and industry publications.

We provide evidence and advocacy services for planning panels, tribunals and other advisory committee forums. Our team of independent planning experts is regularly recommended to review and critique development proposals to establish the likelihood of success at appeal. Where matters are not able to be settled, our experts offer independent opinions to appeal bodies including panels and tribunals to inform decision-making and planning policy.

As planning advocates, we coordinate, prepare and deliver submissions that draw on our understanding of statutory planning systems, planning policy, and case law to best represent our clients’ cases. Our full range of services in this area includes initial filing, representation at directions hearings and mediations, advice on the engagement of experts, review of expert statements, and general coordination.