Meet The APP Group’s expert Urban Advisory & Planning team

The APP Group is a trusted advisor, working to create new possibilities and shape progress, for our clients and the communities they serve. 

Our dynamic team of Urban Advisory and Planning experts delivers a broad range of services grounded in commercial acumen with a focus on deliverability. 

Across Australia, the team delivers value to clients across three core streams – Urban Policy & Strategy, Project Approvals & Coordination, and Project Development and Pathways:

Urban Policy & Strategy

Our team can lay the foundations for prosperous city and precinct development underpinned by cross knowledge of market and government perspectives.

• Urban policy development and advocacy. 
• Strategic planning. 
• Stakeholder engagement and strategy.

Project Approvals and Co-Ordination

Our experts can navigate complex approval processes and set projects up for timely delivery.

• Approval pathway strategy. 
• Planning due diligence and risk management. 
• Planning and rezoning approvals.
• Complex multi-disciplinary planning and design process management.

Project Development and Pathways

Our team can ensure projects and ideas are tested, set up for success and can attract market and/or government support.

• Feasibility modelling and assessment and review.
• Funding strategies and grant obtainment. 
• Business Case development and co-ordination. 
• Transaction, acquisition, project partner, and divestment management. 
• Early project definition and testing.

With a proven track record across major urban development projects and strong relationships in the private sector and all levels of government, our Urban Advisory & Planning team provides the expertise needed to navigate complex property challenges and drive successful outcomes. Partnering with The APP Group means leveraging decades of industry-leading insight to achieve your project goals effectively and efficiently.

The Urban Advisory and Planning team has a diverse and complementary skillset – with background disciplines in urban planning, finance, property development, research and economics. 

The APP Group’s Urban Advisory and Planning team, which sits within the Property and Social Infrastructure Division, is led by Allison Smith and Josh Owen in NSW & ACT, and Sean Morrison in WA – all servicing projects across the country. 

Allison Smith, Executive General Manager, NSW & ACT, has 30 years’ experience in the planning, development and property sector, and specialises in setting out the scope, strategy and delivery of front end large-scale urban projects. 

Josh Owen, General Manager, Advisory & Planning NSW & ACT, is a passionate advocate for urban development, with significant expertise in place creation, statutory planning and strategic advisory across urban release areas, regenerative infill and mixed-use town centres across all property sectors. 

Sean Morrison, General Manager, Advisory & Planning WA, has over 15 years of experience in the development industry across Australia – leading city-shaping projects and playing a key role in urban policy development and advocacy. 

In NSW, Jacob Pala, Business Leader – Advisory, and Mitchell Brown, Business Leader - Planning, oversee the strategic direction, planning and delivery of complex property, urban renewal and large-scale masterplanning projects. Planning Manager, NSW & ACT, Andrew Wilson, is a Registered Environmental Assessment Practitioner and has over 30 years’ of experience in urban planning projects. Madison Winnel, Casey Dunmall, Jennifer Dang, Jake To, Francois Kruger, and Tom Connolly collaborate and support the team’s success in NSW. 

Our team in WA consists of, Steve Egger, National Senior Property Advisor, who has been involved in the property development industry since the early 1980s across Australia and Asia, covering a range of activities including property acquisition and divestment, business case development and feasibility analysis. 

Michael Hart, Senior Development Manager, has 10 years of experience in property development, urban planning and feasibility analysis across Australia. Emily Salvisberg and Tex Braithwaite play a crucial role in delivering exceptional results for our clients. 

Our Urban Advisory & Planning experts offer specialised and bespoke solutions that are tailored to suit client needs. We balance competing financial, political and placemaking considerations efficiently to achieve optimal outcomes for each project.