A collective of brilliant minds and industry experts

Michael Buckton is a Bachelor of City Planning student at the University of New South Wales, with a keen interest in statutory planning, urban design, and strategic planning. His passion is to help create a more engaging and safer environment within our cities and suburbs through collective problem-solving and the clear application of planning principles.

With a broad depth of knowledge within the NSW planning system, Michael has worked on a wide range of projects, including residential developments, commercial centres, and industrial developments.

In addition to his studies, Michael has gained practical experience through his role as a Student Planner at Mecone, where he assists with the preparation of planning reports, applications, and submissions. Michael is committed to furthering his professional development and becoming a leading planner in the industry.

Ann-Maree has over 20 years experience in the planning sector, with extensive experience managing complex programs of work, leading strategy development, and building and leading multi-disciplinary teams.

Ann-Maree’s professional background spans program and project management, strategic and statutory planning, urban renewal (precinct planning), greenfield development, development assessment, environmental impact assessment, and community engagement.

E: amcarruthers@mecone.com.au

Alyssa is a city planner with over three years of experience in strategic and statutory planning across local and state government. She began her career in state government, gaining expertise land acquisition, land transfers and divestments, strategic master planning and underground resource assessments.

Driven by a passion for sustainability and inclusive planning, she joined Randwick City Council, where she assessed diverse development applications and modifications including low to mid rise housing types, commercial buildings and heritage sites. She also contributed to Local Planning Panels, the Design Excellence Advisory Panel, and received training in the Land and Environmental Court process.

Michael is Mecone’s Finance and Operations Manager and a member of the National Team. A qualified CPA and ACCA professional, he brings more than 20 years of experience in finance, accounting and operations across Australia and the UK. In his role, Michael oversees the firm’s financial performance and operational frameworks, ensuring the business remains well structured and resilient as it grows.

He works closely with directors and teams to provide strategic financial insight, strengthen compliance and improve efficiencies that support long term sustainability. With a collaborative and solutions focused approach, Michael helps create the systems and processes that enable consultants to deliver exceptional outcomes for clients while positioning Mecone for continued success into the future.

Adam Coburn has over 23  years of experience in planning, including development assessment, strategic planning, environmental impact assessment, and development advisory.

He has worked on key site renewals and with government agencies at local and state levels. Adam has expertise in environmental impact assessment for projects in renewable energy, waste and resource recovery, health and education sectors. As Mecone’s Managing Director, he ensures high project standards are met and consulting services are delivered efficiently.

E: acoburn@mecone.com.au

Tom Cook is a highly skilled planner with over 15 years of experience in urban, regional, and rural areas of NSW.

He has executed complex projects on a local, regional, and state level, including large-scale residential, industrial, and commercial developments. Tom has a reputation for developing collaborative stakeholder relationships, providing valuable technical advice, and negotiating successful outcomes for his clients.

E: tcook@mecone.com.au

Phil Cristaldi has over 20 years of experience as a planner and project manager in Queensland.

He provides high-level advice and documentation for renewable and battery store locations. Phil works one-on-one with clients, provides leadership and support to Planning and Urban Graphics and Mapping teams at Mecone, and has experience across residential, industrial, commercial, and retail development sectors. He also managed the delivery of several residential projects in South East Queensland.

E: pcristaldi@mecone.com.au

Pete is a seasoned business and project management professional with over 23 years of demonstrated success, delivering high-impact outcomes across diverse industries (including infrastructure and property).

Renowned for a proven track record of strategic execution, client relationship management, and business growth. Pete prides himself on leading multi-disciplinary teams, negotiating complex outcomes, and driving high-quality solutions from concept to completion. All this is underpinned with a detailed knowledge of the Victorian planning legislative framework and other relevant policy.

He is a highly self-motivated, results-driven, and known for a hands-on approach to leadership that fosters innovation and accountability. A true team player who thrives in dynamic environments and consistently exceeds expectations through integrity, adaptability, and a relentless pursuit of excellence.

Pete’s passions are understanding project challenges, identifying logical and practical solutions, and business growth.

E: pdawson@mecone.com.au

Kayley has been working as a planner in the private sector for over a year after attaining her Master of Urban Planning and Environment at RMIT. As part of her Master’s program, she had to complete a thesis. Kayley’s thesis was a study on the Impacts of Urban Sprawl on Women’s Employment Opportunities.

Kayley has a keen interest in planning liveable communities, strategic and statutory planning, gender planning and social planning. She has developed her knowledge and planning skills by working on a broad range of projects across Greater Melbourne, Regional VIC, NSW and QLD, including mixed-use development, low, medium and high-density residential developments, commercial and industrial developments, strategic planning projects and renewable energy projects.

Tyson brings over 12 years of experience in statutory planning, having worked in both the public and private sectors. In his public sector roles, Tyson managed, assessed and determined Development Applications for a diverse range of proposals of varying size and complexity across Sydney and New South Wales for local governments. His private sector experiences include the preparation and management of a wide range of complex applications of varying size, due-diligence and statutory planning advice, planning audits, preparation of planning submissions and representation at NSW Land and Environment Court matters.

Tyson’s considerable knowledge of statutory planning matters enables him to provide detailed technical advice to clients throughout all stages of development projects and negotiating successful outcomes. His experience in both the public and private sectors has provided him with the skills and knowledge required to navigate the complexities of the NSW planning system.

Ashley is an experienced urban strategist, with over 19 years’ experience, who brings a wealth of knowledge in urban development and policy formulation from his involvement in a variety of projects across Queensland and Australia. He provides consulting services to a range of private, community, infrastructure providers, local government and state government agencies.

Ashley specialises in providing high value application pathway strategy and delivery advice for projects across a range of sectors and services including, housing, health, education, growth areas, development assessment and independent advice, retirement and aged care, industry, logistics, warehousing, major hazard facilities, tourism and retail.

E: aeverton@mecone.com.au

Ben has over 10 years experience spanning project management, research, analytics, consultancy & public policy. Ben reliably leads teams under tight timeframes & constrained budgets, while navigating complex governance systems & diverse stakeholders requirements.

Skilled in designing and delivering rigorous research projects, policy analysis and technical reporting, Ben is a trusted advisor to C-level executives in high-growth environments, providing strategic, data-backed insights & driving initiatives from conception through to implementation.

Currently serving as Assistant Project Manager on the Dungog Housing Delivery Master Plan, Benjamin oversees financial tracking and supports end-to-end delivery of strategic housing initiatives. His holistic understanding of urban systems, combined with his strengths in communication and stakeholder engagement, makes him a highly effective leader in the planning and delivery of transformative public projects.

Amanda has over 25 years planning experience in Local and State Government and in the property industry.

Amanda has successfully overseen the planning phases of various projects in NSW including multimillion-dollar infrastructure, commercial, mixed use and residential projects for Local and State Government and private-sector clients.

Her experience includes managing and working as part of large and diverse multi-disciplinary teams to deliver major projects and providing tailored advice to her clients.

E: aharvey@mecone.com.au

Ben is the Founder and Executive Chair of Mecone, a leading Australian town planning and urban design consultancy with offices in Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane.

With over 25 years of experience in the industry, Ben has built a reputation for providing valuable planning and design advice to clients in both the public and private sectors. His expertise covers a wide range of planning areas, including strategic planning, statutory planning, and urban design.

Daniella is currently studying a Bachelor of City Planning (Honours) at UNSW. She brings a range of skills to the team including project management, expertise in providing planning advice to assist with navigating planning applications and pathways, and drafting reports on a variety of projects.

She has assisted on a variety of projects, with notable experience within the residential, commercial and industrial sectors. Her projects have largely related to residential flat buildings such as shop-top housing, signage, commercial uses and industrial uses. Daniella also has an interest in GIS Mapping, creating project specific mapping for a variety of projects.

Daniella has a passion to assist in the delivery of a more sustainable built environment and a keen interest in both statutory planning and strategic planning.

Martin Karm has over 17 years of experience in infrastructure, urban planning, policy development, and personnel management.

He possesses strong executive and organisational skills, leadership abilities, visionary thinking, and decision-making capabilities, which enable him to identify leading policy directions, manage and nurture teams, and oversee projects from conception to completion. Martin has a reputation as a genuine leader with excellent interpersonal skills. He has successfully led, reformed, and built visionary, multi-functional, and high-performing teams and organisational units.

E: mkarm@mecone.com.au

Thom is a passionate Software Engineer with 4+ years of professional experience in the PlanTech and Urban Planning industries.

With a background in Urban Planning, Thom initially worked in local government as a student planner where he realised the untapped potential of property-based technology in Australia and discovered a passion for developing simple apps to help planners map and visualise complex data.

As his passion for understanding the underlying applications and supporting data pipelines grew, Thom transitioned into the Data Platform team as a Software Engineer. In this role he built the automated pipelines to extract, load and transform disparate datasets into standardised formats for internal and external customers. This further solidified his programming skills and knowledge, and prepared him for his current role with Mecone.

Kai Yu Andy (Andy) completed a Bachelor of Planning at Macquarie University and graduated with 3 years of experience having worked concurrently within the planning industry.

Throughout Andy’s career he has been involved in a diverse range of planning and project management projects from mixed use to residential subdivisions for private-sector clients. He has worked with a range of different Local Council’s and his involvement in a variety of projects has provided his proficient knowledge within the planning industry and able to assist in clients enquiries. Andy’s extensive experience includes preparing a range of technical documentation including Statement of Environmental Effects, Modification Applications, Due Diligence reporting and Urban Design Reporting. He has worked in large and diverse multi-disciplinary teams to deliver major projects, providing tailored advice to his clients.

Paige brings 4 years of experience in the planning sector, having developed a strong foundation in town planning through her Bachelor of City Planning (Honours) from the University of New South Wales (UNSW).

Throughout her career, Paige has gained extensive professional experience across a broad range of planning areas, including, residential developments (of varying scales), affordable housing, design competitions, commercial centres, healthcare facilities, schools, industrial projects, renewable projects, large recreational premises and in-fill redevelopment.

Paige is skilled in managing multiple projects and preparing both State Significant Development Applications and local Development Applications. She also provides advice on Complying Development Certificates (CDC), prepares Review of Environmental Factors (REFs), and conducts planning due diligence to assist clients with diverse site acquisitions.

James McBride is a highly skilled planner with over 18 years of experience in the planning profession.

James has a strong background in statutory and strategic planning, having held senior roles in both local government and the private sector. Throughout his career, James has developed significant experience in the management and assessment of a diverse range of regional and state significant development including high density residential, commercial, industrial, retail, mixed-use, rural, infrastructure and mining projects. His extensive experience spans greenfield release planning, master planning, due diligence investigations and appeals in the Land and Environment Court.

James brings a thorough understanding of Local and State government approval processes and has in-depth knowledge of planning legislation. James is highly capable of interpreting ambiguous planning policy and formulating an effective approval pathway. James is also a specialist in rezonings / Planning Proposals and has successfully navigated residential and commercial rezonings from inception to finalisation.

E: jmcbride@mecone.com.au

Katherine is a capable and agile urban planner, able to switch from design to assessment mode and possesses a keen understanding of legislation and process. Katherine has strong research skills, aided by her meticulous attention to detail.

As an Associate at Mecone, Katherine manages the everyday coordination of Development Applications and Planning Proposals, as well as specialist technical inputs, policy guidance and planning advice.

Darcy is a planner with 3 years’ planning experience, ranging from development assessment to strategic planning, working in both local and state government.

Darcy is passionate about contributing to projects that are sustainable and design with the local community in mind and that it will grow his knowledge and skills in the planning field.

Joshua is currently studying a Bachelor of City Planning (Honours) at the University of New South Wales. Joshua has a keen interest in strategic planning and land use planning. Since Joshua has joined the Policy team, he has worked on a range of strategic planning projects for the NSW Department of Planning and Environment.

Joshua possesses a broad depth of knowledge, including technical capabilities in Adobe Suite and GIS. He has a passion to assist in providing sustainable and quality-built environments, utilising his problem-solving skills and knowledge of the NSW planning system.

Amber has over four years experience within the planning industry and has been involved in the preparation of mixed use, residential, commercial, industrial, and social project approvals for private sector clients and State Government, across New South Wales.

With experience in both the public and private sectors, Amber holds strong technical expertise in the preparation of development applications, state significant development applications and rezoning reviews.

Amber holds a Bachelor of City Planning (Honours) from the University of New South Wales. She is also a member of the PIA NSW Emerging Planners Committee, helping emerging planners through their professional development.

As an Accounts Coordinator, Marie brings expertise in financial administration, account management, and client support. She has hands-on experience with accounts payable and receivable, reconciliations, and maintaining accurate financial records. Marie is known for her attention to detail, proactive mindset, and ability to streamline processes that improve efficiency across the business. Working within the national team, she enjoys collaborating with colleagues across different regions to build strong relationships and deliver consistent, reliable outcomes. Passionate about supporting the success of the business, Marie takes pride in contributing to smooth operations and continuous improvement.

Zach is a strategic planner with over 4 years’ experience in the profession. Zach has a strong background in strategic planning, policy reform, urban economics, and stakeholder engagement – having worked in both multinational and regional Australia-based firms.

Zach has developed significant experience in state-wide and local policy reform across a range of critical urban planning issues including industrial land, car parking provisions, renewable energy approvals, housing strategy, and economic development. Zach also has extensive experience in public consultation, industry engagement, and strategic communications.

Zach brings a big picture understanding of the issues facing our towns and cities – weaving local knowledge together with best practice and innovations from around the world. Zach is highly capable of working with complex stakeholders and building coalitions to achieve the best outcomes for all involved.

Sean is an experienced social planner with a proven track record of working closely with clients to deliver balanced, well-considered assessments that support sound policy and project approvals.

With a rich background in social value, community infrastructure planning, and environmental law, his professional and academic experience brings to projects valuable insights working on complex projects for a range of clients across Australia. As the social planning lead at Mecone, Sean oversees the preparation of Social Impact Assessments, Social and Community Needs Assessments, and social policy for both private and government sectors.

Sarah is Mecone’s Business Operations Coordinator and a key member of the National Team. With over a decade of experience in the property industry, Sarah has built a diverse career across architecture, engineering, construction and property finance investment. Having worked in both Australia and the United Kingdom, she has held key roles in operations management, executive support, office administration, and event management across both commercial and not-for-profit sectors.

As Business Operations Coordinator, Sarah is recognised for her ability to lead cross-functional teams, drive business growth through strategic planning, and build strong stakeholder relationships at both national and international levels. She is passionate about aligning company culture with organisational values and people, creating workplaces that are collaborative, efficient, and future-focused.

Maxwell is an experienced town planner with over 3 years experience, having worked across the public and private sectors in South-East Queensland.

During his time as a professional planner, Maxwell has led the delivery of residential and a range of disability housing and community support focused projects.

Chanelle is Mecone’s Marketing Lead and a key member of the National Team. She is responsible for leading the firm’s brand and marketing function, ensuring Mecone presents a clear and consistent identity across all platforms. Chanelle develops and delivers campaigns that support the growth of the business, working closely with consultants and leaders across each office to highlight our expertise and strengthen connections with clients and partners.

With a collaborative approach, Chanelle ensures marketing initiatives align with Mecone’s values and strategic goals, helping to position the firm as a leader in planning. From brand management and communications to social media and targeted campaigns, her work plays an important role in supporting the success of our people and projects nationwide.

Jack Rixon is an accomplished town planner with over 6 years of experience working with public and private sector clients across various industry sectors. He specializes in mixed-use, commercial, residential, industrial, and education developments.

Jack has a proven track record of leading the preparation and delivery of significant Development Applications, Planning Proposals, and architectural design competitions. His diligent work ethic and ability to provide meaningful planning advice have supported successful outcomes for his clients.

As an expert in his field, Jack has an excellent understanding of the planning process and the necessary approvals required for various projects. His attention to detail and collaborative approach has helped him develop strong working relationships with clients and project teams, which has been fundamental to his success.

Chris is a highly experienced urban planning professional with over 25 years in statutory, strategic, and infrastructure planning and development advisory.

He has worked in both local and State government agencies, specialising in planning proposals, development control plans, contributions plans and development assessment for residential, commercial, industrial, mixed use and infrastructure projects.

Chris has worked on various matters in the NSW Land and Environment Court relating to development applications and land acquisitions.

E: cshannon@mecone.com.au

Revati is a committed and experienced planner with a multidisciplinary background in urban design, social planning, and infrastructure strategy. She has successfully contributed to a range of planning and infrastructure projects across New South Wales, supporting both local councils and state agencies to deliver place-based, community-centred outcomes.

Her work spans complex projects including school infrastructure planning, urban renewal, town centre upgrades, strategic rezoning, and laneway and public space revitalisation. She brings a collaborative and solutions-oriented approach, informed by extensive stakeholder engagement, behavioural research, and spatial analysis.

With a deep understanding of local character, planning legislation, and community infrastructure needs, Revati works across disciplines to provide strategic advice that supports sustainable, inclusive, and liveable environments. She holds a Bachelor of Architecture, a Masters in Urbanism with a specialisation in Urban Design from the University of Sydney and is an Associate Member of the Planning Institute of Australia (PIA).

Prisha is currently studying a Bachelor of City Planning (Honours) at UNSW and has assisted with providing advice and planning reports on various projects including subdivisions, residential, commercial, and industrial developments.

This experience has honed Prisha’s project management skills and expertise in navigating planning applications and pathways. Prisha has a passion to assist in a more sustainable built environment and a keen interest in land use planning and strategic planning.

Alistair has over 20 years planning experience in consulting, local government development assessment roles, and management of a residential construction company, enabling him to apply different perspectives and deliver balanced advice and efficient solutions.

Alistair has successfully overseen feasibility studies, planning approvals and post approval requirements for various projects in Australia, including multimillion-dollar infrastructure, commercial, and residential projects for both government and private-sector clients.

Alistair can provide consenting strategy and feasibility advice, environmental impact assessments (EIA), delivery of planning and environmental approvals, and post approval construction environmental management services. He has experience presenting to planning panels and as an expert witness to the NSW Land and Environment Court.

E: asmith@mecone.com.au

Justin has recently joined the Western Sydney team to gain experience in the planning industry as part of her studies. Justin is currently studying a Bachelor of City Planning (Honours) at UNSW and has assisted with providing advice and planning reports on various projects including subdivisions, residential, commercial, and industrial developments. This experience has honed Justin’s project management skills and expertise in navigating planning applications and pathways.

Justin has assisted on a variety of projects, with notable experience within the residential, commercial and industrial sectors. Justin also has an interest in GIS Mapping, creating project specific mapping for a variety of projects, as well as conducting GIS work to ensure Mecone’s MOSAIC provides up-to-date data for its clients.
Justin has a passion for assisting in the delivery of a more walkable and active transport oriented built environment, utilising his problem-solving skills and knowledge of the NSW Planning System.

Julia has 6+ years of planning experience across NSW and the UK, spanning both local government and private practice. She has successfully managed the planning phases of various projects including complex residential, commercial, mixed use, and industrial projects for Government and private-sector clients.

She is skilled in managing and delivering State Significant and local Development Applications, and Review of Environmental Factors, helping clients make informed decisions and deliver high-quality, practical outcomes. Julia has led development assessment teams, presented to Local and Regional Planning Panels, and provided expert witness evidence for Land and Environment Court matters.

Rubin Winograd is an experienced planner in Victoria’s public and private sectors, with skills in statutory and strategic planning.

He has extensive project management skills, leadership qualities, and sound advice, which he uses to achieve desirable outcomes for Council and clients. Rubin’s time in both sectors has provided valuable experience in understanding the relationship between the private and public sectors.

E: rubinw@mecone.com.au

Jessie has more than 8 years’ experience in the planning industry and has been involved in a range of residential, mixed use, commercial, rural and infrastructure projects.

Having worked in both the public and private sectors, she brings a diverse perspective and is well-equipped to provide practical, balanced and reliable planning and policy advice. Jessie has been heavily involved in various complex and high-profile strategic planning and policy related projects in Sydney’s rapidly growing North West Region. This included planning proposals, precinct planning, contributions planning, voluntary planning agreement negotiations and strategy/policy related work.

Janice is a recent graduate from the University of New South Wales originally from Hong Kong. Inspired by the geographic limitation of Hong Kong, she is passionate about urban renewal and maximising the possibilities in the built environment.

Janice has been involved in the planning phases of various projects across NSW including residential, mixed use, industrial, heritage redevelopment and infrastructure projects for Local Council and private-sector clients. Her experience includes preparing range of technical documentation including Planning Proposals, Statements of Environmental Effects, Modification Applications and Scoping Report. She has also worked in a multi-disciplinary team with related knowledge in engineering fields, liaised with consultants to deliver major projects and provided tailored and up-to-date advice to her clients.

Jessie is a confident, driven professional with over a decade of experience in the real estate development and investment industry. She thrives in fast-paced environments and is passionate about delivering exceptional outcomes. As a Planner and Urban Designer, Jessie has worked across both the public and private sectors, bringing a well-rounded perspective shaped by her roles as a delegated authority, consultant, and developer.

She brings an open mindset, a self-starter attitude, and consistently takes initiative to drive projects forward. Jessie has successfully scoped, master planned and delivered large-scale transformative projects. She has led consenting and development strategies to acquire and deliver multi-million dollar greenfield, brownfield, and infill developments.

Harsha is a planning professional with a Bachelor of City Planning (Honours) from the University of New South Wales. She has experience in statutory and strategic planning and worked alongside a range of public and private sector clients.

She has worked on variety of projects undertaken through various planning pathways, including local development applications, State significant development applications, and Planning Proposals. Harsha’s work is characterised by strong technical rigour, and problem-solving capacity through resolving complex built and natural environment matters to provide best planning outcomes.

Winston is a planner with 15+ years of experience in public and private sectors, specializing in creating maps and diagrams to simplify complex planning information. He has worked on train network maps for TransLink and PTV/Metro, graphics and mapping for Sydney Metro, and GIS mapping for LEPs and SEPPs for various proposals and development applications. Winston is also skilled in conducting GIS- and census-based geospatial analyses and has developed a detailed land use forecasting model for large-scale projects.

Oksana has almost 6 years’ experience in the industry and a unique mix of capabilities including statutory planning, master planning, transport planning, spatial analytics / GIS and urban design, and social sustainability. She has worked on projects across Australia and New Zealand, spanning from major transport infrastructure, urban growth strategies, rural land strategies, transport strategies city centre plans, and renewable energy State Significant Infrastructure projects.

Oksana has been in roles spanning from lead author of regulatory approvals and Social Impact Assessments, project /technical coordinator, and technical analyst across her range of project involvements. She has a holistic appreciation of the natural and built environment and creating places with communities at the core that is safe, vibrant and will be enjoyed by generations to come.