Team

Chris is a senior planning consultant with over 10 years’ experience and is an experienced town planning professional with extensive knowledge of the development industry, particularly development assessment systems. Chris has worked extensively within the private sector, enjoying the challenges involved with the delivery of clients’ projects whilst achieving a balance between the expectations of developers and local and State regulatory bodies.

Chris is currently advising property developers and waste management companies on a wide range of proposals including residential and industrial subdivisions, service station developments, retirement living, warehousing and logistics operations as well as major landfill proposals.

Murray is a highly competent senior town planner with a range of experience in the development industry, including extensive local government experience. Murray has worked on projects within a number of local government areas, specialising in development on the Gold Coast. Murray has a detailed understanding of local government processes and procedures with experience in preparing and assessing a range of development applications including residential and mixed use, large-scale industrial, commercial and community projects. Murray is a solution-focussed professional with a knack for understanding and overcoming complex planning issues. Murray has an aptitude for people and project management and consistently delivers favourable development outcomes.

Ernie is the Founder and Managing Director of HPC. Ernie is one of Queensland’s leading planning experts and has built an enviable reputation of successfully delivering contentious and complex development proposals across Central, Regional and South East Queensland.

Ernie has over 30 years’ experience working in the development industry having served as a Director of the Urban Development Institute of Australia and Planning Institute of Australia. He has also served as Director of a number of development companies delivering over $30 million of residential projects. As Managing Director of HPC, Ernie works with large corporate companies and trust managers providing development, due diligence, town planning approvals and project management advice. Ernie is currently managing a range of subdivision, industrial sheds, commercial offices and community facilities.

Christopher has been a Gold Coast resident since 1982 and has seen the Gold Coast expand from a small beach town to an emerging City. He attended The Southport School where he graduated in 1999 and has since spent time living on the Gold Coast and Brisbane. Passionate about experiencing other cultures and better understanding the relationship between people and the built environment, Christopher has resided overseas, spending time in California, Roi Et in Thailand and Dubai.

Christopher started his career in Development in 2006. With a growing interest in town planning, Chris commenced study in Planning at QUT. After completion of his studies, Chris commenced work with Gold Coast City Council and after 5 years’ employment, Chris ventured out to start his own Planning firm, ‘Findasite Planning’. Chris has an enviable skillset with a legal background, coupled with project management experience and strong technical analysis skills in Statutory Planning. Chris has successfully operated his consultancy for over 12 years which emerged as one of the key Consultancies in Queensland’s Planning Industry. Chris has since worked on a full spectrum of development projects from small-scale dwellings and secondary dwellings, townhouse complexes, high-rise residential, industrial and mixed use projects throughout the south-east. Chris merged Findasite with HPC in 2023 and has quickly proven to be an invaluable asset owing to his technical aptitude and robust understanding of the overall development process. Chris specialises in development assessment and project management.

Clare leads the HPC project management team and is a dedicated and successful project manager with over 15 years’ experience specialising in residential subdivision and multi-unit developments across infill and greenfield sites. Clare closely supports her clients deliver successful projects from construction through to the market. Her role includes providing professional advice, assisting in appointing and coordinating consultants and contractors, liaising with stakeholders and approval authorities, preparing budgets and obtaining quotes and steering the project from the development application phase through to plan sealing and registration. In addition, Clare is HPC’s Plan Sealing Manager and has obtained plan sealing approvals across South East Queensland.

Cliff has over 20 years of urban design and master planning experience in a wide variety of residential and mixed-use contexts.  He has performed an integral role in in the design and planning of significant and award-winning projects across Australia and overseas including North America, the Middle East and New Zealand. Cliff’s urban design experience has always involved working closely with clients, key stakeholders and consultant teams to deliver holistic design solutions – as the lead master planner on many successful projects he has experience from due diligence through to approval and delivery.

Rachel is a passionate town planner with a deep knowledge of Queensland’s planning system, particularly the Planning Act 2016 and other state and local legislation and regulations. Rachel consistently exceeds clients expectations and has strong site analysis and research skills which she applies to all town planning enquiries, due diligence reports and development applications. Rachel has experience working in Brisbane City Council’s RiskSmart team and specialises in preparing and coordinating development applications and public notification for a wide project portfolio, including community, residential, industrial and land subdivision proposals.

Jack is a skilled and proficient town planner and joins HPC Planning after a history in local government. Jack has valuable knowledge of the development application process, including an important understanding of the functions and procedures of local government. Jack is a practical town planner who prides himself on developing good working relationships with clients, industry consultants and government officers. Jack has an exceptional ability to identify development opportunities for clients and efficiently deliver high quality projects through detailed problem solving and liaising with government officers.

Borisa joined the team at HPC in August 2019 and has successfully completed work on a broad range of development applications for our clients, including residential developments as well as small scale industrial developments. Borisa has a solid understanding of Queensland’s planning system and has completed a number of New South Wales development applications, developing better understanding about NSW’s planning system. Borisa is a passionate professional dedicated to meeting both clients and the community needs.

Todd is a passionate Graduate Town Planner who joined HPC in November 2021. Since, Todd has worked across a variety of jobs in South East Queensland, including numerous residential development applications and referral agency assessments. Other minor projects within the commercial, agricultural, and industrial sectors further encapsulate his planning experience to date. Todd is continually developing his knowledge of local planning schemes, with special regard to development occurring in Brisbane and the Gold Coast. Todd is enthusiastic about creating positive development outcomes that achieve all client requirements and community needs.

Ken is an enthusiastic Town Planner. Born in Macau, Ken developed a keen interest in the built environment at a young age. Graduating from the University of Queensland, Ken joined HPC in 2023. His degree has provided a strong grounding in land use regulations, environmental sustainability, and community engagement. During his time at HPC, Ken has actively participated in various development applications and referral agency assessment applications across South East Queensland and NSW. Ken has quickly proven his technical proficiency and is consistently expanding his understanding of planning processes throughout Australia. Ken is a devoted and passionate professional, committed to achieving commercially favourable outcomes for clients.