Sarah Hausler,  Partner, McCullough Robertson
Sarah is a Partner in the Planning and Environment Group at McCullough Robertson. Sarah acts for developers, local governments, state government agencies and government owned  corporations in relation to planning and environment litigation, strategic advice about project approvals, planning and environment due diligence, infrastructure agreements and contaminated land.

Sarah has degrees in law, environmental science and urban and regional planning.

Sarah was elected to the QELA Management Committee in 2012.

• President    2020
• Vice President   2018 - Present
• Co-Chair, Seminar Sub-Committee   2018 - Present
• Member, Finance Sub-Committee    2018 - Present
• Association Secretary     2014 - 2018
• Co-Chair, Legislative Sub-Committee     2014 - Present
• Member Seminar Sub-Committee     2006 - Present

Hannah Riggs - Special Counsel, Carter Newell
Hannah is a Special Counsel in the Planning & Environment team at Carter Newell. With a background in commercial litigation, she provides both private and public sector clients with pragmatic advice relating to planning and development approvals, environmental compliance, incidence response, litigious negotiation, compulsory acquisition of land, legal compliance and matter strategy.

Hannah acts for a vast array of clients including extractive resource operators, developers, government entities, retirement facilities, receivers and managers and land owners.  She undertakes complex litigation and has appeared on behalf of her clients in the Planning and Environment Court, the Court of Appeal and the Land Court.

Hannah was elected to the QELA Management Committee in 2015.

• Vice President    2020
• Treasurer     2016 - 2020
• Chair, Finance Sub-Committee     2016 - 2020
• Chair, Seminar Sub-Committee     2016 – 2017, 2019 - Present
• Chair, Conference Sub-Committee   2020 – Present
• Member Conference Sub-Committee     2012, 2016 - Present
• Member Seminar Sub-Committee     2013 -  Present
• Member Legislative Sub-Committee     2014

Mitchel Batty, Barrister-at-Law

Mitchel was called to the bar in 2012, after having worked as a solicitor at a national law firm.  Since being called to the bar, he has practised almost exclusively in the Planning and Environment Court and Land Court jurisdictions.

Mitchel was elected to the QELA Management Committee in 2018.

• Vice President 2021
• Secretary    2020
• Co-Chair, Membership Sub-Committee  2018 - Present

Scott is a Senior Environmental Scientist at Epic Environmental with over 14 years experience working in the construction, resource and energy industries, on both a local and international scale within NZ, the USA and Chile. He is a Certified Environmental Practitioner (CEnVP) and holds a Bachelor of Earth Sciences and a Master of Earth and Ocean Sciences (First Class Honours).

Throughout the years Scott has developed key expertise in environmental impact assessment, statutory environmental planning, compliance & auditing, construction management and government liaison.

Scott was elected to the QELA Management Committee in 2019

• Secretary 2021
• Member, Legislative Review Sub-Committee Present
• Member, Conference Sub-Committee Present.

Romin is a Principal Environmental Engineer at Epic Environmental with over fifteen years’ experience working as an environmental consultant and manager. Romin consults to a variety of industries including local governments, developers, resource entities, government owned corporations, industry and contractors. Romin’s primary focus areas span both planning and compliance including strategic advice, risk assessments, statutory approval applications, approval conditioning, management plans, environmental auditing and environmental management systems.

Romin has degrees in engineering, environmental management and business.

Romin was elected to the QELA Management Committeee in 2019

• Treasurer  2020
• Member, Seminar, Sub-Committee 2018
• Member, Membership Sub-Committee 2018
• Member, Legislative Review Sub-Committee Present
• Member, Membership Services, Sub-Committee Present

Brent Lillywhite, Partner, Corrs Chambers Westgarth
Brent is a Partner in the Environment & Planning Team at Corrs Chambers Westgarth.  He provides strategic legal advice to developers, local governments and State government authorities on all aspects of planning and environment law. A keen litigator, Brent’s passion lies in Planning and Environment Court appeals and declaratory proceedings.

Brent was elected to the QELA Management Committee in 2014.

• President    2018 - 2020
• Vice President     2016 - 2018
• Chair, Conference Sub-Committee     2013 - 2018
• Chair, Seminar Sub-Committee     2014 - 2015
• Member Conference Sub-Committee     2010 - 2018
• Member Regional Intensive Sub-Committee     2016 - 2018
• Member Seminar Sub-Committee     2013 - 2015

Kate Buckley, Barrister-at-Law

Kate was called to the Bar in July 2017 and has a broad practice specialising in both planning and environment and family law. She was listed as recommended in the Doyle's Guide "Leading Planning & Environment Barristers" for 2019 and 2020. ​Prior to being called to the Bar, Kate worked as a solicitor at a boutique commercial law firm and spent a significant period on secondment to an ASX-listed mining company as general legal counsel and assistant Company Secretary. Kate was also a legal associate to a judge of the Appeal Division of the Family Court of Australia.

Kate was elected to the Management Committee in 2020. 

• Co-Chair, Seminar Sub-Committee 2020-2021
• Co-Chair, Mentor Program 2021

Rachel Jones, Senior Associate, McCullough Robertson 

Rachel is a specialist planning and development lawyer focusing on planning and environment litigation, advisory work and compliance.

Rachel acts for private and commercial clients, including property developers, submitters and local and state government departments in all facets of planning and environment law.

Rachel has significant experience in undertaking due diligence on prospective land purchases, existing use rights, regulatory compliance and considering proposals prior to lodgment.

She has a strong focus on planning and environment litigation including appeals and enforcement proceedings in the Planning and Environment Court.

Rachel regularly provides advice in relation to local planning schemes, environmental and town planning compliance matters, infrastructure charges and infrastructure agreements. Her expertise includes advising clients on the requirements of the Planning Act 2016 (Qld) and all its related legislation and predecessors.

Rachel was elected to the QELA Management Committee in 2021.

Robyn Lamb, Senior Associate,  HopgoodGanim Lawyers

Robyn is a Senior Associate in HopgoodGanim Lawyers' Planning and Environment team.  She has experience in development applications, development approvals, enforcement, compensation claims, major projects, infrastructure and representation in the Planning and Environment Court and Supreme Court. 

Robyn holds qualifications in Laws and Education from the Queensland University of Technology.

Robyn was elected to the Management Committee in 2020.

• CoChair, Seminar Sub-Committee  2020-2021
• Member, Seminar Sub-Committee   2009 - 2020 
• Member, Legislative Review Committee    2015 - 2019

Adam is a Director of PTT with over 30 years’ experience in traffic engineering and transport planning. He worked initially with the Qld Department of Main Roads and then Ove Arup and Partners, and has experience both throughout Australia and overseas (UK, Spain & NZ).

In 1995 Adam founded his own consulting firm, which this year celebrates it’s 25 year anniversary. During that time, he has grown the practice to where it now employs eight full-time professional engineers.

Adam is also an Honorary Associate Professor at the UQ School of Civil, having lectured  into several civil engineering courses from the mid-1990s until 2018. He enjoyed the opportunity to assist in shaping the future of his profession, establishing many lasting relationships along the way.

Adam is a strong believer in the value of education and personal development. He has an honours degree in engineering (1984) and post-graduate qualifications in engineering science (1989), management (2004) and economics (2018).

Adam has provided expert witness advice in the P&E Court, Supreme Court,  District Court, Coroners Court and Land Court. Through this experience, he has gained an understanding of the broad range of issues in the P&E space, and the disciplines required to address them.

Since joining QELA in 2014, Adam has valued the opportunity to engage with and learn from the organisation's diverse membership base. His recent involvement with QELA includes:

• co-sponsoring the annual conference welcome drinks since 2014
• presenting a paper on autonomous vehicles at the 2017 annual conference
• attending numerous seminar and networking events
• being an active member of the 2020 conference sub-committee

Adam was elected to the Management Committee in 2020. 

Kieran Ryan, Principal Planner, Reel Planning

I worked at Humphreys Reynolds Perkins as a student planner between 2005 and 2007 before joining Craven Ovenden Town Planning in 2007. I became a Senior Planner in 2013 when the company became Reel Planning and in 2016 was made Principal Planner. in 2019 i also took on the role of Brisbane Manager.

Principally my experience is in strategic and statutory town planning. In the P&E Court space i have shadowed an experienced court expert for over 10 years and in the last few years have been fortunate enough to be nominated as an expert witness in a handful of appeals.

I have attended the annual conference for the past 5 years, in addition to a handful of seminars each year. I attended the Cooktown Regional Intensive in 2015 and last year was part of the organising committee for the Rockhampton Regional Intensive.

Kieran was elected to the Management Committee in 2020.