A senior Victorian planning practice, quietly built since 1999.
Perry Town Planning was founded on a simple idea: senior planning advice should be available to every client, not just the ones who can afford a Top 10 consultancy. A quarter of a century later, we still run Director-led on every matter — from the first phone call to the last permit condition.
Why we exist.
The Victorian planning system is among the most detailed in the world. Every council has its own scheme, every scheme has its own overlays, and every application is tested against policy, built-form controls, and neighbourhood character statements that change with political winds. It is no surprise that well-intentioned projects routinely miss the mark.
Our work is simple: translate that complexity into clear advice, a workable strategy, and — eventually — a signed permit. We do not run an in-house architecture studio, a surveying arm, or an engineering team. We are a specialist planning consultancy. We coordinate closely with the best consultants in each discipline and bring senior planning judgement to the table.
Over 25 years we have secured over 1,000 permits across every Victorian council. Some are straightforward; most are not. What they share is a Director taking them seriously from the first file note to the day a builder breaks ground.
People you’ll actually speak to.
No account managers, no junior hand-offs. The planner you meet at the kick-off is the planner running your file.
Frank is a senior member of the Victorian planning profession with more than forty-five years across the public and private sectors. He began at the Melbourne Metropolitan Board of Works in 1978, then ran research and planning at the Victorian Department of Planning & Environment, was Associate Director at Hames Sharley, and founded his own practice in the late 1990s. His work spans strategic planning, statutory reform, and applied economic and social research — for private clients from regional shopping-centre operators to medium-density developers, and for public bodies including the Victorian Casino and Gaming Authority. Frank appears regularly as an expert planning witness before VCAT and Planning Panels Victoria, and has lectured at Victoria University's School of the Built Environment and the Department of Planning and Community Development's Planet program.
Alistair brings two decades of experience across residential, commercial and industrial planning. He leads the firm's technology and systems work, and has a particular focus on ResCode assessments, Clause 58 apartment developments, and permit applications for medium-density housing. Alistair works closely with architects and developers from first sketch through to permit.
Member of the Planning Institute of Australia — committed to the Institute's code of conduct and continuing professional development.
Planning in Victoria across the public and private sectors — from the Melbourne Metropolitan Board of Works to private practice.
Regularly briefed to provide expert planning evidence under Practice Note PNVCAT2.
Lecturer, School of the Built Environment — committed to the next generation of planners.
Got a site, a permit, or a refusal on your desk?
An obligation-free conversation is the fastest way to see if we can help. We respond within 24 hours — usually much sooner.