WA Division Committee

Cameron Leckey MPIA | President

Rise Urban

Cam has been practicing as a planner in WA for nearly 22 years. He would suggest that ‘practicing’ is the operative word here, as planning is something that is never truly mastered, and is something that has no end point – at least it feels that way sometimes!

Cam’s planning career started in local government with a 4 year baptism of fire at the City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder, followed by a few more years at the City of Fremantle. He was fortunate in both of these local government roles to work under some exceptional leaders of the planning profession who were instrumental in shaping his planning (and life) philosophies. He joined planning consultancy Chappell Lambert Everett (later to become CLE) in 2009 and spent more than a decade there working with and for some of the very best in the business while working on some exciting and complex projects across the residential and industrial sectors.

In early 2020 Cam founded planning consultancy Rise Urban with two goals in mind: To be the consultant of choice for complex development projects, and to be an industry leader in best practice planning. Nearly 5 years later and Rise Urban is well on the way to achieving these goals.

By his own admission Cam is not a passionate urban planner. He is however a passionate professional and problem solver who gets his kicks out of taking on the most complex projects in the plannersphere and coming up with innovative win-win solutions. He also loves helping his small-but-mighty team grow and thrive in their careers, and is a firm believer in the importance of supporting and contributing to the planning profession outside of his day to day work. As well as roles with UDIA and LGPA over the years, he has been an active member of PIA (WA) Divisional Committee since 2019 and has lead PIA WA’s Policy and Advocacy Committee for the past few years through a period of significant planning reform.

Cam is extremely grateful to be chosen to lead the WA chapter of PIA, and looks forward to representing the planning profession here in WA.

Alexander Petrovski MPIA | Vice President

City of Subiaco

Alex is an urban and regional planner with experience in Local and State Government across a broad range of planning, governance, project, and community focused initiatives. In 2019, Alex was named the Planner of the Year by the Local Government Planners Association. Alex is passionate in supporting community wellbeing through programs that improve mental and physical health and believes that local government is core in fostering a healthy and welcoming community.

He has an emphasis on embracing change and technology to improve our environment and in turn people’s wellbeing. Outside of work he enjoys good coffee, sport, fitness and music

Trent Will MPIA | Vice President

TBB Planning

Trent is an experienced planning consultant managing a wide range of projects across different disciplines. After beginning his career in local government, Trent moved into consultancy in 2014 and is currently a Principal at WA’s longest running planning firm Taylor Burrell Barnett.

Trent has been a PIA member for over 15 years, and has maintained active involvement in the institute beginning from a role on the Young Planners (now Emerging Planners) committee.

Trent has a passion for urban infill and manages a range of projects from precinct plans to development applications, assisting both Government and private clients. He sees that well-located and well-designed infill developments are key to Perth’s future. With a detailed understanding of the planning framework and by closely working with his clients and understanding their objectives, Trent is entrusted to manage some of WA’s most complex development proposals. Trent thrives on converting planning ideas into successful and cohesive development outcomes.

Trent is the current Chair of PIA WA’s Policy and Advocacy Committee

Kanella Hope MPIA | Vice President

Planned Focus

Kanella is the Director + Principal Planner at Planned Focus, a Bunbury based consultancy.

Kanella has been a Town Planner for nearly 30 years, and she has worked extensively as both decision maker in local government and as advocate for a diversity of clients in the development sector, in both Western Australia and Victoria, in regional and metropolitan contexts, and in a statutory and strategic capacity. Kanella loves living and working in WA’s regions, and she has appetite for continuous improvement and quality of outcomes achieved.

For 7 years, Kanella was a Development Assessment Panel member.

 

Chaz Roberts MPIA

Town of Port Hedland

Chaz Roberts has 20 years of experience in urban and regional planning within Western Australia’s local government sector, in both metropolitan and regional contexts. As Manager of Planning and Economic Development at the Town of Port Hedland, he leads a dedicated team to deliver strategic planning, economic development, tourism, statutory planning and building services. Chaz’s approach is grounded in collaboration, innovation, and a genuine commitment to community outcomes. His work spans across high-value community infrastructure projects, strategic industrial development, renewables, and evolving the planning framework to balance environmental, economic and social outcomes.

In 2024, Chaz’s team was proud to be recognised as Band 1 Local Government Team of the Year at the Planning Institute of Australia’s Awards for Excellence. Chaz is particularly passionate about placemaking, coastal planning, and fostering sustainable growth. He values building strong partnerships with indigenous communities and driving initiatives that enhance regional development.

Alex Bott RPIA

City of Belmont

Alex has over 15 years’ experience in urban and regional planning across Western Australia, spanning both strategic and statutory roles. He is currently the Manager of Planning Services at the City of Belmont, leading a team overseeing preparation of the planning framework and assessment of complex development proposals within one of Perth’s key infill corridors.

Earlier in his career, Alex worked in the South West and Great Southern regions, where he developed a strong appreciation for the distinct character and challenges of regional communities. This combination of metropolitan and regional experience has shaped his balanced and pragmatic approach to planning.

Alex is passionate about raising the profile of planning as a profession and improving community understanding of its role. He is particularly focused on reframing the public narrative around planning to highlight its value in problem-solving, facilitation and positive change.

Cathrine Temple  MPIA

City of Joondalup

Some biography information 

Tim Dawkins MPIA

URBIS

Born in Canberra, Tim has always been fascinated by cities and the way we live, and is passionate about critical role of planning in making them better. He completed a Bachelor of Economics at the University of Western Australia before graduating from the University of Sydney with a Master of Urban and Regional Planning, earning a place on the Dean’s Honours List in recognition of his academic achievement. Tim’s career has including time working in Queensland and with the Western Australian State Government, where he contributed to projects shaping urban growth and community outcomes. He is now the Lead Planning Director for WA and a Partner at Urbis, where he has worked for the past 18 years.

Daniel Truslove MPIA

Shire of Mundaring

Daniel is a strategic and statutory planner with a passion for creating vibrant, child-friendly communities. With a diverse background spanning media production, education, and urban planning, Daniel brings a unique perspective to his work on a range of future growth projects including the Wungong Urban Water masterplan area, the Byford rail extension and the normalisation of DevelopmentWA projects into the metropolitan region scheme.

He has a wealth of experience in local government planning and placemaking, and is a strong advocate for fostering meaningful connections between people and place

Gordana Nesic-Simic MPIA

Gordana Nesic-Simic Urban Design-Planning

Gordana brings to PIA a rare blend of planning and design skills that are central to addressing emerging contemporary urban challenges. She is a fully qualified urban designer with cutting edge MA and Grad Dip training from the Oxford Brookes University (UK) and a planner with well-grounded undergraduate qualifications from Curtin University (WA).

Gordana has 30 years’ experience in the planning, design and development of complex projects across urban scales and contexts in local and state government and private practice, at all stages of project delivery. She has a commitment to place excellence that has seen her work in urban regeneration, on a UN initiative and on award winning local and international projects, and she now serves as a member of multiple Design Review Panels in WA

Ian Humphrey MPIA

City of Swan

Ian has over 25+ years of planning experience, the first 5 years within the UK. Since 2004 Ian has called WA home as has worked both regionally and Perth based in Western Australia, in both the Statutory and Strategic realms.

He has a passion for Urban design, Economics and behavioural science, which when combined with Town Planning principles results in understood and deliverable results. He currently works within a diverse but high growth environment, leading a multidisciplined team within Local Government.

Interesting fact: Ian was the planning officer responsible for the historical coastal town in the UK where the TV series Doc Martin was filmed.

Dan Pearce MPIA

Hatch

Biographical information

Kathy Bonus RPIA (Fellow)

Department of Planning Lands and Heritage

Kathy is a Registered Planner who has worked in local and State government as well as the private sector. Starting her career in a surveying practice before working in land development, she has lived and worked in regional and remote Western Australia and in the city. Kathy’s work has crossed a broad spectrum of planning - from remote indigenous communities in the Central Desert, to high density inner city local government.
As Chief Planning Advisor, she supports the Director General and Western Australian Planning Commission in delivering Government priorities, by providing high-level advice and leading critical planning and infrastructure projects including Planning Reform and Design WA. Kathy is a passionate planner with a strong pragmatic approach that delivers optimal outcomes through engaging with stakeholders.

Lisette Traves MPIA

Department of Housing and Works

Born in dusty Port Hedland shortly before the rise of the FIFO workforce, Lisette was destined to have a strong interest in the forces that shape our urban and rural environments.

Now as an enthusiastic Planning professional, Lisette has over 2 decades broad public sector experience spanning transformative infrastructure projects, master planned communities, complex urban renewal, and high-density built form. Through this work, she has devoted herself to the creation of vibrant and authentic places and has a bold vision to see Perth transform from one of the world’s most liveable cities to the most loveable.

Lisette has the demonstrated ability to work collaboratively with stakeholders, forge strong working relationships and build trust with local communities. As a Planning professional she takes great pride in navigating the ever-changing complexities of the Planning system and advocating for reform that leverages commercial imperatives to deliver desired outcomes on the ground.

Lisette is passionate about serving the Western Australian community as established through her current career position at the Department of Housing and Works where she is dedicated to the provision of safe, stable and sustainable homes to enable families and individuals to thrive.

Joyce Chung PIA (Assoc.) | WA Emerging Planners Convenor

Niche Planning Studio

Joyce is a passionate urban planner and always keen to embrace new experiences. After moving from Melbourne to Perth, Joyce has immersed herself in all that WA has to offer while building her career in planning. With 5 years of experience across consultancy and State Government, she is IAP2 qualified and brings a strong focus on community and stakeholder engagement.

Building on her involvement with the PIA VIC Emerging Planners, Joyce is excited to co-convene the WA Emerging Planners committee, supporting the future generation of planners to connect and build their own foundations in the industry.

Aiko Syafari PIA (Assoc.) | WA Emerging Planners Co Convenor

Development WA

Aiko Syafari is a fourth-year Urban Planning student at Curtin University and currently serves as a Planning Officer at DevelopmentWA. With a strong passion for placemaking and creating connected, sustainable communities, Aiko brings a unique perspective shaped by her Indonesian heritage and upbringing in regional Kalgoorlie. This dual lens enhances her approach to planning urban spaces and community development.

Aiko has demonstrated leadership within the planning profession, serving as the 2025 Events Lead for the WA Emerging Planners Committee and continuing her contribution as Co-Convenor in 2026. Her commitment reflects a dedication to advancing the profession and fostering collaboration among emerging planners.

Phillida Rodic  RPIA (Fellow) | National Board Member

Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage

Phillida Rodic is a professional Perth-based planner with over 25 years experience in diverse roles across consultancy and state and local government.  She likes to take a collaborative approach, seeking to knit the ‘big picture’ to the critical details and mechanisms which shape our environment and collective future.  Throughout her career, Phillida has worked across disciplines to increase the positive impact and reach of planning, and to translate theory into practical and well supported solutions on the ground.

Phillida has held various positions on the WA Divisional Committee of PIA and is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. 

Her current professional role involves providing strategic and technical support to the Western Australian Planning Commission. 

She was elected as a PIA National Board Director in November 2025. She's always happy to chat about planning and welcomes feedback from PIA members.