Principal Urban Planner

Largest Council in Australia

Excellent organisation and professional team

Use your planning knowledge and experience to make a real difference to the City of Brisbane

Req ID :

Personnel Area : City Planning and Economic Development Services

Branch : Development Services

Salary : Band 7 $127,965 - $139,905 + Superannuation (Remuneration stated is for the full-time positions)

Work type : Temporary full-time

Duration : June 2027

Our Business – City Planning and Economic Development Services

Our people are in a unique position to shape Brisbane to be an amazing city that is liveable, vibrant, prosperous, connected, green and sustainable. Working in close collaboration, the five branches of City Planning and Sustainability division work on strategic and operational plans to deliver on Brisbane Vision 2031 and shape Brisbane into a city that residents will be proud of, support an economy where businesses thrive, and design a world-class destination for the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Being part of our inclusive team gives you meaningful opportunities to contribute to this Vision. Our culture is shaped by :

fostering connections across our business to collaborate and build positive relationships

generosity of our time, expertise and knowledge in giving to each other and social causes

collaborating with the community to work together to support the city, broader economic, social and environmental outcomes

being agile and pursuing new ideas and innovative solutions to improve how we deliver

recognising and celebrating our success through recognition, feedback and internal and external awards

offering career mobility and development opportunities across our whole business.

Our Branch - Development Services

We play a key role to facilitate Brisbane’s growth, so our unique, subtropical capital continues to offer quality of life for visitors and residents.

Our branch is the destination for applications relating to development, including engineering and plumbing. We have an amazing team of dedicated, passionate and service focused professional people who have our residents, building construction industry and communities at the heart of what they do.

The Role

The Principal Urban Planner provides planning leadership and legislative guidance to staff assessing development applications and acts as a delegated authority.

You will ensure compliance with relevant legislation and Council policy; manage complex, high risk assessments; and provide briefs to the Chair and senior management.

This position is responsible for leading, coaching, and mentoring team members to help build knowledge, experience, and capability ensuring the professional delivery of development services with a focus on customer service.

You will develop and build strong working partnerships with specialist teams and external stakeholders; provide strategic planning advice to service managers and keep up to date with legislative changes, issues, and developments in the planning industry.

We are looking for a highly experienced planning professional with superior knowledge in planning development who can engage and work collaboratively with the administration, management, and provide leadership in development outcomes. If you have the experience and a passion to build a better Brisbane, then please read on and apply.

In this role you will :

provide high level pre-application advice and assess low to high risk development applications

participate in matters and activities relating to appeals within various courts or tribunals

prepare written correspondence providing advice and recommendations

present to Council committees

provide supervision, coaching, mentoring and advice to team members

interpret, apply and advise on relevant legislation and Council policies and procedures.

To be successful yo u will have :

demonstrated evidence of providing leadership to deliver performance excellence

proven success managing complex applications and applying best planning practice

demonstrated high level application of relevant legislation

proven success in high level negotiations

high-level written and oral communication with highly effective interpersonal skills.

Benefits of working for Council : CLICK HERE

How to apply : Click on the 'Apply' button below to complete your online application. Please upload your current resume and cover letter (of no more than one page) that demonstrates how you meet the requirements of this role.

This role may require a Criminal History Check.

For more information : Please contact John Hefez on

Application Closing Date : Sunday 20th July 2025 at 11 : 55pm AEST

Brisbane City Council is a multi-award winning accessible and inclusive workplace where our people represent the diverse communities we serve, are supported, and can feel safe. Council has been awarded Employer of the Year at the National Disability Awards and has been recognised multiple times with ‘Gold Employer’ status from the Australian Workplace Equality Index for LGBTI inclusion.