Mark O'Brien

Mark O’Brien is one of Era’s highly experienced principal planners, having worked in land use and transport planning across public, private and non-profit sectors in Australia and internationally, before joining Era in 2018.

Earlier roles with the WA Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage, TransLink (QLD), and the Chicago-based Metropolitan Planning Council, along with his work at Era, give him a broad toolkit across land use and transport planning, particularly in the regulatory and policy interface.

Mark has diverse statutory planning experience, progressing a wide variety of planning permits, subdivision approvals and planning scheme amendments. He has appeared as an expert witness before the Tasmanian Civil and Administrative Appeal Tribunal and the Tasmanian Planning Commission. Mark has also led key planning policy projects in the land use and tourism sectors and has led transport network planning tasks and contributed to environmental impact assessments.

Mark has strong coordination and organisational skills, enabling him to lead projects requiring comprehensive planning expertise and complex technical inputs. Having worked across multiple Australian jurisdictions, he has found that his passion for planning is enriched through broad experience and by learning through undertaking a variety of tasks. He enjoys the challenge of balancing sometimes competing interests to deliver positive outcomes.

Mark is valued for his calm and organised approach, working diligently to deliver projects on time and budget for Era’s clients.