While we’ve got almost half a century of history to look back on at MasterPlan – history that we’re very proud of – we always have one eye on the future. Perhaps that comes naturally to planners, because it’s a future we’re actively building.
But while we build tomorrow’s communities and infrastructure, we’re also working hard to tackle the question of what comes next for us.
The answer isn’t about radically reinventing the business. It’s about continuing to strategically evolve while sticking true to the values that have made the company successful in the first place.
The long-term vision for MasterPlan over the next five to ten years is to continue growing into one of Australia’s most respected and trusted planning and development consultancies.
But that growth must be sustainable; the type that future-proofs the business by building capability, attracting exceptional people, strengthening our strategic advisory role, increasing our influence within industry and government, and continuing to build long-term relationships with clients.
At the centre of all of that are our values.
Because no matter how much the industry evolves, the things that ultimately define MasterPlan over the next few decades will still be integrity, trust, relationships and the quality of the people behind the work.
Those are all controllables, at least for the most part. But there are external influences that we need to account for too. Forces that will impact the future not just of MasterPlan, but of our state and country too.
If you take a step back and look at where Australia is heading over the next decade, the trajectory suggests that a number of sectors represent major areas of opportunity and transformation.
Housing supply will unquestionably remain one of the defining issues of our generation. It touches every part of the economy and increasingly shapes political, social and planning conversations across the country.
At the same time, renewable energy will continue to grow in importance, reshaping development patterns, infrastructure priorities and industrial investment. The transition away from traditional energy systems is not just an environmental conversation anymore; it encompasses economics, planning, how regions grow and where investment occurs.
Industrial and logistics sectors are also expanding rapidly, particularly as Australia and the world rethinks long-established norms in terms of global trade, supply chains and local manufacturing capabilities.
In South Australia specifically, this is already being felt through increasing pressure on ready-to-go industrial and commercial land.
There is limited industrial land and assets available, and we expect to see continued consolidation, intensification and competition for these areas, and increasing pressure for the creation of new employment-zoned land to continue.
Other sectors to watch will be mining and gas, agriculture, energy, data centres, low-orbit satellite and payload insertion, advanced manufacturing, and defence. Technological advancements will change how established industries operate and deliver new opportunities in untapped markets. Interestingly, I expect that many emerging sectors will play an increasingly important role in regional areas outside of our capital cities. Each of these sectors has a spatial consequence. They require land, infrastructure, housing, transport connections, workforce access and clear planning pathways. Positioning our regions early to meet this demand will be important and require some big picture thinking across all levels of Government.
MasterPlan already has strong capability across many of these sectors, particularly in renewable energy, infrastructure and circular economy projects, and we expect to continue to do so. But as these sectors evolve, so must we. To stand still is to go backwards.
One sector that’s often overlooked in planning conversations is education.
International education is one of Australia’s most significant exports, and creates substantial ripple impacts in terms of student accommodation, casual employment, transport, hospitality and urban development.
Australia has a well-earned reputation as one of the world’s most attractive destinations for international students, but we must be proactive if we’re to keep it that way. There will be growing demand for education-adjacent development, particularly around accommodation and supporting infrastructure; areas that we at MasterPlan will continue to expand within.
But perhaps the sector I am most excited about personally is tourism.
South Australia has some of the most remarkable tourism assets in the country, yet in many respects we aren’t capitalising on them – at least to the degree I believe we could.
We have three internationally recognised wine regions within forty minutes of the Adelaide CBD, but many of those regions aren’t equipped to fully capture the level of international tourism they potentially could.
Places like the Barossa and McLaren Vale offer extraordinary landscapes, produce, culture and experiences. But there’s enormous opportunity to develop more integrated tourism experiences, luxury accommodation, thoughtfully designed visitor infrastructure and better transport options to allow people to properly experience and engage with those regions.
Those developments must be approached with care, and in a way that retains what makes the destinations great. To achieve the best tourism outcomes, any development must integrate with local landscapes, not change or dominate them. At their best, they enhance the qualities that make those places special.
In the past, planning policy has not always capitalised on those opportunities, often for fear of changing the DNA of a destination – particularly in terms of development within wine regions.
But over time, I think there will be more openness to the conversation, due to an increasing recognition that tourism is a major economic lever for South Australia; one deserving of greater strategic focus.
We find ourselves in a fascinating period of transition in South Australia.
Historically, the state has been perceived as stable but relatively slow-moving, at least from a growth perspective. But increasingly the pressures facing eastern seaboard capitals are changing how investors, businesses and migrants view South Australia.
Housing affordability. Liveability. Defence investment. Industrial growth. Migration opportunities. All of these factors are contributing to a significant shift in momentum.
All the while, in recent years South Australia has done an exceptional job of repositioning itself from a branding and identity perspective. The state has become increasingly ambitious in how it promotes itself through events, tourism, lifestyle, food, wine, arts and culture.
That shift matters, because perception ultimately induces investment, migration and levels of national influence. Over the next decade, South Australia has a genuine opportunity to finally outgrow its secondary market status to become as central to Australia economically as it is geographically.
The opportunity must be approached carefully, but with urgency.
Growth requires infrastructure alignment, strategic planning, housing delivery, transport investment and considered long-term thinking. The challenge is ensuring planning systems and government investment keep pace with the momentum.
We must be careful that in this pursuit of growth we don’t lose sight of what makes South Australia special in the first place. Our food and wine, arts and culture, sport and festivals give our state its identity and make it a wonderful place to visit and enjoy. But true liveability runs deeper. It is the strength of our healthcare and education systems, reliable transport, access to jobs and housing, quality public spaces, a healthy environment, and safe, connected neighbourhoods that make South Australia a genuinely great place to live. Growth should strengthen these qualities, not come at their expense.
One of the biggest changes I expect to see within the planning industry is a continued shift away from purely technical planning advice toward broader strategic advisory roles.
Clients increasingly need advisers who can operate across disciplines, understand commercial realities, identify risks early, navigate stakeholder complexity, and help coordinate major projects through increasingly difficult regulatory environments.
That requires a different skillset than traditional statutory planning demands. The future of planning will become more integrated, strategic and multidisciplinary. And as an industry, we will need to continue evolving alongside those expectations.
For MasterPlan, that evolution is already underway.
The next chapter of the business is not about abandoning what has made us successful over the past five decades. It is about building on it, with more ambition, capability and strategic influence.
It’s about evolving to become the planner that the new paradigm demands; one with a commitment to helping shape projects, communities, and cities in ways that create long-term value for South Australia and beyond.
