Sonia has over 16 years’ experience providing legal services to all tiers of government, water/ wastewater distributor retailers, corporate clients and individuals in the areas of property development, planning and environmental law, local government law, waste management and compulsory acquisition.
Having worked ‘in-house’ for Queensland Government and a water/ wastewater utility, Sonia brings a practical understanding of the competing viewpoints of stakeholders that results in achieving practical solutions for her clients.
Sonia’s expertise includes:
- representing and advising Commonwealth, State and local government on issues of administrative law and judicial review, statutory interpretation, policy, risk management and public interest considerations
- prosecuting and defending development, land use and vegetation clearing offences
- Planning and Environment Court, Magistrates Court, Court of Appeal and Land Court Litigation
- advising on approval pathways and processes, compliance and enforcement, vegetation clearing, waste management and infrastructure charging
- negotiating infrastructure agreements, land access and environmental offsets agreements
- advising water/ wastewater utilities on compliance enforcement, corporate governance issues and corporate environmental compliance
- drafting government policy and statutory planning documents
- drafting compliance enforcement and incident response guidelines
- planning and environment due diligence for renewables projects, property transactions or share acquisitions.