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Wendy Evans

LLB (Hons), BEnvPlan (Hons)

Partner - Brisbane

Areas of Expertise

Planning, Environment & Sustainability, Property, Planning & Development, Construction, Infrastructure & Projects

Contact Wendy

+61 7 3135 0507 wendy.evans@holdingredlich.com

Expertise

Wendy is a specialist Planning and Environment partner in our Brisbane Property, Planning and Development Team.

She has been working in the Queensland development industry since 1999.  Prior to her admission as a solicitor, Wendy practiced as a qualified town planner and expert Court witness, bringing valuable and unrivalled interdisciplinary insight to her legal work.

For her contribution to town planning in Australia, she is a Fellow member of the Planning Institute of Australia (PIA), currently serving as the Queensland Board Director and National Vice President of the Institute.

Wendy is recognised for her ability to deliver exceptional planning outcomes through a strategic application of the law, grounded in her professional identity as a town planner.

Experience

Planning

  • statutory planning experience including the delivery of a draft planning scheme to a SEQ Council in 2024, and previously having attended full legal reviews of various other draft SEQ planning schemes (together with associated industry and officer training, councillor interaction and education, template drafting and updates to standard conditions and reports).  Wendy has also attended to legislative drafting including the independent legal review of international planning law reform
  • planning litigation (Planning and Environment, Court of Appeal, High Court), merits appeals for applicants, Councils, the State Government, conversion appeals, declarations, enforcement and compliance actions
  • development strategy (including legal due diligence and application structure) for renewable energy projects, extractive industry, residential development, education facilities, health facilities, agricultural projects, retail, industry, logistics, linear infrastructure, major projects and so forth.

Infrastructure

  • infrastructure planning and funding experience including the legal review of Local Government Infrastructure Plans, the legal review and/or writing of charges resolutions, infrastructure charges notices, temporary local planning instruments, local government infrastructure designations and economic incentive policies
  • infrastructure agreements including both negotiation and drafting
  • infrastructure litigation including conversion appeals and appeals concerning infrastructure charges or infrastructure conditions of approval
  • compulsory acquisition

Environment and Heritage

  • advising clients on compliance with statutory duties, approvals, environmental authorities, permits, and licences
  • compliance including providing strategic guidance on environmental incident management and regulator investigations
  • enforcement including assisting private and local government clients in responding to regulatory enforcement tools, including requests for information, show cause notices, environmental evaluations, and environmental protection orders
  • litigation including Magistrate and Planning and Environment Court actions, as well as Land Court litigation (Wendy has recently resolved a Land Court challenge brought by an environmental advocacy group, against the State of Queensland, against its approval of CSG activities in the Bowen Basin)
  • cultural heritage including the negotiation of cultural heritage management agreements and their registration as cultural heritage management plans.

Publications

21 July 2025 - Knowledge

New social impact and community benefit requirements begin for large-scale wind and solar development

#Renewable Energy, #Local Government

Local governments and renewable energy developers must ensure they understand and comply with the new social impact and community benefit requirements when dealing with new or pre-existing development applications for large-scale wind and solar projects.

09 July 2025 - Knowledge

Changes to the infrastructure provisions in the Planning Act 2016 effective from 30 June 2025

#Property, Planning & Development

We provide a short summary of the three key changes to some of the infrastructure provisions in the Planning Act 2016, brought about by the commencement of Chapter 4C of the Planning (Social Impact and Community Benefit) and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2025 on 30 June 2025.

Upcoming Seminars

14 Aug 25 to 04 Dec 25 - Brisbane

Brisbane Construction, Infrastructure & Projects seminar series 2025

We are pleased to invite you to the return of our Construction, Infrastructure & Projects seminar series where we’ll explore key legal developments and practical strategies shaping the construction industry in 2025. This year’s series brings together leading experts to unpack complex legal issues and provide insights to help you navigate challenges with clarity and confidence.Whether you're involved in project delivery, risk management, legal strategy or safety, this series offers valuable takeaways to apply in your day-to-day work.

Register now

16 Sep 25

Managing Ill and Injured Workers: Legal Updates and Strategies for Employers

Managing ill and injured workers has become more complex than ever, particularly with the prevalence of psychological injuries and the requirements under workers’ compensation legislation. In this webinar, Holding Redlich’s Workplace Relations & Safety partners Louise Hogg and Megan Cant will update you on recent legal developments and suggest ways you can navigate this area to minimise risk.

Register now

17 Sep 25

Insurance in the construction industry | Construction and Infrastructure Webinar Series

Does a request for an aggregate level of cover aggravate you or do you just assume whoever wrote it knew what they were talking about so don’t trouble yourself to think about it? Either way, we have a seminar for you! In the next instalment of our 2025 Construction & Infrastructure webinar series, Insurance in the construction industry, partner Helena Golovanoff and special counsel Marie-Louise Scarf will: outline key concepts, highlight emerging issues, explore how insurance might impact common dispute scenarios in the industry. This topic is in response to attendees feedback last year who requested a deeper look at what the different policies commonly required for projects respond to. The one-hour online session will help you understand the why as well as the what. 

Register now

Holding Redlich respectfully acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the land on which we operate as the continuing custodians of this land. We recognise their continuing connection to Country, practices, knowledge systems and communities. We pay our respects to Elders, past and present.

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