James Gibson

Senior Principal / Managing Director

James is a highly experienced executive and current Managing Director of Western Environmental who also holds several non-executive director and advisory board positions within allied companies in the waste, energy and sustainability sectors. He is also a Senior Principal Environmental Scientist with extensive technical and strategic acumen and is a subject matter expert in the assessment and management of Per- and Poly-Fluoryl Alkyl Substances (PFAS).​ James also takes a keen interest in PFAS research and development, having been actively involved in several projects developing novel treatment methods in water and solids which has resulted in Western Environmental holding a range of Intellectual Property licences to deploy various technologies throughout Australasia.

After commencing his career at the environmental regulator in Western Australia, James pivoted to environmental consultancy in 2007. Since then he has worked as a Project and Technical Director in the field of Contaminated Land Management, providing strategic advice and technical peer review in addition to project delivery. James co-founded Western Environmental in 2011 and performed the role of Principal Scientist and Business Development Manager until 2015, when he was appointed Managing Director. During his tenure as a Director, the company has grown from a small WA-based firm to a national, multidisciplinary consultancy with more than 50 professional staff across most states in Australia.

Throughout his career, James has been involved in a vast array of projects across the Defence, aviation, infrastructure, government and land development sectors in Australia. He is also a specialist technical advisor with international experience, including for proponents in the USA that include government departments, utilities and private companies to whom he provides expert advice in relation to PFAS assessment and remediation.

James is active in the environmental industry as a member of Environmental Health Australia (EHA) and the Environment Institute of Australia and New Zealand (EIANZ), where he held an Executive position (Treasurer) on the WA committee from 2009 – 2016.

Dale Newsome

Senior Principal / Director

Dale Newsome is a Director and Senior Principal with 20 years’ experience in the environmental field, in roles with industry, government and consulting. As Director, Dale is responsible for leading the Environmental Approvals Business Unit.

Dale has extensive experience across the land development, infrastructure and mining sectors, completing a large volume of projects, including high profile and significant projects.

Dale’s regulatory knowledge and technical experience enables the provision of pro-active, strategic advice. Project teams and clients working with Dale receive comprehensive and clear information to enable informed decision-making and ensure no unexpected developments are encountered during the project feasibility, assessment and delivery phases. Dale has extensive experience in stakeholder and regulator communication and places a high value on achieving positive environmental and community outcomes. 

Dale commenced his career working within the Government sector; firstly, with the Commonwealth Government administering Commonwealth environment legislation such as the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 and subsequently as the Environment Policy Manager for the WA Local Government Association, where he primarily liaised with government agencies and Ministers as an advocate for local government on State and Commonwealth legislation/policies, and sought to improve local government environmental performance.  Dale maintains good networks within State and Commonwealth Agencies and regularly engages with Agencies in the delivery of projects.

Dale joined Western Environmental in 2021; prior to this he was a Partner and Senior Principal with Strategen-JBS&G and held senior management positions with consulting firms AECOM (Canberra and Perth) and Greencap (formerly ENV Australia).

Anthony Quinn

National Growth and Strategy Leader / VIC Environmental Services Business Unit Manager

Anthony is an accomplished professional with a rich background in environmental management and contamination remediation with over 25 year’s experience in environmental consultancy. Anthony has a broad range of environmental project experiences across Australia, United Kingdom and parts of Asia. 

In addition to leading and managing business units associated with Environmental Management and Contaminated Land Management, Anthony has actively engaged with delivering complex projects as a Project Director, ranging from detail site assessments, supervision and oversight of remediation projects, advising clients on waste management and resource recovery, occupational exposure assessments, environmental compliance and advice.  

Anthony has undertaken projects for a range of clients both in the public and private sectors and across many differing markets.

Anthony is Western Environmental’s National Growth and Strategic Development for Environmental Services and is here to assist our clients to identify pragmatic solutions to complex issues such as:

• Asset and closure risk management (Hazardous Materials focus)
• Environmental Compliance (regulation and duties)
• Circular Economy and resource management
• Hazardous substances management and monitoring
• Environmental Permitting and Approvals

Daniel Panickar

Senior Principal / Partner / Bushfire Practice Manager

Daniel Panickar is a Partner and Senior Principal with 13 years’ experience in the environmental and bushfire planning industries across Australia.

Daniel joined Western Environmental in 2023; prior to this he was the WA Operations Manager for Eco Logical Australia and previously held senior roles across the environmental approvals, bushfire planning and ecology disciplines in other consulting firms.  Daniel’s experience has seen him lead and drive positive outcomes for the operational and financial performance of business units, develop strategic business plans, and provide high quality strategic leadership across a wide range of environmental and bushfire risk  planning/management projects.

His previous role saw him lead such projects across WA, NSW, QLD and SA, providing him with a wealth of multi-jurisdictional knowledge which he utilises to advise on best-practice approaches for his clients, Government agencies and NGOs.  This experience been acknowledged through his membership on the Fire Protection Association Australia (FPAA) WA Bushfire Working Group, the Urban Development Institute of Australia (UDIA) Strategic Environment Committee as well as previous role on the National Environmental Law Association (NELA) WA State Committee.

Daniel is also an accredited Level 3 Bushfire Planning and Design (BPAD) practitioner with post-graduate qualifications in this field, and his experience in environmental approvals and bushfire planning, across the land development, infrastructure, Defence and mining sectors allow him to provide accurate, pragmatic advice regarding opportunities and constraints, and develop innovative solutions to facilitate development in potentially problematic areas.

Daniel has extensive experience in stakeholder and regulator communication and consistently seeks to achieve positive outcomes for the environment and community.

Philip Brand

Principal Environmental Scientist / Partner / WA CLM Business Unit Practice Manager

Philip is a proficient and skilled environmental project manager with experience in acid sulfate soils assessment and management, and site contamination assessment and management.

Phillip has worked his entire career in consulting, starting in 2008 where he was responsible for environmental impact assessments across the land development and mining sectors. In the years since, he has focussed his skillset on acid sulfate soils and site contamination.

Since joining Western Environmental in 2016, Philip has been appointed to the role of Infrastructure Lead and Project  Director, where he oversees business development, procurement and the delivery of WA infrastructure projects Western Environmental delivers.

Byron Brewster

Principal Environmental Scientist / CLM Business Unit Manager – QLD

Byron is an accomplished environmental professional who has been responsible for leading and providing expert technical advice on an array of medium to large scale multi-disciplinary engineering and environmental projects in Australia including nationally significant projects in roads and rail, renewables and mining.

While Byron‘s primary technical skill set is within contaminated lands assessment, management and remediation where he has undertaken work across infrastructure, aviation, oil & gas, land development and government sectors; he has also undertaken work for clients in environmental planning, permitting and engineering design, and continues to enjoy assisting clients in these areas.

Byron is also skilled in a range of remediation methodologies across multiple media types, and has a particularly keen interested in PFAS, heavy metals and hydrocarbons. Complementing this, his strong advocation for a risk-based and client-centric approach lends to the provision of pragmatic, effective advice, focused on tangible client needs and outcomes.

Peter McColl

Principal Environmental Scientist / Partner / VIC CLM Business Unit Practice Manager

Peter is an accomplished project manager who has managed a vast array of projects from Preliminary Environmental Site Assessments through to large-scale Detailed Environmental Site Investigations requiring on-going monitoring and remediation.

Peter is a confident and effective communicator who enjoys working closely with all key stakeholders including clients, landowners, and the Victorian EPA, to ensure all his projects are completed to the highest possible standard. Peter always endeavours to ensure all parties are expertly and appropriately informed, irrespective of their level of technical understanding.

Peter also specialises in environmental due diligence and feasibility studies for land acquisition and divestment. His l experience ensures accurate cost estimates and informed, honest advice, which ultimately means his clients can have the utmost confidence in their decision-making.

As an Australian National University Alumni, Peter likes to keep informed on current research and how it may be best utilised in industry. Peter also has a strong technical background, with an in-depth understanding of current guidelines and Australian legislation.

David Reynolds

Senior Principal / Senior Auditor

Dr Reynolds is an accredited contaminated sites Auditor in Queensland and Western Australia, where he has been responsible for auditing a number of high-profile sites in the Defence, aviation and government sectors, including heavily PFAS impacted sites. He is also an Expert Witness providing litigation support, both as a consulting and testifying expert (Australia, Canada, and the United States).

Dr. Reynolds is a Remediation expert with substantial experience in remediation design and implementation across multiple disciplines including PFAS and organic contaminants. He is also the co-inventor of electrokinetic oxidation approaches for remediation of heterogeneous and low permeability source zones, as well as the use of electromigration for in-situ desalination.

Dr Reynolds is a qualified hydrogeologist and an expert modeller of single and multiphase flow and transport in both porous and fractured media. He has extensive experience in contaminant fate and transport modelling, with a specific skillset in PFAS fate and transport.

Dr. Reynolds career has also included time as a tenured academic and Senior Lecturer, as Research Director of a multi-partner Centre focusing on groundwater issues, and senior technical positions at several international consulting firms. Dave has been an author of several ITRC guidance documents, as well as an author on National Academies publications, and is actively involved in research and development including as a Principal Investigator for the US Department of Defense Environmental Security Technology Certification Program (ESTCP).

Giorgio Ne Nola

Senior Principal Toxicologist / Risk Assessor

Giorgio is a Senior Principal in Environmental Risk Assessment and Toxicology with over 20 years’ experience as an environmental scientist working in research and a further 15 years working in consultancy. His main role is to provide technical support to environmental professionals in the contaminated land industry including environmental scientists, expert witnesses, and Auditors.

Giorgio has provided advice and prepared numerous Human Health (and Ecological) Risk Assessments (HHRA, HHERA, ERAs etc.) for new developments, industrial sites, landfills, mines, gasworks, reuse of materials (e.g. Thermally Treated Materials) throughout Australia utilizing the latest Australian guidance as well as worldwide (e.g. Canada). This has given him broad experience in the risk assessment and toxicology of many chemicals including petroleum hydrocarbons, chlorinated hydrocarbons, per and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), metals, respirable crystalline silica, particulate matter, other criteria pollutants, fluoride, cyanide, nitrogen compounds including ammonia, etc. He has a passion for analytical chemistry and data visualisation to assist in understanding what is happening with contamination at a Site with a focus on developing detailed Conceptual Site models. In recent years this passion has focussed on the understanding of PFAS chemistry including their physicochemical properties, behaviour in the environment, toxicokinetics, and toxicology although he has been involved in the risk assessment of PFAS since 2012. He has also been involved in preparing guidance documents for biosolids, drinking water guideline documents for PFAS and metals, APVMA assessments of pesticides, toxicological risk of medical products and impurities, and exposure standards for particulate matter and silica.

Giorgio is a member of the Australian College of Toxicology and Risk Assessment (ACTRA) and the Australian Contaminated Land Consultants Association (ACLCA) Risk Assessment sub-committee in Victoria.

Diane Kovacs

Senior Principal Chemical Engineer

Diane is a Senior Principal Chemical Engineer with over 40 years of experience in health, safety, environmental management, and compliance auditing. She specializes in hazardous chemicals and dangerous goods management, as well as developing, implementing, and auditing HSE management systems aligned with AS/NZS ISO 14001, AS/NZS ISO 45001, and AS/NZS ISO 9001 standards. With extensive expertise in hazardous waste treatment technology assessment and management, she provides strategic guidance on compliance with legislative requirements, Australian and international standards, and the Globally Harmonised System (GHS) for hazardous chemicals. Her experience spans industries such as chemical and metallurgical manufacturing, mining, construction, industrial processes, power generation (including renewables), defence, and water and wastewater sectors.

Diane has conducted over 150 audits across industrial and waste facilities, ports, rail, road infrastructure, and defence sites. She has an in-depth understanding of regulatory frameworks and best practices, enabling her to provide tailored compliance solutions that support risk management, operational efficiency, and regulatory adherence. For more than three decades, she has assisted businesses in navigating the complexities of hazardous materials management, identifying recovery opportunities, and ensuring compliance with evolving environmental and safety standards. Her technical acumen and practical approach make her a trusted advisor for organizations seeking to improve HSE performance and meet their compliance obligations, particularly in hazardous chemicals management and General Environmental Duty (GED).

Martin Henson

Principal Botanist

Martin is a Principal Botanist with over 25 years of experience in the environmental consulting industry, working across Western Australia. He has delivered flora and vegetation assessments for projects in the mining and resources, infrastructure, Defence, renewable energy, and land development sectors, for both government and private clients.

Joining Western Environmental in 2025, Martin has held senior roles including Service Group Leader, Lead Botanist, and Project Manager, and is experienced in managing technical studies, leading field teams, and coordinating project delivery with a focus on quality and safety.

Martin’s expertise includes environmental impact assessment, flora and vegetation surveys, offset assessments, revegetation and Groundwater Dependent Ecosystem monitoring, and the development of management plans for vegetation and conservation significant flora. He regularly liaises with regulators and has provided expert botanical evidence in the Mining Warden’s Court.

He joined Western Environmental in 2025 and continues to apply his knowledge to support clients in meeting environmental approvals requirements across a wide range of bioregions in Western Australia.

Ali Anwar

Associate Environmental Scientist / WA CLM Business Unit Operations Manager

Ali is Western Environmental’s Operations Manager of the Contaminated Land Team and is an Associate Environmental Scientist with over 11 years of contaminated land consulting experience, within Australia and New Zealand. He has a broad range of technical proficiencies and management experience and has demonstrated capabilities to successfully deliver projects of varying magnitudes and intricacies. His experience spans across a diverse array of multi-disciplinary projects, including civil engineering, water management, property development, closed landfills, transportation infrastructure, defence, oil and gas, and agriculture sectors.

Throughout his career, he has fostered productive relationships with project personnel, clients and their representatives, external stakeholders, regulatory authorities, and other project disciplines to ensure seamless and effective project delivery. His track record of success has been reinforced by his ability to effectively collaborate with stakeholders at all levels and my commitment to delivering superior outcomes for clients.

Jacqueline Cox

Principal Environmental Scientist

Jackie is an experienced environmental professional with expertise in asbestos, occupational health and safety, air quality, hazardous materials, contaminated sites and acid sulfate soil assessments throughout Australia. As State Manager – Western Australia, Jackie is responsible for the operational management of the WA team.

Jackie has managed environmental investigations across a variety of sectors including minerals and energy, infrastructure, industry, land development and agriculture. Jackie has an in-depth understanding of, and particular expertise in, the monitoring, investigation, management and remediation of asbestos in accordance with guidance from Department of Health, National Occupational Health and Safety Commission and SafeWork Australia.

Jackie has delivered a significant number of projects through the Contaminated Sites Audit process and has established relationships with regulatory agencies and Contaminated Sites Auditors to ensure efficient, cost-effective management of projects with tight timeframes. Her experience includes contamination assessments of groundwater, surface water, soil and sediment, soil vapour, air quality, asbestos investigations and management through to human health and ecological risk assessments to support the management and remediation of contaminated sites.

Andrew Fry

Principal Environmental Scientist

Andrew is a Associate Environmental Scientist with over 10 years of environmental consulting and ecology experience within West Australia. Andrew is experienced across a range of sectors including mining and infrastructure projects, land development, local government land management and NGOs.  Andrew operates within the Environmental Approvals Business Unit, applying his experience in undertaking Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and preparation of approvals under Part IV and V of the Environmental Protection Act; as well as preparation of Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act referrals to the Commonwealth Government. Andrew is also experienced in the  preparation and implementation of a range of Environmental Management Plans to address approvals conditions.

In his work as an ecologist, Andrew is highly experienced in undertaking flora and fauna assessments in line with the EPA Technical Guidance- Flora and Vegetation: Fauna Surveys for Environmental Impact Assessment. Andrew has undertaken numerous Detailed, Reconnaissance and Targeted flora surveys across bioregions including the Swan Coastal Plain, Southwest, South Coast, Pilbara, Goldfields and Gascoyne. Andrew is also experienced in undertaking Basic fauna surveys and Targeted surveys for conservation significant species such as Northern Quoll, Bilby, Quenda, Western Ringtail Possum and Black Cockatoo species.

Andrew joined Western Environmental in 2021; prior to this he was a Senior Environmental Scientist in Approvals for GHD and Environment Section Team Leader and Senior Environmental Scientist for Ecoscape.

Madhvi Betigeri

Associate Environmental Scientist / Senior Project Manager

Madhvi is a highly skilled Environmental Project Manager and strong communicator who has accumulated over 16 years of experience across Victoria and NSW as well as other projects Australia-wide.

Her career experience has focussed on the management of contaminated land and has spanned work as both a senior consultant and as a remediation project manager, which in turn have allowed Madhvi to gain an exceptionally well-rounded understanding of the PMCA processes necessary to successfully deliver contaminated land remediation projects from start to finish.

Madhvi also has a strong understanding of both regulatory processes as well as stakeholder and community liaison engagement via her work with the Victorian EPA Major Projects Unit, where she also sat on the Technical Reference Group.

Matthew Trenorden

Associate Environmental Scientist

Matthew is an experienced and proficient Senior  Environmental Scientist responsible for field staff training, supervision and senior level reporting. He started his career in the contaminated land industry in 2016 with Western Environmental following his completion of a Bachelor of Science (Geology and Environmental Geoscience) and a Masters of Environmental Science (Land and Water Management) at UWA. Since then, he has been involved in environmental work across a variety of sectors including mining, infrastructure, government, Defence and land development.

Matthew has gained extensive knowledge and experience in a range of soil, groundwater, vapour and HAZMAT field investigations. This field experience has allowed Matthew to transition into reporting and project management while also continuing to train and supervise junior field staff.

Matthew particularly enjoys field investigations across a variety of contaminated sites, communicating environmental management processes to a range of different clients and stakeholders, and undertaking GIS mapping and data modelling for complex geological and contaminated environments.

Matthew McDonnell

Associate Consultant

Matt McDonnell is an Associate Consultant with 13 years’ experience in the environmental approvals industries across Australia with significant experience in environmental impact assessment and approvals, environmental management systems and processes, project management and on-site auditing. Matt has worked on major projects across the infrastructure, Defence, renewable energy and more recently land development sectors.

Matt has experience in the preparation of Environmental Impact Assessments, Environmental Management Plans, and referrals under Commonwealth, WA and SA State legislation. Matt has significant experience in environmental lead and project management roles on major projects managing internal subject matter experts and sub-consultants in the fields of heritage, ecology, contamination, noise and vibration in order to compile environmental impact assessments under State and Commonwealth legislation. Matt has experience working with key government stakeholders within WA and SA at State level and at a Commonwealth level. Matt has prepared referrals under the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 and managed the Commonwealth assessment process on transport and renewable energy projects that required further assessment under a Controlled Action.

Matt has worked extensively in the Defence market and led the preparation of Defence Environmental Impact Assessments (in particular Environmental Reports) under the requirements of Defence legislation and Commonwealth legislation for Projects across Australia. Matt has experience in the management of environmental approvals and direct consultation with the Defence Directorate Environment, Planning, Assessment and Compliance, and relevant Defence environmental stakeholders.

Matt has experience in undertaking environmental compliance audits on a major Defence project, solar farm, wind farm and battery storage facilities projects ensuring compliance with SA and Commonwealth approval conditions under the EPBC Act.

Matt joined Western Environmental in 2025; prior to this he was a Manager – Environmental and Planning for Aurecon and a Senior Environmental Planner for AECOM across Perth and Adelaide offices respectively.

Hannah Sullivan

Associate Consultant / Climate Change Specialist

Hannah is a Senior Consultant with over five years’ experience in the environmental field having held roles in environmental consulting, geographic information analysis, and local government within Western Australia. Hannah has demonstrated capability to deliver outcomes in the areas of environmental assessment and approvals, climate change mitigation and adaptation, and environmental management.

Hannah operates within the Environmental Approvals Business Unit, undertaking Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and preparation of approvals under Part IV and V of the Environmental Protection Act, as well as under the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act to the Commonwealth Government.

Through Hannah’s work as a Climate Change Officer in local government she gained experience in reporting under the Australian Climate Active carbon neutral certification program, planning and implementing decarbonisation strategies, and incorporating principles of Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) to improve business operations.

Hannah joined Western Environmental in 2022; prior to this she was a Climate Change Officer at City of Subiaco and Environmental and GIS Consultant for Strategen-JBS&G.

Matthew Mullins

Senior Environmental Scientist

Matt is a Senior Environmental Engineer with extensive experience within the contaminated land sector, with a particular focus on project management of EPA environmental audits, due diligence assessments and contaminated land remediation works across Victoria, New South Wales, South Australia, Western Australia, and Queensland.

Matt has managed complex environmental projects for both private and government clients operating within the petrochemical, manufacturing, construction, defence, development, and commercial sectors. His experience working within these sectors has not only allowed him to develop a firm understanding of client requirements, but also permitted him to develop a firm understanding of both national and state-based legislation, ensuring outcomes that are in compliance with the requirements of regulatory authorities.

With a client focused outlook, Matts experience has allowed him to identify innovative, practical, and cost-effective solutions to meet the expanding environmental compliance and due diligence requirements of Western Environmental’s clientele.

Shannan Groves

Associate Environmental Scientist

Shannan is a Senior Consultant with over 10 years’ experience in the waste, resource recovery and environmental sectors.

Shannan joined Western Environmental in 2023. She has an extensive background in strategic planning, project management, contract management and stakeholder engagement gained through several years of experience, working in both the private and public sectors in Australia and UK. Shannan has considerable knowledge of the principles, practices, policies and trends in waste management, recycling, and waste diversion, along with experience in environmental assessments and approvals.

Shannan places high value on collaboration with project personnel, clients, and external stakeholders, including regulatory authorities to achieve sustainable outcomes to fulfill the needs of clients and the community.

Renae Makin

Senior Environmental Scientist

Renae is a highly skilled and passionate Senior Environmental Scientist with a Bachelor of Science (Conservation and Wildlife Biology) and an Infrastructure Sustainability Accredited Professional (ISAP). With over four years of experience in the environmental industry, Renae specialises in the construction and infrastructure sectors, offering a comprehensive skillset in environmental management and sustainability.

Renae’s extensive project experience includes providing advisory and supervision services in environmental and sustainability matters. She has excelled in various areas such as Acid Sulfate Soil (ASS) and contamination assessment, environmental impact assessment, site investigation, ground and surface water monitoring, soil investigation and sampling, dust and air quality analysis, flora and vegetation management, fauna assessment, and sustainable practices.

Having joined Western Environmental in 2020, Renae has gained invaluable experience in contamination assessments, environmental compliance, and management. Her multifaceted roles as an Environmental Supervisor and Advisor for numerous capital works projects have provided her with a deep understanding of client requirements. Renae’s ability to seamlessly integrate environmental compliance and management practices while addressing client concerns sets her apart as an outstanding professional in the field.

Renae’s passion, expertise, and dedication make her an exceptional choice for any project requiring environmental sustainability and management solutions. With her strong academic background and extensive experience, she is well-equipped to provide comprehensive environmental services that ensure compliance, mitigate risks, and promote sustainable practices.

Daniel Rubick

Senior Consultant

Daniel is a Senior Botanist with over 12 years’ experience in botanical consulting and horticulture within Western Australia. Daniel is experienced across a range of sectors including mining and infrastructure projects, land development/management and local government with work across involvement across the Pilbara, Gascoyne, Murchison, Goldfields Swan Coastal Plain and Jarrah Forest regions bioregions. Daniel has worked in the wholesale and retail horticultural sectors for 8 years before moving into environmental consultancy as a botanist for the past 3 years. 

Daniel operates within the Environmental Approvals Business Unit, where he has undertaken numerous Detailed, Reconnaissance botanical surveys including Creek line, Roadside monitoring, Revegetation surveys and Targeted Threatened & Priority flora surveys including taxonomical identification in the herbarium.

In his work as a botanist, Daniel has experience in undertaking flora assessments in line with the EPA Technical Guidance (Flora and Vegetation), including Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and preparation of approvals under Part IV and V of the Environmental Protection Act and in the preparation and implementation of a range of Environmental Management Plans to address approvals conditions. 

Daniel joined Western Environmental in 2024; prior to this he was an Environmental Team Leader at Mattiske Consulting and Nursery manager for Dawsons Garden Centre.

Beau Eaton

Senior Bushfire & Environmental Consultant

Beau is a Senior Bushfire and Environmental Consultant with five years’ experience in environmental, sustainability, and bushfire disciplines in Western Australia. Beau has a wide range of experience having worked in mining, infrastructure, and land development sectors.

At Western Environmental, Beau is jointly involved in Bushfire Assessment and Environmental Approvals, leveraging past knowledge and experience to deliver bushfire attack level assessments, bushfire management plans, and bushfire advice in compliance with Australian Standards (AS) 3959:2018 and the State Planning Policy (3.7) for Bushfire.  In the approvals space, Beau undertakes environmental approvals and impact assessments under Part IV and Part V of the Environmental Protection Act at a state level, and Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act at a commonwealth level.

Beau Joined Western Environmental in 2025; prior to this he was engaged as an environmental consultant where he led environmental approvals projects for small mining firms and assisted with bushfire assessments primarily for residential developments and subdivisions. Beau has past ecology experience, having conducted reconnaissance, detailed, and targeted flora and fauna surveys in the Swan Coastal Plain, Jarrah Forests, and Gascoyne and Goldfields regions. Prior to focusing his career on environmental and bushfire consulting, Beau was an accredited Infrastructure Sustainability Council (ISC) professional who was involved in implementing sustainable practices across road infrastructure projects.

Zandile Okonji

Senior Environmental Scientist

Zandile is an experienced Senior Environmental Scientist with over 5 years of professional experience gained from working with a diverse range of private and public clients, as well as main contractors. She has a track record in large-scale infrastructure projects spanning the UK and Western Australia including rail, contaminated land remediation, water treatment facilities, and large scale waste management initiatives. Having worked on a wide spectrum of projects, Zandile has expertise in solving complex environmental challenges and can effectively manage technical aspects related to contaminated land within construction projects.

Zandile is known for being a collaborative team player with strong analytical and communication skills, fostering robust relationships with internal and external stakeholders, and working closely with regulatory authorities to ensure positive project outcomes. 

Penelope Norman

Senior Environmental Consultant

Penny Norman is a Senior Environmental Consultant with over 15 years’ experience in the environmental field with roles in local government and consultancy, both in Western Australia and overseas.

Penny has a demonstrated capability to deliver strategic and project-based outcomes in the areas of environment, sustainability and quality systems.

Penny operates within the Environmental Approvals Business Unit, applying her experience in undertaking Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and preparation of approvals under Part IV and V of the Environmental Protection Act. Penny is also experienced in the preparation and implementation of Environmental Management Plans and technical documents to address legislative and regulatory requirements.

Penny’s experience spans a diverse range of technical fields. Penny has extensive experience working in local government in the role of an Environmental Planning Officer and Sustainability Officer which has developed a depth of understanding and practical experience in how planning schemes and strategies work to guide and support the decisions of Council, provide best practice environmental and sustainability outcomes. Penny has participated range of planning projects ranging from subdivision applications, development applications and scheme amendments.

Penny is experienced in the development, compliance and application of environmental and quality management systems. This experience uniquely places Penny with an ability to develop and implement strategic planning documents and then evaluate their efficacy.

Penny joined Western Environmental in 2022; prior to this she worked within the Local Government Sector.

Benjamin Coughlan

Senior Environmental Scientist

Ben is a passionate environmental scientist with over 10 years’ experience in contaminated land and hazardous materials consulting. Ben has worked across a broad spectrum of projects ranging from contaminated land investigations for greenfield developments to decontamination planning for mine closure. Ben is accomplished at managing and delivering a variety of projects including Preliminary Site Investigations, Detailed Site Investigations, Hazardous Building Material Assessments, and the preparation of site management plans and technical specifications.

Ben specialises in the assessment and management of Hazardous Building Materials during ongoing operations, demolition and as part of closure planning for mines and heavy industry. Ben has acquired a unique skillset in the assessment of a range of hazardous materials within buildings, structures, and plant/equipment at manufacturing and industrial sites, including asbestos (all forms), lead, polychlorinated biphenyls, ozone depleting substances, compressed gases, fuels and oils, dusts and residues, contaminated concrete, and radioactivity.

Ben also has a strong understanding of the work health and safety, and environmental regulatory frameworks within Victoria and across Australia pertaining to contaminated sites and hazardous materials. He is also formerly trained in hazard identification and risk assessment and has worked under several different integrated management systems to successfully delivery large field investigation programs without incident or injury. This included a secondment with Ford Motor Company of Australia to manage environment compliance during decommissioning and demolition activities at the former Broadmeadows Assembly Plant.

Ben brings a strong attention to detail to each project he works on and dedicates himself to maintaining a high standard of quality in all deliverables prepared and submitted over the course of a project. In his time within the contaminated land industry, he has also served on the Executive Committee of the Australian Contaminated Land Consultants Association (ACLCA), including in the role as President of ACLCA Victoria in 2020.

Louis Grogan

Senior Environmental Scientist

Owing to Louis’ experience and unique skillset, he is an extraordinary and valuable Senior Environmental Scientist responsible for a plethora of facets within the environmental industry, including but not limited to, complex field works, hazardous materials assessments, minor to complex project management and senior level reporting.

Louis commenced his career as an intern in the contaminated land industry in 2018 within the contaminated sites team at a global engineering firm. Following his completion of Bachelor of Science (Environmental Biology) at Curtin University, Louis began as a graduate environmental scientist progressing to environmental scientist after one year. Louis then joined Western Environmental as an experienced environmental scientist in 2021 and in recognition of his work, was promoted to senior environmental scientist in 2022.

Throughout his career, he has been involved in various environmental works across a variety of sectors including mining, hazardous materials, infrastructure, government, aviation, downstream and upstream petrochemical.

Louis has gained extensive knowledge and experience in a range of soil, groundwater, vapour and HAZMAT field investigations. This field experience has allowed Louis to transition into reporting, complex project field lead and a project management position whilst also continuing to train and supervise junior field staff. Louis’ time spent in the industry has given him an understanding of the complex contaminated sites environmental framework. He has spent time seconded at the Public Transport Authority as a contaminated sites officer which furthered his understanding of client needs and expectations for project deliveries.

Louis strives to deliver the most efficient outcome for clients and the local communities.

Dominique Shuttleworth

Senior Environmental Scientist / Auditor Assistant

Dominique is a skilled environmental scientist working in the Contaminated Sites team in Bunbury, WA. Dominique has worked on a range of projects across Western Australia, primarily in contaminated sites investigations and audits.

These projects have included the assessment and/or remediation of various land uses, including wastewater treatment sites, landfill facilities, residential/town sites, commercial and industrial facilities.

Stephen Moore

Senior GIS Analyst and Spatial Scientist

Stephen Moore is a Geographic Information Systems Analyst/Spatial Scientist with involvement in spatial analysis and mapping for ecological assessment, environmental planning, conservation planning, bushfire assessment and other related projects.

Stephen has worked within the natural resources and mapping sectors for over 15 years with experience working in both State Government and private industry. During this time, he has developed extensive experience within the spatial industry, is ESRI certified and has well-developed knowledge of map creation, spatial analysis, 3D analysis, GIS map production and data management using a variety of software packages and tools.

Stephen brings to the company a high level of GIS and spatial skills. He is also experienced in spatially related fields such as topographic surveying, remote sensing, cartography, GPS and geodesy. He also has extensive analytical skills from project work in habitat modelling, impact assessments and sensitivity analysis and strong technical, clerical and spatial data management skills. He has a particular passion for spatial analytical methods used within ecological assessments and enjoys exploring GIS functionality for expanding capabilities, innovation and increasing efficiency.

Stephen has also gained experience in the assessment of bushfire risk having worked on and managed a wide variety of bushfire projects which includes in-depth knowledge of Method 1 assessments and assisting in Method 2 assessments and the preparation of Bushfire Attack Level reports, Bushfire Management Plans, Bushfire Emergency Evacuation Plans and Bushfire Risk Management Plans.

Tracey Jones

Administration and Quality Manager

Tracey is an accomplished delivery assurance manager with an extensive background within professional service firms including; administration, accounts, auditing, quality assurance, health and safety, environmental management and training.

As the Administrative Services Manager, Tracey is responsible for managing the administration of the company so  staff can continue to provide the highest quality of service to clients.

With a diploma in quality auditing, Tracey also performs the role of Quality Systems Manager.  She is responsible for encouraging, driving and managing a strong, active project delivery assurance culture at the team level to ensure continuous improvement and that projects are performed in accordance with appropriate standards and procedures.

Kristen Holgate

Health Safety and Environment Manager

As Health, Safety and Environmental Manager, Kristen is responsible for managing the company’s occupational health, safety environment system and is responsible for guiding the organisation in achieving its work health and safety goals and improving overall HSE performance. Kristen works closely with clients and employees to ensure compliance with health and safety legislation.