Baker McKenzie LLP

Commercial Real Estate

Special Counsel

Anna Vella is a special counsel in our Environment and Climate Change group in Brisbane. With over 20 years of experience and substantial expertise in all aspects of environment and planning law, Anna has represented a number of high profile, blue chip, public and government clients in the delivery of infrastructure and major projects.

Anna provides specialist advice in relation to various local, state and federal environment and planning assessment, approval and regulatory processes, environmental enforcement and compliance, contaminated land, vegetation, water and other natural resource matters.

Her familiarity with development, planning and environmental issues and licencing and approval requirements is particularly beneficial in advising clients to help them achieve project delivery.

Spanning projects varying from airport expansions, port development to renewable energy projects, Anna has extensive experience working on major project planning and approval pathways, project agreements, climate change, ESG, biodiversity, heritage, land contamination and remediation, along with environmental compliance.

Anna is an experienced solicitor advocate who has represented clients in the Queensland Magistrate's Court, the Planning and Environment Court, the Land Court of Queensland, the Supreme Court of Queensland, the Queensland Court of Appeal and the High Court of Australia.

In additional to her practical experience, Anna has been a sessional lecturer in planning law in both the Law and Built Environment faculties at the Queensland University of Technology and for the last 17 years, has been a co-author of the leading industry publication in relation to planning and development in Queensland, as published by Thomson Reuters.

English