Joseph Monaghan

Joseph is a planning and environmental lawyer with extensive experience acting for private clients, local councils, government departments and water authorities.

His recent planning and environmental experience includes:

• acting for a council as solicitor advocate in relation to a proposal for a controversial residential drug and alcohol rehabilitation centre
• acting for a council as solicitor advocate before Planning Panels Victoria for a proposal to amend policy in the planning scheme to provide policy support for tourism uses in the Green Wedge Zone
• acting for the owner of a major site in which our client successfully rezoned its land through the Planning Panel process to the Mixed Use Zone to facilitate a major mixed use residential development. The matter involved complex planning issues in relation to heritage, building height and mass, public open space, traffic, community objection and setbacks to the Yarra River
• acting as solicitor advocates for Metropolitan Waste and Resource Recovery Group in proceedings before VCAT regarding the Melbourne Regional Landfill and also the Werribee Landfill
• acting for St Andrews Golf Club in various proceedings relating to groundwater issues involving Peninsula Hot Springs and Southern Rural Water
• acting for a council as solicitor advocate in relation to the Ministerial call-in of 4 major state significant development solar farms. The case involved complicated technical issues around heat island effects and the conversion of irrigated land to solar energy facilities.

Joseph has for many years provided advice to Victoria’s water industry in relation to a wide range of issues. A focus of Joseph’s practice for water industry clients has been providing legal advice with respect to issues arising from the provision of infrastructure, including pipelines, channel modernisation projects, tank sites and reservoir upgrades. His experience means clients have a single point of contact to provide advice and assistance with all aspects of these projects.

Joseph holds a doctorate degree in law for his thesis titled ‘Law and Policy of the Murray-Darling Basin’.