Liesl Codrington | Director
MEnvPl, BA Human Geography & Demography, MPIA, MEIANZ, MSIMNA
Liesl Codrington is a strategic planner and human geographer with more than 22 years' experience in government, consulting and independent practice. As founder and director of Vaere Social, she works where planning, social sustainability and public value meet, on the projects, places and policies that shape how cities and communities change.
Her practice is evidence-led. She reads a place through who lives there, how they live, what is changing and what will hold, and turns that into wellbeing and social impact assessment, social infrastructure and housing strategy, and advice a decision-maker can act on. She is a systems thinker, working across housing, transport, climate and economy as one connected picture, and a strategist known for clear, practical direction on complex questions.
She has contributed to national reform agendas, including Australia's inaugural climate disclosure stakeholder engagement strategy for the AASB, renewable energy portfolio reviews with ARENA, and planning reform for the ACT Government. She has held senior leadership roles in both government and consulting, including as National Lead and Director of Social Strategy at Ethos Urban, and holds expert witness status in the NSW Land and Environment Court.
Her work spans Australia, from Canberra, Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane to regional NSW, South Australia and the Victorian alpine region. Projects include the Snowy Mountains and Wagga Wagga Special Activation Precincts, Mirvac's Harbourside redevelopment, Acton Waterfront, Canberra's City Centre and Ginninderry, alongside social impact assessments, regional strategies and policy reform processes.
Her expertise covers social planning, wellbeing and social impact assessment, social infrastructure, housing and urban policy, climate resilience and social adaptation, and inclusive and neurodiversity-informed planning, where she carries original research on how neurodivergent adults and families experience public places. She brings a human geography lens to people, place and the patterns between them.
Liesl holds a Master of Environmental Planning and a BA in Human Geography and Demography, with certifications in climate and in social impact measurement. She is a member of PIA, EIANZ and SIMNA.
“Good planning starts with a simple question: will the people who live here be able to live well? Everything I do is a way of answering that with evidence.”