What began as a need to upskill quickly turned into a passion to drive change for Daryl Connelly. Studying planning at the University of Tasmania helped Daryl deliver award‑winning outcomes for his community and beyond.
When he took on the role of Director Strategic Growth at Central Coast Council in north-west Tasmania, Daryl had to get his head around planning. “Planning is all about optimising the trade-offs we make every day between the environment, the economy and the community,” he said.
To build a strong foundation, he enrolled in the Master of Planning at the University of Tasmania. “The more I learned, the more passionate I became about it,” he said.
Balancing full‑time work with study, Daryl was able to tailor his learning and assessment activities to his work, leading to improved policy, processes and strategic thinking at Council. “This has involved significant cultural, structural and process change at all levels of the organisation, he said.
The impact of that change was rewarded at the 2025 Tasmanian Awards for Planning Excellence. Central Coast Council won the Improving Planning Processes category, recognising a new benchmark for customer‑focused land‑use planning in local government.
The team went on to win the Strategic Planning Project award and the People’s Choice Award for Our Homes – Our Future, one of the largest housing strategy projects ever undertaken in Tasmania.
Daryl is proud that his regional council team is delivering the type of work often only seen in large metropolitan areas. “Great towns and cities don’t just happen – they’re planned,” he said. “This recognition by the Planning Institute of Australia should give our community confidence that the planning being done on their behalf is among the best of its kind.”
The Master of Planning gave Daryl that greater insight into the way other cities and communities are planned around the country and enabled him to work with some of the best planners in Australia.
He recommends that graduates never stop learning and take advantage of the diverse nature of the profession.
“Planning is so diverse, so my advice to an early career planner would be not to get pigeon-holed,” he said. “Graduates who nurture their curiosity and stay ahead of the curve will benefit from that.”
As councils across Australia grapple with sustainability and housing pressures, Daryl argues that expert planners will be central to Tasmania’s future.
“Tasmania is a special place with a lot at stake,” he said. “Good planning starts with how people actually live – the rhythms of daily life, the streets they walk, the places they meet, the homes they grow up in.
"That’s true everywhere, but I think Tasmanians in particular value those things. That’s why planners should play a bigger role in helping Tasmania remain Tasmanian as we face the challenges and opportunities of the future.”
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