Looking to build a career in sport and recreation planning?
The PLAQLD Leisure Planners Course is your gateway to developing the skills, confidence, and practical knowledge needed to succeed in the Australian industry.
Delivered across four intensive days (two 2-day modules), this highly practical course is designed for early-career professionals or those transitioning into a planning role. You’ll gain real-world insights into how effective leisure and recreation planning supports thriving, active communities.
What you’ll learn:
- Leisure and recreation planning in a local government context.
- How to source and use data to inform projects.
- Effective community and stakeholder engagement.
- Planning and delivering successful projects.
Learn directly from leading industry professionals who bring extensive, hands-on experience to every session, so you can apply your knowledge with confidence right away.
Speaker update
We’re excited to announce two new additions to our speaker lineup, bringing even more depth, experience, and practical insight to this year’s course.
Stay tuned as we continue to introduce the experts you’ll be learning from.
TRACEY WILSON
Tracey is an advisor to government, business, and non-government organisations, providing services across Australasia focussing on:
- sustainable development
- stakeholder and community engagement, including in complex projects
- systems thinking collective impact
- strategic planning
- project governance and planning
- policy and program evaluation.
Tracey has worked with various local governments on open space, facilities, sport and recreation and master planning projects across Queensland. She was a guest speaker at a PLA Qld State conference on the Gold Coast. Tracey is a Fellow of the International Association for Public Participation (IAP2), and holds a Master of Sustainable Development. She has won several awards, including the Inaugural IAP2 UNESCO International Sustainable Development in Community Engagement Award and the IAP2 Core Values Awards Indigenous Project of the Year
JULIE CARNEY NICHOLLS
Julie is a seasoned practitioner in social research, strategy, and planning, bringing 25 years of experience to her field. She holds foundational qualifications in Leisure Management, complemented by a Master of Planning, and has contributed her expertise across local government, state government, and the private sector, including 15 years in consulting.
Her expertise spans sport, recreation, and leisure, as well as the broader community and social sectors. Julie demonstrates leadership in developing policy and strategy frameworks, management system establishment, infrastructure and open space planning, conducting needs analyses, and social impact assessment and management. Julie is an experienced community and stakeholder engagement practitioner with expertise in design and delivery of engagement strategy, facilitation, advocacy, and conflict resolution.
Julie has worked extensively across regional as well as in urban environments, collaborating with diverse stakeholders, from residents, and community groups, service providers, and advocacy stakeholders, to CEOs and elected members, to strategise, plan, and deliver meaningful outcomes.