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Australian women in property development are building at a scale that rarely makes the business pages. They're delivering mixed-use precincts, driving social and affordable housing programs, directing urban renewal projects, and running the development arms of some of the country's largest listed and private groups. The sector has historically been male-dominated at the senior level, but that is shifting, and the women below represent some of the most consequential work happening in Australian cities right now.
This list focuses on development specifically: the people originating, funding, approving, and delivering built outcomes, not just transacting on existing assets. For a broader look at the sector, including fund managers and listed-vehicle executives, see Australian women in real estate: the leaders shaping property.
Why property development, specifically
Development is where policy, capital, community, and construction intersect. It's also where the skills gap is most visible. Women make up a growing share of architecture, planning, and project management roles, but the developer seat, the person taking the risk on a site, negotiating with councils, managing construction contracts, and deciding what gets built, has remained stubbornly concentrated. The women on this list hold exactly that seat.
The names to know
Fabrisia Rotondella, Frasers Property Australia
Rotondella leads development delivery across Frasers Property Australia's residential and mixed-use pipeline, with a particular focus on master-planned communities in New South Wales and Queensland. Her work spans precinct-scale projects that combine residential, retail, and public space. Frasers Property Australia operates as a subsidiary of Frasers Property, a major integrated real estate group with assets across the country.
Kylie Legge, Place Design Group
Legge is a director at Place Design Group and one of Australia's most recognised urban designers working at the interface of planning policy and development delivery. She has led design and community engagement on major transit-oriented development projects in southeast Queensland. Her influence runs upstream of development decisions, shaping the briefs that developers then build to.
Stephanie Cowle, Stockland
Cowle has held senior roles in Stockland's residential communities business, overseeing the delivery of large-scale land estates across Victoria and New South Wales. Stockland is one of Australia's largest diversified property groups, and its residential communities pipeline includes thousands of lots in greenfield and infill locations. Cowle's work sits at the intersection of project feasibility, government relations, and delivery.
Cath Evans, Development Victoria
Evans is a senior figure at Development Victoria, the state government authority responsible for urban renewal and social housing delivery. Development Victoria controls some of the most significant public development sites in the state, and Evans has been involved in shaping how those sites are activated, including the integration of affordable housing into market-facing precincts.
Nicole Pola, Mirvac
Pola has worked in Mirvac's development management function, with experience across the group's apartment and mixed-use pipeline in Sydney. Mirvac is one of the two or three largest vertically integrated property developers in Australia, and its urban projects in inner-Sydney suburbs have defined much of the premium apartment market over the past decade. Development management at Mirvac means owning the project from DA through to settlement.
Claire Forster, Assemble
Forster is a director at Assemble, a Melbourne-based developer that built its reputation on rent-to-own and build-to-rent models targeting households priced out of traditional ownership. Assemble has attracted institutional capital and government support for its housing model. Forster's role spans project origination, tenant engagement, and delivery, making Assemble one of the more innovative development businesses in the country's affordable housing conversation.
Kath Huxley, City of Melbourne (development programs)
Huxley sits at the planning and development interface in Melbourne's inner city, where she has shaped how council engages with major development applications and precinct plans. Her influence is less visible than a private developer's but often more determinative. The decisions made at that desk affect billions of dollars of development value and thousands of future homes.
What these roles have in common
Every person on this list takes on risk. Not the reputational risk of a wrong opinion, but the financial and regulatory risk of a wrong site: a project that doesn't get approved, a construction contract that blows out, a settlement period that hits a rate cycle. That's the distinction between development and other property roles, and it's the reason development representation matters. The women building in this sector are making decisions that shape Australian cities for decades.
It's also worth noting the strong overlap between development leadership and sustainability expertise. Many of the most consequential development decisions now involve green star ratings, embodied carbon, and passive design standards. Women leading in Australian women in sustainability: the leaders driving corporate change are increasingly working directly alongside development teams on exactly those questions.
How this list was compiled
This list draws on publicly available information: company websites, development authority disclosures, industry event speaker lists, and professional profiles. It focuses on people in roles with direct responsibility for development outcomes, not just adjacent functions. It isn't exhaustive, and it will be updated as the sector evolves. If a name is missing, it's a gap in research, not a judgment on the work.