Neil Savery is the Managing Director of ICC Oceania, an arm of the US based International Code Council, which develops the model I-Codes, promotes building safety and provides practical solutions for practitioners who work in the building sector.
Up until recently Neil was engaged by the Insurance Council of Australia as a specialist adviser on matters relating to the built environment, and in particular its intersection with the resilience of buildings in the context of climate change. At the end of 2023 he completed four years as chair of, and ten years as a representative on, the Interjurisdictional Regulators Collaboration Committee, an association of fifteen countries dedicated to ‘best practice’ building regulation.
Prior to this Neil was the Chief Executive of the Australian Building Codes Board for nine years, having been a Board member for eleven. In that role Neil championed the transition to improved access, awareness and understanding of the National Construction Code.
As part of the Council of Australian Government processes for twenty years, Neil was involved in advising Ministers on significant building and planning policy reform, including his time as Chair of the Senior Planning Officials Group.
Neil has been the Deputy Commissioner of the Victorian Building and Plumbing Industry Commissions and served as the inaugural Chief Planning Executive for the ACT Planning & Land Authority for eight years.
Prior to this Neil was the Executive Director of Planning SA and before that the Director of City Planning and Special Projects at the City of Greater Geelong where he oversaw the transformation of Geelong’s Waterfront and Central Business District.
He is an Adjunct Professor at the University of Canberra, holds qualifications in town planning, urban design and ecologically sustainable development, and is an inaugural Board member of the International Building Quality Centre.
He is a Registered Planner, a former National President of the Planning Institute of Australia and a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
