Tom Young and team join Sparke Helmore as Queensland looks to 2032

Sparke Helmore is pleased to welcome Tom Young to the firm as a Partner in our Property team. Tom is joined by his team, including Special Counsels Julie Brown and Borhan Borhani.

The addition of this senior Brisbane-based team further strengthens Sparke Helmore’s capabilities across property and development, commercial projects, infrastructure and regulation.  The team also brings deep sector knowledge in tourism and hospitality, aviation and transport .

For Tom, the move follows more than three decades practising in global firms and comes at a time when Queensland is preparing for an extraordinary period of investment and change in the lead-up to the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

‘Brisbane 2032 is much more than a sporting event,’ Tom said. ‘It is a once-in-a-generation opportunity for Brisbane, South East Queensland and regional Queensland, and it will touch almost every part of the economy, from infrastructure and property development through to tourism, hospitality, aviation and transport.

‘What attracted me to Sparke Helmore was the opportunity to bring our team onto a strong national Australian platform at precisely this point in Queensland’s development. We want to help our longstanding clients identify and capture the opportunities that will emerge over the coming years, and to bring that same experience and energy to Sparke Helmore’s clients across the country.’

Tom has spent much of his career advising participants in industries expected to be central to Queensland’s development through to 2032 and beyond.

His practice spans major property and infrastructure projects, airports and aviation, tourism and hospitality, transport and regulatory matters. He has acted for airports, airlines, government bodies, rail and port operators, tourism businesses, hotel and resort owners, developers and major property owners across Australia and the Asia Pacific.

Tom’s aviation practice has evolved with the technology. Alongside conventional airport, aircraft and aeronautical work, Tom and his team now advise on drones, advanced air mobility, satellites and Australia’s emerging space industry. Their recent work has included regulatory advice concerning drone operations, flying taxis and vertiports, satellite technologies, launch facility licences, launch permits and other approvals required for Australian space activities.

Julie brings more than 25 years’ experience across real estate, aviation, tourism and hospitality, together with a substantial regulatory practice. Her experience includes airport development and operations, major property transactions, drones and advanced air mobility, and space-law regulatory work involving Australian satellite and launch businesses. Julie has also written and presented extensively on emerging aviation technologies, including its potential role in Brisbane 2032.

Borhan brings more than 14 years’ experience in major property transactions, development projects, infrastructure and complex tenure arrangements. He has acted for major landholders, listed REITs, banks, developers and institutional owners and regularly leads multidisciplinary teams through development and asset structuring projects. Borhan’s recent practice has included a particular focus on infrastructure and major property development associated with the Brisbane 2032 legacy.

Tourism will be an important focus for the team.

Tom has acted as lawyer to the Queensland Tourism Industry Council for more than two decades and is Deputy Chair of Tourism Whitsundays, having served as a director of the regional tourism organisation for more than five years. Together with the team’s broader experience across hotels, resorts, tourism infrastructure, liquor and gaming and aviation, that involvement gives the team a practical understanding of the opportunities that 2032 may create beyond Brisbane and South East Queensland.

Wayne Kaplan, National Practice Group Leader for Property Environment & Finance said, ‘Tom is a significant addition to our partnership, and we are pleased to welcome him to the team. His extensive experience advising major participants across the aviation, transport, tourism and property sectors broadens our capability in areas that are increasingly important to our clients. Tom's cross-disciplinary practice, which spans both property and corporate advisory work, provides immediate benefits to our clients and further strengthens the firm's position in key infrastructure, hospitality and real estate markets.’

Tom said the move would allow the team to combine its existing client relationships and experience with Sparke Helmore’s broader national capabilities.

’Sparke Helmore’s client focus, collaborative culture and national reach give us a terrific platform to do this,’ he said. ’We are looking forward to working with the firm’s existing clients, introducing our clients to the broader capability of the firm and building something genuinely exciting over the years ahead.

’What excites us is the intersection of all of these areas. Property and infrastructure are changing, tourism is changing and aviation is moving rapidly into technologies that barely existed as commercial propositions a decade ago. At the same time, Queensland has 2032 on the horizon.

’That creates a very unusual moment. We want to be working with clients at that intersection, helping them turn ideas and opportunities into projects that can actually be delivered.’

Tom’s achievements and recognition include listings in Who’s Who Legal for Hospitality in Australia, The Best Lawyers in Australia for Real Estate Law, Chambers Asia Pacific for Aviation and The Legal 500 Asia Pacific for Transport: Aviation. He has also been recognised in the Lexology Index for Transport – Aviation Regulatory and Australia & New Zealand–Transport–Aviation and is a past Australian winner of a Client Choice Award for Leisure & Tourism.

Tom, Julie and Borhan are based in our Brisbane office.