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Maxwell Shifman Appointed as National President

Yesterday at 2pm the Urban Development Institute of Australia (UDIA) National Council appointed Maxwell Shifman as the new UDIA National President.

Having served as Vice President for the past three years and as co-author of UDIA’s National Policy Platform document – Resilience. Recovery. Reform. – Max is well positioned to take over the leadership of UDIA National and steer the organisation over the next two years.

As Chief Operating Officer of Intrapac Property, one of Australia’s largest private developers, Max brings a wealth of experience to the urban development industry. With degrees in Civil Engineering and Law from Monash University, Max’s experience covers broad aspects of development from large-scale master-planned subdivisions, integrated townhouse developments and apartments.

“I’m incredibly passionate about the development industry and it an immense honour to be selected to lead UDIA National’s continued advocacy efforts over the coming period, ” said Mr Shifman on his election. “A strong development sector has been a vital part of Australia’s growth and success, and I look forward to ensuring that our contribution continues to be recognised, valued and enhanced into the future,” he added.

Before joining the Board of UDIA Victoria in 2018, Max spent six years on Victorian committees including Outlook and Infrastructure & Urbanisation. He joined UDIA National Council in 2018 before being elected as National President in November 2021 – the peak body’s youngest ever.

Handing over the leadership of UDIA National, outgoing President Simon Basheer commented,
“My two years of UDIA National Presidency was during an extraordinary time with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic which required drastic action by governments, organisations and society.

“UDIA’s collaboration with the Federal Government in helping develop the HomeBuilder initiative achieved a great outcome for our industry and kept tens of thousands of Australians employed during some very uncertain times,” said Mr Basheer.

UDIA will now turn its attention to longer term objectives of moving from stimulus activities to reform agendas that can provide Australia with the economic resilience that it is capable of. I congratulate Max on his appointment as National President,” added Mr Basheer.

About Urban Development Institute of Australia (UDIA)

UDIA is the peak body representing the property development industry throughout Australia. As the development industry’s most broadly representative industry association, The Urban Development Institute of Australia (UDIA) has more than 4,500 member companies spanning top tier global enterprises and consultants, to local governments and small-scale developers.