Company Profile

Our services form part of an overall structure, but they also act independently as required. We work in areas of development management and advisory, land surveying, bushfire planning, urban design, building design, town planning, landscape architecture, civil and structural engineering construction supervision and asset recording. 

Millar Merrigan was founded in 1966 when 2 mates, Peter Merrigan and Paul Millar, decided to start up a land surveying business in their 20s.  

But the story behind Millar Merrigan’s success started with Peter Merrigan’s formative years. The hard work of the Merrigan’s enabled them to build their first home in Camberwell when Peter was 16, in the late 1950s. This allowed them to leave the shared accommodation that had provided the family housing until this point. 

On Peter’s passing in 2023, the feedback that Simon Merrigan, managing director, received from family, clients and staff made it crystal clear that Peter’s ability to positively impact people’s lives has been the single thing that has propelled the success of the business for over 5 decades. 

Through Peter’s leadership, and thanks to the influence of other past leaders, we’ve built a and maintained a strong company culture. This culture prioritises fighting for our clients’ best interests, helping and caring for people to get ahead – particularly with housing – and recognising and rewarding people who contribute above and beyond expectations.  

Through this enduring culture and the work that we do, we look to inspire opportunities for people to live better lives. 

We know the value of partnerships and collaboration. Our process embodies local, national and international experience and leading theory and practice.  

Our multi-disciplinary team of experienced and quality-driven professionals have an established industry reputation for quality of service throughout the development industry, as well as amongst various state and local government authorities, the various service authorities and with private corporates with which we have been associated. Our key personnel are committed professionals with appropriate qualifications and significant experience in major land development projects.  

Our Engineers are members of Institute of Engineers Australia, Stormwater Institute of Australia Victoria (SIAV) and our Landscape Architects are members of Australian Institute of Landscape Architects (AILA). They are active participants in international dialogue.​ In addition, Millar Merrigan is a member of Urban Development Institute of Australia (Vic), Association of Land Development Engineers (ALDE), Association of Consulting Surveyors of Victoria (ACSV), and the Institute of Surveyors of Victoria (ISV).  

Our employees are also members of various professional bodies. We pride ourselves on delivering unique solutions to development problems. Our innovative approach is industry leading – with the intention of setting the bar for others to follow. This is a product of our experienced staff and an understanding of the various disciplines involved in the development of land.  

We are proud to have many long-standing staff who have developed a range of diverse skills and expertise across the team. This experience gives us an edge in navigating the complexity of authority requirements and legislation to know when and how to push back to achieve optimal outcomes. 

We know when issues are complex – such as the environmental issues, legal interpretations, heritage, bushfire or authority requirements that often arise – that we have the in-house expertise to either deal with the issue or to know when to include an external specialist into the team. Our clients understand and appreciate the value that our expertise brings to achieving their project goals and saving them the time and money that comes from timely expert advice. ​ 

Millar Merrigan offers integrated professional services in the areas of development management and advisory, town planning, land surveying, asset recording, engineering (civil and structural), construction supervision, urban design, building design, landscape architecture and bushfire planning. 

We provide end-to-end solutions for all development needs, giving your project a competitive edge. By being able to work collaboratively in-house, we provide efficiency in producing innovative design solutions that are practical and cost-effective.  

Millar Merrigan’s success has always stemmed from our ability to consistently fulfil our client’s objectives and exceed their expectations. This commitment to service excellence is illustrated by a high client return rate, with most projects being for either repeat clients or referrals.  

Industry experience has taught us the importance of personalised attention for each project, tailored to individual needs.  

Our range of services has been strengthened through our involvement with the expertise of various strategic alliances with businesses in the industry. With relationships and long-standing history, we can assist, and receive assistance from, some of the highest quality services in the industry, whether that’s sub-consultants or civil contractors.  

Millar Merrigan strives to utilise emerging technology to improve efficiency and further streamline the development process. Our focus is on energy and resource conservation, particularly in areas such as WSUD, and sustainable designs that meet current demands while protecting future generations. 

Environmentally Sustainable Design (ESD) forms a component of all of Millar Merrigan’s design works. Consideration of climate, wind, glare, water sensitive urban design (WSUD), solar access and enhancement of user comfort, protection of existing environmental assets and the effective and considered use of materials and resources is to be addressed throughout the project.   

Our team understands the challenges of access and will seek to ensure all users, irrespective of their age, mobility, ability or gender are offered safe, engaging and equitable access to all areas of our designs.  

We embrace Passive Surveillance, and Crime Prevention through Environmental Design (CPTED) principles in every project, along with review and design to maximise access for all. The utilisation of a specific planning policy to embed these design principles can be considered as part of any planning scheme amendment. 

We believe our team at Millar Merrigan is the reason for our success. Over 100 individuals collaborate across 7 sectors to bring your vision to life. This team includes experienced designers, engineers, planners, project managers, surveyors, and business and administration professionals.  

Our dedicated business support team is embedded within each discipline. This allows our business support staff to foster a deep understanding of the specific needs of our project teams and allows for efficient and responsible support.  

By fostering a supportive and collaborative environment, we empower our team to focus on what they do best: inspire better living in all our designs, plans and projects.   

We value our people at Millar Merrigan, and actively work to improve upon their skills through a culture that prioritises learning and development.  

We offer a comprehensive range of in-house training programs, and we actively encourage our staff to pursue external training opportunities. This commitment to continuous learning ensures our team stays at the forefront of the industry, delivering exceptional results for our clients.  

We take immense pride in fostering long-term careers and witnessing professional growth of our team members. Many of our staff have been with Millar Merrigan for extended periods, some starting as trainees and progressing to leadership or even shareholder positions.  

When expanding our teams, we consider both skill development and ensuring a diverse range of expertise and perspectives. Our approach fosters collaboration, where digital natives can leverage their tech-savviness to support our experienced staff, while receiving valuable mentorship in return. This exchange of knowledge and experience strengthens our entire team and allows us to deliver innovative solutions for our clients.  

With an ever-growing need for our services in Regional Victoria, Millar Merrigan responded by opening a regional development office in conjunction with NBA Group in August 2013. We are proud to support the Gippsland Regional Growth Plan, and the economic growth that development will bring to the Latrobe Valley.  

In 2022, Millar Merrigan opened an office in Yarrawonga, to support the additional infrastructure in the area, which we’re proud to have had a hand in creating.  

By opening these additional offices throughout Victoria, Millar Merrigan has been able to respond to growing infrastructure demand in these regions as populations continue to grow and move further from central Victoria, while also creating employment opportunities in these areas. With over ten per cent of our staff living and located regionally, we’re proud to be supporting regional Victorian growth. 

As we provide an inclusive and accepting work culture, we have sustained a diverse team. Not only are our team coming from a range of professions and skills, but we also see a range of cultural backgrounds at Millar Merrigan.  

The different perspectives of our team members, as well as their lived experiences, ensures our jobs reflect and improve the lives of many different kinds of people. We are driven to making accessible, thoughtful and intelligent land development solutions.  

Millar Merrigan are committed to advising all our clients of the potential development opportunity of their land and to the possible costs of any development options; whether it be in residential or industrial, greenfield or vacant land development.  

We believe that identifying and alerting our clients to opportunities, beyond the bounds of our initial engagement, is key to building long-term relationships that continue to bear fruit for both parties.  

More and more frequently projects at Millar Merrigan evolve around building design, single dwellings and retail facilities. These vary in size and location. Each multi-unit development is unique, with our team of designers creating site specific building outcomes for each individual site. Particular care is taken to ensure infill developments are complimentary to existing dwellings on site and should then be retained, and respectful of the neighbourhood character. Most importantly, we strive to deliver a product that meets your expectations and meets Council approval. 

A substantial portion of our projects comprise new development areas, such as residential and industrial subdivisions. These include growth areas in metropolitan Melbourne as well as regional Victoria and southern NSW.  

Each subdivision design is unique to the site with constraints and opportunities analysed to inform the design, resulting in a high-quality development that meets best practice requirements. 

We have undertaken a variety of subdivisions in Lakes Entrance, Metung, Paynesville and Bairnsdale in past years. We were also pleased to be involved in the development of the award-winning Dinner Plain from its early beginnings. We now enjoy continued involvement in this wonderful area.