Services / 02
Development
Management
& Advisory
Own a site and need one person accountable for the whole development?
Running the development itself. Vettex takes the site from a feasibility question to a finished, occupied building and owns the budget and program the whole way. Where a client has their own team, the same experience is available as advice.
When you need it
You own a site, or are about to buy one, and there is no one accountable for the whole project. You want one person to take it from the feasibility question through planning, procurement and delivery. Or the building the site calls for is one the standard code provisions do not contemplate, and the case for it has to be built and carried. Or you have a team already and want a second, accountable view on the decisions that carry the risk.
What it costs
Vettex charges a fixed monthly fee for development management, set by the size of the project, the stage it is at and how complex it is, and agreed in writing before the engagement starts. The fee does not rise with the construction budget.
| Finished development value | Feasibility, design and planning | Procurement and delivery |
|---|---|---|
| $20M to $50M | $7,200 to $10,800a month | $9,000 to $14,000a month |
| $50M to $150M | $10,800 to $16,800a month | $14,000 to $22,000a month |
| Over $150M | $14,400 to $21,600a month | $20,000 to $30,000a month |
Monthly fees, excluding GST.
What the fee covers
- The feasibility, kept current as the project moves
- The brief, the design program and stage sign-offs
- Appointing and managing the consultant team
- Planning strategy and negotiation with the authority
- Budget, cashflow and program, with reporting to you and your financier
- Builder procurement, builder due diligence and contract negotiation
- Contract administration and oversight of delivery through to handover
What it does not cover
- Consultant fees: the architect, engineers, town planner, quantity surveyor and others are appointed by you and paid directly, on scopes Vettex prepares and manages
- Statutory fees and levies, and legal, finance, marketing and leasing costs
The fine print
- Indicative
- These are indicative fees for private-sector projects. The fee for your project is confirmed in a written proposal once the scope is agreed.
- Complexity
- Where a project sits within its band depends on its complexity as well as its size: the planning pathway and the likelihood of objection or appeal, heritage, contamination or difficult ground, a mix of uses, the number of consultants and authorities involved, the procurement route and the length of the program. A complex project can sit above its band.
- Stages
- The planning-stage fee runs from the first feasibility until builder procurement starts. The delivery-stage fee runs from builder procurement to handover, and includes contract administration.
- Minimum project
- Vettex works on projects with a finished value above about $20 million.
- Changes in scope
- If the scope or the program changes materially, the fee is reviewed with you and agreed in writing before it changes.
- Fixed for the engagement
- The agreed fee holds for the term of the engagement. The bands are reviewed each September, and a review applies to new engagements only, never to a project already under way.
- Billing
- Fees are invoiced monthly in arrears, on 14-day terms.
- Other engagements
- Advice to an in-house team or board, and the other services, are quoted for the scope. The Site Appraisal has its own fixed fee.
Last reviewed September 2026
Questions
What does a development manager actually do?
Runs the development on the owner's behalf, from the feasibility question to an occupied building: the planning strategy, appointing and managing the consultants, the budget, cashflow and program, procuring the builder and negotiating the contract, and overseeing delivery to handover. One accountable person, rather than a dozen consultants each reporting to you separately.
Who should I hire first, an architect or a development manager?
The development manager. An architect designs to a brief, and someone has to set that brief against a feasibility, a budget and a planning strategy. With the development manager first, the architect is appointed to a scheme that works financially, not asked to redesign it once the numbers come back.
What does a development manager cost?
Vettex works on a fixed monthly fee, set by the size, stage and complexity of the project and agreed before the engagement starts. The fee bands are published on this page. If you are not yet sure the project should go ahead, start with a fixed-fee Site Appraisal, which is credited against that fee.
Can you advise my existing team instead?
Yes. Where you already have a development team, the same experience is available as advice: a second, accountable view on the decisions that carry the risk, from the feasibility and planning strategy to the builder and the contract.
The work
Further reading
- Why the development manager is the first hire, not the architectWho to appoint first when you develop a site. Why the brief, budget and planning strategy come before design, and what goes wrong when they do not.
- What does a development manager cost?How development management fees are structured in Australia, what they should include, and the fee bands Vettex publishes for projects above $20M.
Not sure itstacks up?
Start with a fixed-fee Site Appraisal: what the site will carry, what it will cost and whether to go ahead.
Site Appraisal