People
Jack Panton
Jack has 20 years’ experience in property development and investment and has worked on various large projects and complex property transactions. He has held senior leadership positions in private industry, government and the not-for-profit sector.
Before entering the affordable housing sector, Jack worked at Development Victoria, initially as Acquisitions Manager responsible for acquiring land development opportunities and then as Senior Development Manager responsible for the delivery of master planned precincts within the Docklands urban regeneration project. He also worked at RMIT University where he delivered learning & teaching facilities and student accommodation projects as part of a $500M capital works program.
Over the last decade, Jack has worked in executive positions in the community housing sector, at Housing First (formerly Port Phillip Housing Association) where he developed a pipeline of projects comprising over 700 social and affordable housing units, at Launch Housing where he delivered several successful affordable housing projects including the high-profile Viv’s Place Dandenong, and as the CEO of Unison Housing – Victoria’s largest Housing Association.
Jack has delivered and managed some of Victoria’s most notable affordable housing projects. He has a deep understanding of the development and construction process as well as the social and affordable housing operating environment.
Jack is an Advisory Group Member on Melbourne University’s Hallmark Research Initiative for Affordable Housing and a panel member on Cardinia Shire Council’s Affordable Housing Partnership Group and formerly on the board of Council to Homeless Persons.
Jack has a Bachelor of Business (Management & Marketing) and real estate agents’ licence.
Hal Bisset OAM
Hal Bisset has been a leading figure in the social housing sector for over 30 years. In 1985 he founded Ecumenical Housing which combined housing research and policy advice with the development of joint venture community housing projects.
Hal was CEO of Ecumenical Housing for 18 years before he facilitated its merger with Inner City Social Housing to form Melbourne Affordable Housing, which later evolved into Housing Choices Australia.
Hal was Chairperson of the Victorian Ministerial Advisory Committee on the Supported Accommodation Assistance Program and a member of the Victorian Ministerial Advisory Committee on Housing in the 1990s. He has served as a Director of the Australian Housing & Urban Research Institute (AHURI) and the Australian Institute for Health & Welfare (AIHW) and as Chairperson of the Community Housing Federation of Australia and the National Community Housing Forum.
In 2004 Hal established Ward Bisset Consulting through which he has provided housing policy and project development advice to all levels of government and numerous community housing organisations in all States and Territories as well as New Zealand. He has had an advisory role in some of the biggest public housing estate renewal schemes in Australia including Kensington and Ashwood-Chadstone in Melbourne and Bonnyrigg in Sydney.
During 2013 and 2014 Hal served as the CEO of the Central Australian Affordable Housing Company based in Alice Springs a company set up by Tangentyere Council to provide housing for Aboriginal people. This included the management of the Alice Springs Town Camps.
Returning to Victoria in 2015 Hal continued to provide specialist housing advice through Ward Bisset Consulting to Victorian and NSW based Community Housing Organisations.
Hal holds a Bachelor of Science (Hons), Diploma of Education and the post-graduate Bachelor of Divinity. He is a member of the Australasian Housing Institute. He was awarded a Churchill Fellowship in 1992 and recognised for his contribution to social housing with a Centenary Medal in 2001 and investiture as a Member of the Order of Australia in 2005.
David Moeller
David is a property developer who has been involved in the private development industry for thirty years. David had over 15 years’ experience with Delfin, one of Australia’s leading developers of master planned communities.
At Delfin he was the Group Operations Manager responsible for the leadership and trading performance of 20 residential projects across Australia.
From 2002 to 2005 he was the Development Director of Victoria Harbour for Lend Lease. At Victoria Harbour he was responsible for all aspects of the $1.8 billion project linking the Melbourne CBD to its waterfront. Victoria Harbour is a 30ha Brownfield Peninsula development and comprises 2200 apartments, 220,000 sqm of office space and 50,000 sqm of retail and community facilities. David was responsible for introducing the voluntary affordable housing initiative as part of the development.
David is one of the founders and directors of AHS. He has assisted clients to develop and implement several large-scale complex affordable housing project transactions in multiple states.
David is a former director of Port Phillip Housing Association. He is now on the Board of St Vincent de Paul Housing in NSW.
He holds a Bachelor of Engineering and a Master of Business Administration.
Lachlan McGregor
Lachlan is an experienced development and project manager who has completed an array of projects ranging from $5m to $150m throughout all sectors of the industry.
17 years’ experience in the construction industry has given him a great appreciation of the project delivery cycle from concept through planning, feasibility, design development, construction and completion.
Lachlan is an excellent communicator and problem solver. He develops constructive and mutually beneficial relationships with his clients and consultant teams to ensure the best outcome. His participative leadership style is collaborative and engaging and is complemented by excellent technical knowledge of the development and construction industry.
Lachlan has completed a Bachelor of Property and Construction (with Honours), Bachelor of Planning and Design (Property and Construction), Certificate III in OH&S and is currently completing a Masters of Construction Law.
Melissa Thong
Mel worked as an architect for more than 10 years before joining Tango Projects in 2018 as a Project Manager where she worked for almost five years at Tango.
Mel managed and delivered a range of different projects including childcare centres, new office, mixed use developments and social and affordable housing. Her architectural career was centred around community facilities including institutional education facilities, schools, churches but also included several years in private residential. Mel’s personable and collaborative nature coupled with her architectural and project management experience has helped her sustain close professional relationships whilst delivering successful results for her clients.
Mel joined AHS in 2023 and is managing various social and affordable housing projects for clients. Mel says “I enjoy every facet of my job and approach every new task with a growth mindset. I like to help provide responsive, well-considered and thoughtful design solutions to each of my clients.”
Mel has a Master of Architecture from RMIT University.
Wayne Henderson
Wayne is an Accountant with extensive experience in finance and administration across a range of industries including banking, property, and the not-for-profit sector.
Wayne has run his own consultancy firm for the past 30 years. Prior to starting his own business he worked in the banking and finance industry for 20 years at senior levels in the corporate funding area.
As a consultant he has been involved in large scale property development, project management, organisational administrative functions and affordable housing projects.
Wayne joined AHS in 2009 and in addition to managing the company’s business affairs Wayne takes a leadership role in the financial modelling of all projects and selection of and negotiations with financiers.
Wayne holds a Bachelor of Economics with a major in Accounting. He is a Certified Practicing Accountant (CPA) and a member of CPA Australia.
