Seran provides environmental strategy, approvals leadership, and independent advice for major infrastructure projects, with direct experience across every side of the table: government, contractor, and auditor.
Seran is an environmental consultancy founded by Hilary Chapman, one of Australia's most experienced environmental specialists in major infrastructure.
Most environmental consultants have worked on one side of major projects. Hilary has worked on all of them. As an environmental manager embedded in contractor and project teams. As a government-side environmental consultant. As an independent auditor. That breadth of perspective is what makes Seran different, and what makes the advice more useful.
Hilary has contributed to some of Australia's most significant and complex infrastructure projects: the West Gate Tunnel, Victorian Desalination Project, Snowy 2.0, Star of the South, and WestConnex, among others. Across Victoria, New South Wales, and Queensland, and across sectors including transport, energy, water, and waste and resource recovery.
When you engage Seran, you work directly with Hilary Chapman. There are no account managers, no junior team members, no loss of knowledge between conversations. The person who understands your project is the person delivering the work, and is directly accountable for every piece of advice produced.
There are environmental consultancies who know the rulebook. Then there are those who understand why the rules exist, how they are applied in practice, and how to work constructively within them to get the outcome the project needs.
Hilary has worked as a contractor's environmental lead, a government environmental consultant, and an independent auditor on major infrastructure. That means she understands what every party in the approvals process needs, and how to get to yes.
Seran finds the pathway through complexity. Where other consultants produce documentation, Seran designs the strategy: understanding the project context, seeing the connections others miss, and identifying the route to approval before problems arise.
You deal directly with Hilary Chapman, from the first conversation to the final sign-off. Your project doesn't get handed to a junior team while a senior name stays on the proposal. One person. Full accountability.
Some of Seran's client relationships span decades. That's not a marketing claim; it's the structural reason clients return. When you work with someone who genuinely cares about the outcome, not just the engagement, the work is different.
Major infrastructure projects are high-profile, publicly visible, and subject to intense scrutiny. They cannot afford environmental missteps. Seran has contributed to projects of national significance across transport, energy, water, and waste, in multiple states, at every stage from initial concept through to delivery and completion.
Road, rail, tunnel, and bridge projects across Victoria, NSW, and Queensland.
Renewable energy, transmission, and resource recovery programs.
Water security, desalination, and water treatment infrastructure.
State and federal government-led infrastructure programs.
Environmental auditing and performance review for major programs.
Embedded environmental leadership within contractor and project teams.
“Many of our client relationships continue over multiple projects. That kind of trust is built through consistent delivery, honest advice, and a genuine interest in the outcome, not just the engagement.”Hilary Chapman, Principal, Seran
It's just me, and that's by design. You work directly with Hilary Chapman on every engagement. That means the person who understands your project from day one is the same person delivering the work, providing the advice, and accountable for the outcome. There's no handover to junior staff, no loss of knowledge between conversations, and no question about who is responsible. For complex, high-stakes projects, that consistency matters.
The same way you'd rely on a specialist surgeon, a senior barrister, or a trusted adviser in any field, because they know your case better than anyone else, and because their reputation depends on the outcome. Seran has been operating since 2011, with some client relationships spanning well over a decade. That track record is the reliability test. If you'd like to discuss the right structure for your project's needs, let's talk.
Major and complex infrastructure projects, primarily in transport (road, rail, tunnels), energy (renewable energy, transmission, resource recovery), water and desalination, and government-led infrastructure programs. Seran has also successfully applied environmental expertise to sectors and project types not previously encountered; adaptability across new contexts is one of Hilary's core strengths.
Seran is based in Melbourne but has worked on projects across Victoria, New South Wales, and Queensland, as well as nationally-scoped infrastructure programs. Project location is not a constraint.
Probably, but even if the sector is new, the approach is transferable. Environmental principles, planning and approvals processes, regulatory frameworks, and stakeholder engagement apply across sectors. Seran has a track record of bringing environmental expertise into new contexts and delivering strong outcomes. If you're unsure whether the experience is the right fit, a short conversation will answer that quickly.
Through clear scope agreements, honest communication, and careful capacity management. Hilary will not take on an engagement she can't deliver to a high standard. If a timeline is tight or capacity is constrained, that's a conversation that happens upfront, not after the engagement has started.
Planning & Approvals is about getting your project through the regulatory and assessment process: designing the strategy, leading the EIA, and navigating the regulatory pathway. Environmental Management is about the delivery phase, putting the systems, plans, and performance standards in place that keep your project compliant and on track through construction and operation. Environmental Advice is independent review, audit, and advisory work for proponents, funders, or other parties who need an objective assessment. Many engagements involve elements of all three.
Whether you're in the concept phase and need a strategy, mid-delivery and need embedded environmental leadership, or facing a specific regulatory challenge, a short conversation is usually enough to understand where Seran can help.
