Team
We wouldn’t be Demographic Solutions without the team. Our people come from a range of disciplines, blending urban and regional land use planning, geography, housing and population studies. Above all, we are here because of our interest in people.
Expertise
- Small area population forecasting
- Demographic and spatial analysis
- Urban development monitoring and assessment
- Census analysis
- Residential development potential analysis
- Catchment / market analysis
- Housing studies
- Applied forecasting for markets (e.g. student numbers or voter populations)
Matthew Deacon | Principal
I started my professional career after studying geography at Monash University (quite a while ago). I always liked spatial data, with a passion for cities and regions, and have always been interested in differences and nuances around demographic data. Understanding these nuances have allowed me to develop an intimate knowledge of drivers or population change at a localised level, which has been a cornerstone of my local area modelling processes over my career.
My first role was as a Research Officer in the State Government of Victoria (1996-2000) at the Department of Infrastructure, where I undertook population and urban research, as well as forecasting. I was particularly involved in the analysis of regional Victoria, and was the primary author of Towns in Time and Suburbs in Time, which tracked demographic and economic change at the suburb/locality level between 1981 and 1996. It was great to get out and talk to practitioners in local government and people working in regional economic development.
From 2000-2019, I worked as Head Forecaster for .id (Informed Decisions). During this time, I oversaw the development of Local Government and other small area population forecasting (over 150 Councils in Australia and New Zealand), mentoring and training more than 15 forecasters. Working in the private sector gave me valuable exposure to various clients and industries, including developers, utility companies, education, local government and housing. I also authored several e-books, including
- New South Wales: The Return of the Premier State
- Marvellous Melbourne Reborn
- Western Australia: Is it all doom and gloom after the boom?
- Three Growth Markets in Australia: A demographic analysis
In 2019, I started Demographic Solutions to do some of those interesting jobs that I had been missing out on at .id. I think the experience of having been on ‘both sides of the fence’ (business and government) helps me navigate our work and heightens my sense of empathy. Of course, once you all in a small business, it’s all encompassing, so I’m a ‘master’ all-rounder these days.
Expertise
- Small area population forecasting
- Urban development monitoring and capacity assessments
- Catchment / market analysis
- Demographic and spatial analysis
- Housing consumption studies
- Geographic Information Systems and mapping
Chau Tran | Senior Research Analyst
Having graduated from RMIT spending time between Urban Design and Planning Policy, I’ve always had an interest in the influence of Government policies and strategies on the built environment and the way it can change the ‘role and function’ of places. My early career working as a demographic researcher for the State Government forecasting unit gave me an invaluable understanding of the richness Census data can provide into patterns of human behaviour through Victoria’s suburbs and towns.
Later, I then worked at .id for 14 years, where I created a residential land supply and capacity model that underpinned all facets of population forecasting and housing work for the company. This information was used extensively in a variety of .id products from local government forecasts to consulting work that relied on micro-level forecasts. The information was also used in housing studies (housing.id) which explored future housing supply opportunities versus existing and future demand around Local Government’s activity centres and other identified growth zones.
Prior to joining Demographic Solutions, I worked as a GIS analyst for BlueSphere Environmental, providing vital site analysis for the purposes of investigation, remediation and monitoring. During this period, I also freelanced and worked with Spatial Economics on a variety of land supply assessments and housing studies for several local governments. Together, we also develop “Scout“: a web-based platform that displays and reports on existing and future residential and industrial land supply for several Victorian municipalities.
While we are young and still growing at Demographic Solutions, my role has been a bit of a “Swiss Army knife” applying all my technical experiences and urban and regional knowledge to population forecasting and demographic analysis. I enjoy being able to get complex Census data and represent it visually via graphs and maps in a way the average person can understand.