212 Northbourne Pty Limited v ACT Heritage Council and Anor (Administrative Review

In the case of 212 Northbourne Pty Limited v ACT Heritage Council and Anor, the dispute centred around the heritage listing of a building, specifically whether it should be registered under the Heritage Act. The applicant argued against the decision of the ACT Heritage Council, which determined that the building did not meet the criteria for heritage significance under certain sections of the Act. The matter was brought before the Administrative Review Division of the Civil and Administrative Tribunal (CAT).

The primary legal issues were whether the Heritage Council had properly applied the Heritage Assessment Policy, and whether the Council's decision was in accordance with the Act. Additionally, there was a contention about the procedural fairness of the Council's decision-making process. The applicant argued that the Council's reliance on the Heritage Assessment Policy was inconsistent with the Act and that the Council had failed to consider the applicant's submissions adequately. The Tribunal had to determine if the Council's decision was legally sound and whether the evidence supported a finding of heritage significance.

The Tribunal found that the Heritage Council had not properly considered the applicant's submissions and had failed in its duty of procedural fairness. Although the Tribunal did not find that the Heritage Assessment Policy was inconsistent with the Act, it did not deem it necessary to consider the policy as it had not been taken into account by the Tribunal. The Tribunal concluded that the evidence did not support a finding of heritage significance under the criteria specified. However, due to the procedural errors in the Council's decision-making process, the Tribunal set aside the Council's decision and substituted its own decision that the building should be registered based on its heritage significance.

The Tribunal ordered that the decision of the ACT Heritage Council on 12 February 2015 be set aside, and a new decision be made under section 40 of the Heritage Act 2004, finding that the former AAA building has heritage significance by operation of section 10(g) and should be registered on that basis. The Council was directed to register the former AAA building in accordance with this decision.