Adbooth Pty Ltd and City Of Perth

In the case of Adbooth Pty Ltd and City of Perth, the dispute centred around a development application (DA) concerning the placement of third-party advertising signage on Telstra's telephone booths and cabinets, situated on road reserves. The matter was heard and decided by the State Administrative Tribunal of Western Australia. The primary issue before the court was whether Telstra was the owner of the land to which the development application related, considering its ownership of the telephone booths and cabinets.

The legal issues that the tribunal had to address included determining whether Telstra was the owner of the land and whether it had the authority to give consent for the lodgment of the development application. Additionally, the court had to establish whether the booths and cabinets were within the road reserves under the management of the City of Perth. The court needed to clarify the jurisdiction over the land and the process for lodging a development application.

The tribunal's reasoning concluded that Telstra was not the owner of the land in question, as the road reserves and the booths and cabinets within them were vested in the Crown and under the care, control, and management of the City of Perth. The tribunal found that Telstra did not have the authority to give owner's consent to the lodgment of the DA. However, the tribunal did find that the booths and cabinets were indeed within the road reserves under the City's management. The tribunal answered the preliminary issues in the negative for Telstra's ownership and authority to give consent, but in the affirmative for the City's management of the road reserves and the positioning of the booths and cabinets.

In its orders, the tribunal mandated that the Executive Officer sign the development application concerning the proposed development on the road reserves, as per the State Administrative Tribunal Act 2004 (WA) and the City of Perth City Planning Scheme No 2. This decision provided clarity on the jurisdiction and the process for lodging the development application, ensuring that the City of Perth had the authority to manage and approve the development in question.