Amatek Limited v Googoorewon Pty Ltd

The applicant, Amatek Limited, sought special leave to appeal to the High Court of Australia from a decision concerning the application of the *Encroachment of Buildings Act 1972* (NSW). The dispute involved buildings and structures erected by the plaintiff on land owned by the defendant, Googoorewon Pty Ltd, near Berrima. These structures, including a plant nursery, office building, and irrigation pipes, were located entirely on the defendant's land, not straddling the boundary.

The central legal issue before the High Court was the interpretation of "subject land" as defined in section 2 and used in section 3 of the *Encroachment of Buildings Act 1972* (NSW). Specifically, the court had to determine whether the Act permitted an order for the transfer of a substantial parcel of land, which was not directly underneath an encroaching building, or if "subject land" was confined to the land directly beneath the encroaching structure.

The applicant argued that the definition of "encroachment" in section 2, which includes "encroachment by a building" and "encroachment by intrusion of any part in or upon the soil," when read with the definition of "subject land" as "that part of the land over which an encroachment extends," limited the scope of relief under section 3(2)(b) to land directly beneath the encroaching building. The court was therefore required to consider whether the Act allowed for the transfer of a larger area of land than that directly occupied by the encroaching building.

The application for special leave to appeal was granted.