Baevski v Gladstone Regional Council & Ors; Sea Breeze (Qld) Pty Ltd v Gladstone Regional Council & Ors

The matter involved Baevski and Sea Breeze (Qld) Pty Ltd (the applicants) against Gladstone Regional Council and others (the respondents). The applicants sought a declaration that the construction of a detached dwelling house on Lot 71 at Sunshine Parade, Pialba, was lawful, and the issuance of a development approval certificate for the construction. The respondents argued that the construction had been undertaken without a development permit, rendering it unlawful and constituting a development offence. The case was heard in the Queensland Planning and Environment Court.

The central legal issues revolved around whether the construction of the detached dwelling house on Lot 71 was lawful, considering that a development permit had not been applied for, and whether the preliminary approval granted made the development self-assessable rather than code-assessable. Another issue was whether the further development should be declared unlawful and restrained.

The Court found that the development permit was required and had not been obtained, thus making the construction unlawful. The Court noted that the preliminary approval did not render the development self-assessable, and it was subject to the requirement for a development permit. The Court held that the development approval certificate issued by a private certifier was void and set aside. Consequently, the Court declared that the building work was unlawful and ordered it to cease unless and until an effective development permit was obtained. The Court also dismissed the applicants' application.

The Court's orders included declaring that the building work was unlawful and constituting a development offence, ordering the work to cease unless a development permit was obtained, declaring the development approval certificate void and setting it aside, and adjourning any further hearing of the proceedings.