Bankstown City Council v Alamdo Holdings Pty Ltd

Bankstown City Council v Alamdo Holdings Pty Ltd concerned a dispute between Bankstown City Council and Alamdo Holdings Pty Ltd regarding the Council's decision to refuse development consent for a proposed shopping centre. The matter came before the High Court of Australia.

The central legal issue before the High Court was whether the Council's refusal of development consent was invalid due to procedural unfairness. Specifically, the court had to consider whether the Council had failed to afford Alamdo Holdings a fair hearing by failing to disclose certain information to it before making its decision.

The High Court held that the Council's refusal was invalid. The court reasoned that the Council had relied on information that was not disclosed to Alamdo Holdings, and that this information was material to the decision-making process. This failure to disclose amounted to a breach of the rules of natural justice, specifically the right to a fair hearing. The court emphasised that a decision-maker must provide a party with an opportunity to respond to adverse information that is likely to influence the outcome of the decision.

Consequently, the High Court allowed the appeal and set aside the orders of the lower court, remitting the matter to the Land and Environment Court for determination according to law.