Bathurst City Council v Pwc Properties Pth Ltd

Bathurst City Council (the Council) and PWC Properties Pty Ltd (PWC) were parties to litigation concerning the Council's alleged misrepresentation regarding the zoning of land. PWC claimed it had suffered loss as a result of relying on representations made by the Council concerning the zoning of land it intended to purchase. The dispute ultimately came before the High Court of Australia.

The High Court was required to determine whether the Council owed a duty of care to PWC in making representations about the zoning of the land. Specifically, the Court considered whether the Council's conduct in providing information about zoning, which was later found to be incorrect, gave rise to a cause of action in negligence for economic loss. A further issue was whether the Council's actions, if they did give rise to a duty of care, were actionable in negligence.

The Court held that a duty of care could arise in circumstances where a public authority, such as a council, provides information or advice in circumstances where it is known or ought to be known that the recipient will rely on that information, and that reliance is reasonable. However, the Court found that in this particular case, the Council's conduct did not establish the necessary proximity for a duty of care to arise. The Court emphasised that the provision of information by a public authority does not automatically create a duty of care; rather, the circumstances surrounding the provision of that information must be examined to determine if reliance was reasonable and foreseeable. The Court distinguished this situation from cases where a public authority exercises statutory powers in a way that directly affects an individual's interests.

The High Court allowed the Council's appeal, finding that no duty of care was owed to PWC.