Baxter Northside Properties Pty Ltd; Clare Cribb Pty Ltd v Valuer-General

Baxter Northside Properties Pty Ltd and Clare Cribb Pty Ltd sought to appeal against the valuation of their properties by the Valuer-General. The dispute centred on the timeliness of filing the notices of appeal and whether the owners had a reasonable excuse for the delay. The case was heard in the Supreme Court of Queensland.

The primary legal issue was whether the owners' failure to file the notices of appeal within the statutory period could be excused due to the alleged advice to their agent that they did not wish to proceed with the appeal, followed by subsequent instructions to proceed after the appeal period had expired. Additionally, the owners claimed that their managing director was unable to sign the appeal authority, contributing to the delay. The Court had to determine if the owners had established a reasonable excuse under the relevant legislative provisions.

The Court found that the owners' agent was not the cause of the delay. The owners had communicated their decision not to proceed with the appeal to the agent but later instructed the agent to proceed after the appeal period had expired. The Court held that the owners' reliance on their managing director's inability to sign the appeal authority did not constitute a reasonable excuse. The owners' failure to file the notices of appeal within the required time frame was deemed to be without reasonable excuse.

The Court dismissed the applications regarding the late notices of appeal. It was determined that the Court lacked jurisdiction to hear and determine the matters as the appeals were not lodged within the statutory period. Any submissions seeking costs in respect of the matters had to be filed and served within 14 days of the publication of these reasons.