Bligh Consulting Pty Ltd v Ausgrid

Bligh Consulting Pty Ltd appealed to the New South Wales Court of Appeal against a decision of the Supreme Court of New South Wales concerning compensation following the compulsory acquisition of easements by Ausgrid. The dispute centred on the assessment of compensation for crane swing, rock anchor, and scaffolding easements acquired by Ausgrid for a public purpose.

The Court of Appeal was required to determine whether the primary judge erred in rejecting Bligh Consulting's claim for injurious affection under section 55(f) of the *Land Acquisition (Just Terms Compensation) Act 1991* (NSW). Further issues included whether the primary judge failed to apply the "before and after" test in assessing compensation, whether the wrong test was applied in determining whether a tenant would vacate the servient tenement due to the proposed rock anchor easement, and whether section 62 of the Act applied to a rock anchor easement.

The Court of Appeal found no error in the primary judge's decision. It reasoned that the primary judge had correctly applied the principles of injurious affection, which requires a loss in the value of the remaining land caused by the acquisition and the use of the acquired land. The Court affirmed that the "before and after" test was appropriately applied and that the primary judge's assessment of the likelihood of a tenant vacating was sound. Furthermore, the Court concluded that section 62 of the Act was not applicable to the rock anchor easement in question.

Consequently, the appeal was dismissed, and Bligh Consulting Pty Ltd was ordered to pay the costs of the appeal to Ausgrid.