Botany Bay City Council v Remath Investments No 6 Pty Ltd

The Court of Appeal of New South Wales considered a dispute between Botany Bay City Council and Remath Investments No 6 Pty Ltd concerning a development application. The core of the disagreement revolved around when the development application was considered "made" for the purposes of the *Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979* (NSW) and the *Environmental Planning and Assessment (Savings and Transitional) Regulation*.

The primary legal issue before the court was to determine the precise point at which a development application is deemed to have been "made" under the relevant legislative provisions. This determination was crucial for establishing whether the application was subject to the provisions of the Act as it stood at a particular time, or whether it fell under transitional arrangements.

The court reasoned that the development application was not "made" until it was lodged with the consent authority in a form that complied with the requirements of the Act and the regulations. The court applied the principle that an application is only formally made when it is complete and capable of being processed by the authority. Consequently, the court found that the remediation development application had not been made at the relevant time and therefore should not have been granted consent.

The appeal was allowed, with each party bearing its own costs. The existing remediation consent was set aside, and the remediation development application was refused.