Chang v Laidley Shire Council

The matter before the Court was an appeal by the applicants, Chang, against a decision of the respondent, Laidley Shire Council. The applicants sought compensation for a reduction in the value of their land, which they claimed resulted from changes to the planning arrangements applicable to their land. The applicants also sought a declaration from the Planning and Environment Court that their application for the reconfiguration of their land was a "development application (superseded planning scheme) for a development permit relating to the land". The primary judge had refused the applicants' application for a declaration and their application for leave to appeal was before the Court.

The legal issues the Court had to decide were whether the applicants had lost an accrued right to compensation or an accrued right to apply to reconfigure their land and to have the processes appropriate to a development application (superseded planning scheme) applied to their application. The Court also had to consider whether the applicants' application was a "properly made application" under the relevant legislation.

The Court found that the applicants had not lost an accrued right to compensation or an accrued right to apply to reconfigure their land. However, the Court held that the applicants' application was not a "properly made application" under the relevant legislation. The Court found that the applicants had failed to comply with the requirements of the legislation and had not made a valid application for a development permit. The Court dismissed the applicants' appeal and ordered that they pay the respondent's costs of and incidental to the application to be assessed on the standard basis.