Fairfield City Council v Kalo

Fairfield City Council (the Council) appealed to the New South Wales Court of Appeal against a decision of the Supreme Court of New South Wales which had granted an injunction against the Council. The dispute concerned the Council's decision to refuse to grant a permit for the construction of a dwelling on land owned by Mr Kalo, and the subsequent actions taken by the Council to prevent any building work from commencing.

The Court of Appeal was required to determine whether the Council had acted unlawfully in refusing to grant the permit and in issuing a notice requiring the cessation of any building activity. Specifically, the court considered whether the Council's refusal was based on relevant considerations and whether the notice issued was a valid exercise of its statutory powers.

The Court of Appeal found that the Council's refusal to grant the permit was based on considerations that were not relevant to the determination of the application under the relevant planning legislation. The court held that the Council had failed to properly consider the merits of the application as presented and had instead taken into account extraneous matters. Consequently, the Council's actions in refusing the permit and issuing the notice were deemed to be unlawful. The appeal was dismissed.