Financial Securities Pty Ltd v Gold Coast City Council

Financial Securities Pty Ltd sought declaratory relief from the Gold Coast City Council, aiming to compel the council to invoke a procedure under section 236 of the Local Government Regulation 2012 to facilitate the sale of land. The council, however, was not inclined to invoke this procedure. The applicant argued that the council had set up a barrier to the procedure, seeking a declaration to overcome this refusal. The central issue before the court was whether there existed a present, factually-based controversy or dispute between the parties concerning actions taken by the council in relation to the procedure, and if the council had indeed set up a barrier to it.

The court examined whether the matter was a hypothetical or academic question, noting the traditional reluctance of courts to provide answers to hypothetical questions or to give advisory opinions. It was essential for the court to establish if there was a concrete and established or agreed situation that aimed to quell a controversy. The court emphasised that a declaration will not be granted where the question under consideration was not a real question, nor where the person seeking the declaration had no real interest in it. The court found that the answers given by the Full Court and the declaration it made were purely hypothetical, not based on facts, found or agreed, and thus were unsuitable for judicial resolution.

The court concluded that since the relevant facts were not identified and the existence of some of them was apparently in dispute, the answers given by the Full Court may be of no use at all to the parties and may even mislead them as to their rights. The efficient administration of the business of courts was incompatible with answering hypothetical questions that require considerable time and cause considerable expense to the parties. Consequently, the court dismissed the originating application and ordered the applicant to pay the respondent’s costs.