Gurner 57 Johnston Street Developments Pty Ltd v Yarra City Council

Gurner 57 Johnston Street Developments Pty Ltd sought leave to appeal and appealed from a decision of the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) concerning a planning permit for a development. The permit applicant, Gurner, applied for leave to appeal and an appeal from the VCAT's decision to not conduct a further hearing and hear evidence from the permit applicant's expert witness. The applicant argued that this decision constituted a denial of procedural fairness. The appeal was heard in the Court of Appeal of the Supreme Court of Victoria.

The court was required to determine whether the VCAT's decision not to conduct a further hearing and hear evidence from the permit applicant's expert witness constituted a denial of procedural fairness. The court examined the principles of natural justice and procedural fairness, including the right to a fair hearing and the opportunity to adduce evidence. The court also considered the circumstances in which VCAT might decline to hear new evidence and whether the VCAT had acted within its jurisdiction and without jurisdictional error in making the decision.

The court held that the VCAT's decision not to conduct a further hearing and hear evidence from the permit applicant's expert witness constituted a denial of procedural fairness. The court found that the VCAT had failed to give the permit applicant an adequate opportunity to present its case, and that the decision was therefore invalid. The appeal was allowed, the VCAT's order was set aside, and the proceeding was remitted to the VCAT differently constituted.

The court ordered that the VCAT's order be set aside and that the proceeding be remitted to the VCAT differently constituted. The court also ordered that the VCAT pay the costs of the appeal to the applicant.