Khuu & Lee Pty Limited v Corporation of the City of Adelaide

Khuu & Lee Pty Limited and the Corporation of the City of Adelaide were the parties before the Supreme Court of South Australia. The dispute concerned the validity of a development approval granted by the Corporation for a mixed-use development, which Khuu & Lee Pty Limited sought to challenge. Bell J presided over the matter.

The central legal issue before the Court was whether the development approval granted by the Corporation was invalid due to a failure to comply with the procedural requirements of the *Development Act 1993* (SA) and the *Development Regulations 2008* (SA). Specifically, the Court had to determine if the Corporation had adequately considered and addressed the submissions made by Khuu & Lee Pty Limited during the public notification period for the development application.

Bell J found that the Corporation had failed to provide adequate reasons for its decision to disregard the objections raised by Khuu & Lee Pty Limited. The Court held that the statutory scheme required more than a mere acknowledgement of submissions; it necessitated a genuine consideration and response to the substance of those objections. The failure to do so rendered the development approval procedurally unfair and therefore invalid. The Court applied principles of administrative law concerning procedural fairness and the proper exercise of statutory power.

Consequently, Bell J made orders quashing the development approval granted by the Corporation of the City of Adelaide.