Logan City Council v Brookes

In the matter of Logan City Council v Brookes, the council sought to challenge the respondent's movement of seven shipping containers onto his property, without a permit, by way of prosecution for carrying on assessable development without a permit. This was pursuant to section 578 of the Sustainable Planning Act 2009, which the council alleged constituted "building work" as defined in section 10 of the same Act. The learned magistrate dismissed the complaints, finding that each shipping container was not a "fixed structure" and therefore did not amount to carrying on building work. The council appealed this decision.

The central issue in the appeal was whether the learned magistrate erred in finding that the movement of the shipping containers was not "building work". Additionally, there was a dispute regarding the admissibility of an agreed statement of facts, which the respondent argued he did not consent to, despite the appellant's assertion that the respondent had not objected to it at the trial. The respondent claimed that some facts were agreed, but others were not. The third issue was whether the appellant should be granted leave to adduce new evidence, specifically correspondence between the parties in relation to the agreed statement of facts.

The court held that the movement of the shipping containers constituted "building work" as defined in section 10 of the Sustainable Planning Act 2009, and thus the learned magistrate erred in finding otherwise. In relation to the agreed statement of facts, the court found that while the respondent had not explicitly objected to the statement at trial, he had subsequently stated that some facts were not agreed. The court held that the respondent should be allowed to resile from the agreed statement of facts. Lastly, the court granted leave to adduce new evidence in accordance with the test in Pavlovic v Commissioner of Police [2007] 1 Qd R 344.

The appeal was allowed, and the matter was remitted to the Magistrates Court for further proceedings. Leave to adduce fresh evidence was granted, and the court will hear from the parties as to further orders.