Lowe v BGC Technical

The appeal before the court involved Lowe, a lot owner under the Building Units and Group Titles Act 1980 (Qld), who sought to resolve a tree dispute with the adjoining property owner, BGC Technical, under the Neighbourhood Disputes (Dividing Fences and Trees) Act 2011 (Qld). The applicants, as lot owners, filed an application for the resolution of the tree dispute with BGC Technical, the owner of the adjoining property. The primary issue was whether the lot owners were considered 'neighbours' within the meaning of section 49 of the Neighbourhood Disputes (Dividing Fences and Trees) Act 2011 (Qld), given that the 'land' affected by the trees was scheme land under the Building Units and Group Titles Act 1980 (Qld). The Tribunal had dismissed the applicants' application on the basis that the applicants did not have standing as they were not 'neighbours' under the Neighbourhood Disputes (Dividing Fences and Trees) Act 2011 (Qld).

The court examined whether the Tribunal erred in its decision to dismiss the applicants' application for lack of standing. The Tribunal had concluded that the applicants were not 'neighbours' because the land affected by the trees was scheme land under the Building Units and Group Titles Act 1980 (Qld). The court held that the Tribunal had indeed erred in its interpretation of the term 'neighbour'. The court found that the applicants, as lot owners, were indeed 'neighbours' within the meaning of section 49 of the Neighbourhood Disputes (Dividing Fences and Trees) Act 2011 (Qld). The court further held that the Tribunal's findings were legally incorrect and that the applicants' application should be returned to the Tribunal for reconsideration in light of these findings.

The court set aside the Tribunal's decision and allowed the appeal on grounds one and two. The court refused the appeal on ground three. The decision of the Tribunal made on 15 October 2015 was set aside, and the applicants' application for a tree dispute filed on 24 December 2014 was returned to the Tribunal for consideration according to law and the findings disclosed in these reasons. This decision clarified the jurisdictional scope of the Neighbourhood Disputes (Dividing Fences and Trees) Act 2011 (Qld) and its interaction with the Building Units and Group Titles Act 1980 (Qld).