Macedonian Orthodox Church Incorporated and Act Planning And Land Authority (Administrative Review)

The applicant, the Macedonian Orthodox Church Incorporated, challenged the respondent's determination of the Capital Upgrading Contribution (CUC) in relation to the de-concessionalising of its lease over a piece of land in Canberra. The respondent, the Planning and Land Authority, was required to decide the CUC under the Planning and Development Act 2007. The Tribunal was asked to review the decision made by the respondent regarding the CUC, as well as the statutory interpretation and construction involved.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the respondent correctly applied the formula for determining the CUC under the Planning and Development Act 2007. Specifically, the Tribunal had to consider whether the respondent should have used the formula CUC = V1 – V2 x 75%, where V1 is the After Value and V2 is the Before Value. The applicant argued that the respondent had incorrectly calculated the CUC by using the formula CUC = V1 – V2, which resulted in a lower CUC payable.

The Tribunal found that the respondent had indeed misapplied the statutory formula for calculating the CUC. The Tribunal noted that the correct formula, as provided by the Planning and Development Act 2007, is CUC = V1 – V2 x 75%. The Tribunal further found that the respondent's decision to use the incorrect formula led to an underpayment of the CUC. As a result, the Tribunal varied the respondent's decision and substituted the correct formula and corresponding figures for the CUC.

The Tribunal's final orders were that the part of the decision under review specifying the Before and After Values, and the CUC arising there from, is varied by substituting for it the following words: "The CUC has been determined in accordance with the formula CUC = V1 – V2 x 75% as provided by the Planning and Development Act 2007 as follows: After Value (V1) $5,540,000, Before Value (V2) $2,795,000, Added Value $2,745,000, 75% of Added Value $2,058,750, CUC Payable $2,058,750." This means that the Macedonian Orthodox Church Incorporated will now be required to pay the correct amount of CUC as determined by the Tribunal.