Nature Conservation Council of New South Wales Inc v Minister Administering the Water Management Act 2000

The Nature Conservation Council of New South Wales Inc. appealed to the Supreme Court of New South Wales (Court of Appeal) against a decision concerning the validity of a water management plan prepared by the Minister administering the Water Management Act 2000 (NSW). The Council contended that the plan was invalid for failing to comply with certain requirements of the Act, specifically regarding the definition of "performance indicators" and the inclusion of environmental water rules.

The primary legal issues before the Court were whether the definition of "performance indicator" within the Minister's water management plan was sufficiently defined as a "target" or "standard" under the Act, and whether a rule expressed in terms of an "extraction limit" constituted a rule for the "identification, establishment and maintenance of water" as required by the Act. Additionally, the Court considered whether acts done in breach of form requirements regulating a statutory power rendered those acts invalid, applying a substance-based test.

The Court reasoned that the objects of the Act, its water management principles, and the statutory priorities indicated a parliamentary concern with the substance of environmental water rules rather than their form. The Court found that, on the face of the plan and in the absence of contrary evidence, the plan did, in substance, contain rules that identified, established, and maintained water committed for ecosystem health, which could not be used for other purposes. The Court concluded that the plan satisfied the requirements of the Act in this regard.

The appeal was dismissed with costs.