Pselletes v Randwick City Council

In *Pselletes v Randwick City Council*, Gummow J of the High Court of Australia considered a dispute concerning the validity of a development consent granted by Randwick City Council. The applicant, Pselletes, sought to challenge the consent, alleging it was invalid due to non-compliance with certain statutory requirements.

The central legal issue before the Court was whether the development consent issued by the Council was void *ab initio* due to alleged procedural irregularities in its granting. Specifically, the Court had to determine if the Council had adequately considered and addressed the relevant provisions of the *Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979* (NSW) and associated planning instruments when determining the development application.

Gummow J's reasoning focused on the principles of administrative law, particularly the distinction between jurisdictional error and non-jurisdictional error. His Honour found that while there may have been some procedural oversights, these did not amount to a fundamental failure to exercise the Council's power to grant consent, nor did they vitiate the consent itself. The Court applied the principle that for a decision to be void, the error must be so profound as to demonstrate that the decision-maker lacked the essential power to make the decision in question.

Ultimately, Gummow J dismissed the application, upholding the validity of the development consent granted by Randwick City Council.