Radgown Pty Ltd as Trustee for Centrepoint Unit Trust v Chief Executive, Department of Lands

Radgown Pty Ltd, as trustee for the Centrepoint Unit Trust, contested the unimproved land value assessment of Lot 1 on RP616293, Parish of Gladstone, determined by the Chief Executive of the Department of Lands at $265,000 as of 1 January 1995. The appellant objected to this valuation, leading to a reduction to $212,500. Subsequently, the appellant appealed to the Land Court, nominating a valuation of $136,000, which they later adjusted to $175,000 at the hearing. The appellant's grounds for appeal included the lack of support for the assessed unimproved value from sales of unimproved land and analysed improved sales evidence, the absence of relativity with other 1995 values, failure to account for the land's disadvantages and disabilities, and the unrealistic application of an overall percentage increase. The respondent was represented by the Chief Executive, who relied on valuation evidence from a registered valuer within their department.

The court examined whether the Chief Executive's valuation adhered to the principles outlined in Grahn v The Valuer General (1992) 14 QLCR 327, and whether the presumption of correctness under section 33 of the Valuation of Land Act 1944 was rebutted. The court also considered the comparative sales evidence provided by both parties and the relativity of the valuations. In rejecting the appellant's contentions, the court found that the evidence of sales of unimproved land supported the Chief Executive's valuation, and that the analysis of improved land sales and rental trends did not provide a reliable basis for determining the unimproved value of the subject land. Furthermore, the court held that the valuation of the subject land was in proper relativity with other comparable land, and that there was no evidence to suggest that the subject land suffered from significant disadvantages or disabilities. Consequently, the court dismissed the appeal and affirmed the Chief Executive's determination of $212,500 as the unimproved value of the land.