Sunland Group Limited v Gold Coast City Council

The High Court of Australia considered a dispute between Sunland Group Limited (the second appellant) and the Gold Coast City Council (the respondent). The core of the disagreement concerned whether certain conditions attached to a preliminary development approval granted in 2007 imposed a liability on Sunland to pay infrastructure contributions, despite the respondent Council later issuing infrastructure charges notices under a new statutory regime. Sunland had purchased the undeveloped land in 2015, and development permits were granted in 2016.

The legal issues before the Court were twofold: first, whether the conditions in the 2007 preliminary approval created a binding obligation on Sunland to pay infrastructure contributions; and second, whether those conditions constituted a proper exercise of the power conferred by section 6.1.31(2)(c) of the *Integrated Planning Act 1997* (Qld). This provision allowed for the imposition of conditions requiring infrastructure contributions as an interim measure, even as a new regime for levying infrastructure charges by notice was introduced. The statutory framework for infrastructure charges evolved through subsequent legislation, including the *Sustainable Planning Act 2009* (Qld) and the *Planning Act 2016* (Qld).

The High Court reasoned that the conditions in the preliminary approval did not create a personal liability to pay infrastructure contributions. Instead, they served as a notice of the Council's future intentions to levy charges under the then-existing statutory framework. The Court held that the conditions were not a proper exercise of the power under section 6.1.31(2)(c) of the *Integrated Planning Act 1997* because that section contemplated the imposition of a direct obligation to pay, not merely a notification of future charges. The Court found that the conditions were merely a precursor to the formal imposition of charges under the relevant legislation, which had not occurred in a manner that created a binding liability on Sunland at the time the conditions were imposed.

The appeal was dismissed, and Sunland Group Limited was ordered to pay the costs of the Gold Coast City Council.