Sydney Fish Market Pty Ltd v Valuer General of New South Wales

[2024] NSWLEC 1029

Land and Environment Court

New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation:

Sydney Fish Market Pty Ltd v Valuer General of New South Wales [2024] NSWLEC 1029

Hearing dates:

Conciliation Conference on 1 August 2023, 13 and 20 December 2023

Date of orders:

01 February 2024

Decision date:

01 February 2024

Jurisdiction:

Class 3

Before:

Kempthorne AC

Decision:

The Court orders:

(1) The appeal is upheld.

(2) The valuation of 56-60 Pyrmont Bridge Road, Pyrmont (identified as PID 3380476 in the 2020 Land Tax Assessment Notice) as at 1 July 2019, is $26,000,000.

(3) No further order as to costs.

Catchwords:

VALUATION OF LAND – objection to issued Land Value – conciliation conference – agreement between the parties – orders

Legislation Cited:

Land and Environment Court Act 1979, s 34

Valuation of Land Act 1916, ss 14A, 14I, 34, 37

Category:

Principal judgment

Parties:

Sydney Fish Market Pty Ltd (Applicant)
Valuer General of New South Wales (Respondent)

Representation:

Counsel:
R Lancaster SC (Applicant)
R White (Respondent)

Solicitors:
HWL Ebsworth (Applicant)
Crown Solicitors Office NSW (Respondent)

File Number(s):

2021/98827

Publication restriction:

Nil

JUDGMENT

1. COMMISSIONER: This Class 3 application arises from the disallowed objection and subsequent appeal by the Applicant pursuant to s 37 of the Valuation of Land Act 1916 (Valuation Act) in respect of the Land Value for the Valuing Year, 1 July 2019, of Lot 1 Deposited Plan (DP) 74155, Lots 1 and 2 DP 125720, Lot 1 DP 734622, Lot 1 DP 836351 and Lot 2 DP 827434, known as 56-60 Pyrmont Bridge Road, Pyrmont (the Land).

Jurisdiction Pre-requisites

2. The Applicant is the occupier of part of the Land pursuant to a 50-year lease which was executed on 31 October 1994 and commenced on 29 October 1994 between the Crown and the Applicant.

3. The Land is subject to s 14I of the Valuation Act.

4. The Valuer General of New South Wales (VG) issued a Notice of Valuation in accordance with s 14A of the Valuation Act to the Applicant for the Property in respect of the Valuing Year, 2019, with a Land Value of $52,200,000.

5. The Applicant lodged an objection with the VG's office to the issued Land Value pursuant to s 34 of the Valuation Act.

6. The Land Value contended by the Applicant in the Appeal was $0.

7. The Court arranged a conciliation conference under s 34(1) of the Land and Environment Court Act 1979 (LEC Act) between the parties on 1 August 2023, 13 and 20 December 2023.

8. I presided over the conciliation conference.

Section 34 Agreement

9. During the conciliation conference, the parties reached agreement as to the terms of a decision in the proceedings that would be acceptable to the parties (being a decision that the Court could have made in the proper exercise of its functions).

10. The terms of decision agreed to by the parties were:

1. The appeal is upheld.

2. The valuation of 56-60 Pyrmont Bridge Road, Pyrmont (identified as PID 3380476 in the 2020 Land Tax Assessment Notice) as at 1 July 2019, is $26,000,000.

3. No further order as to costs.

11. I am satisfied that the parties' decision is one that the Court could have made in the proper exercise of its functions, as required by s 34(3) of the LEC Act.

12. As the parties' decision is a decision that the Court could have made in the proper exercise of its functions, I am required under s 34(3) of the LEC Act to dispose of the proceedings in accordance with the parties' decision.

Orders

13. The Court orders:

1. The appeal is upheld.

2. The valuation of 56-60 Pyrmont Bridge Road, Pyrmont (identified as PID 3380476 in the 2020 Land Tax Assessment Notice) as at 1 July 2019, is $26,000,000.

3. No further order as to costs.

P Kempthorne

Acting Commissioner of the Court

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