Tamborine Mountain Progress Association Inc v Scenic Rim Regional Council

The Tamborine Mountain Progress Association Inc sought to challenge the decisions of the Scenic Rim Regional Council to approve various changes to a development plan, which originated from a rezoning of land in 1990. The applicants argued that the Council had no authority to approve three further approvals between 2004 and 2006 that altered the terms of the original approval, and that the plan of development approved by the Council in March 2008 was not in accordance with the original plan. The applicants also sought declarations that the approvals and the subsequent plan were unlawful, and an order that any work on the site not in accordance with lawful approval should cease.

The legal issues before the court included whether the Council's approvals were beyond its power, whether the Council had the authority to approve the reconfiguration application and the subsequent change, and whether the applicants had caused undue delay in these proceedings. The court considered the relevant statutory provisions and the terms of the original rezoning, as well as the nature and extent of the changes proposed in the subsequent approvals.

The court found that the Council's three subsequent approvals were beyond its power, as they materially altered the terms of the original approval in a way that was not permitted by the enabling legislation. The court also found that the plan of development approved by the Council in March 2008 was not generally in accordance with the original plan, as it involved significant changes that were not authorised by the original rezoning. The court further found that the Council did not have the power to approve the reconfiguration application and the subsequent change, and that the applicants had not caused undue delay in these proceedings. Accordingly, the court made the orders sought by the applicants, declaring the approvals and the subsequent plan to be unlawful, and ordering that all work on the site not in accordance with lawful approval should cease immediately.