The Coast Protection Board v Carramatta Holdings Pty Ltd

The Coast Protection Board appealed to the Full Court of the Supreme Court of South Australia against a consent judgment entered into by the Environment, Resources and Development Court. The dispute concerned the Board's objection to a development application made by Carramatta Holdings Pty Ltd. The consent judgment had effectively overridden the Board's objection, allowing the development to proceed.

The central legal issue before the Full Court was whether the Environment, Resources and Development Court had the power to set aside or vary a consent judgment it had previously made, particularly when that judgment was based on an agreement between the parties. The Board argued that the Court retained such power, akin to the inherent jurisdiction of superior courts to correct errors or prevent injustice.

The Full Court held that the Environment, Resources and Development Court, as a statutory tribunal, did not possess an inherent jurisdiction to set aside or vary its own consent judgments. While the Court had broad powers on appeal, these did not extend to revisiting a consent order once made, absent specific statutory provision or a fundamental vitiating factor such as fraud or misrepresentation. The Court reasoned that consent judgments represent a binding agreement between the parties, and their finality is a cornerstone of procedural fairness and certainty.

Consequently, the Full Court dismissed the appeal, upholding the consent judgment and finding that the Environment, Resources and Development Court had no power to set it aside.