Varas v Fairfield City Council

The case of *Varas v Fairfield City Council* concerned a dispute between Mr. Varas and Fairfield City Council regarding the Council's decision to refuse Mr. Varas's development application for a childcare centre. Mr. Varas sought judicial review of this decision in the Supreme Court of New South Wales.

The primary legal issue before the Court was whether the Council's refusal of the development application was affected by jurisdictional error. Specifically, the Court had to determine if the Council had failed to take into account a relevant consideration or had taken into account an irrelevant consideration when making its decision, thereby vitiating the decision-making process.

The Court, comprising Gummow and Heydon JJ, analysed the Council's reasons for refusal and the relevant planning instruments. Their Honours found that the Council had indeed taken into account irrelevant considerations, namely concerns about traffic congestion that were not supported by evidence and were outside the scope of the planning controls applicable to the development. The Court affirmed the principle that a decision-maker must confine its considerations to those matters which the relevant legislation or planning instrument requires it to consider.

The Court concluded that the Council's decision was affected by jurisdictional error and accordingly made orders setting aside the Council's refusal of the development application.