Verde Terra Pty Limited & Ors v Central Coast Council ABN 73149644003

Verde Terra Pty Limited and others (the applicants) sought judicial review of a decision by the Central Coast Council (the respondent) to refuse their development application for a residential subdivision. The applicants challenged the lawfulness of the Council's decision, alleging it was affected by jurisdictional error. The matter was heard by the High Court of Australia.

The central legal issue before the High Court was whether the Council's decision to refuse the development application was vitiated by jurisdictional error. Specifically, the applicants contended that the Council had failed to take into account a relevant consideration, namely the provisions of the *Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979* (NSW) and its associated regulations, which they argued mandated a particular approach to assessing the application.

The High Court, in a joint judgment delivered by Gageler CJ and Gordon J, found that the Council's decision was not affected by jurisdictional error. Their Honours explained that the Council had, in fact, considered the relevant legislative framework and had exercised its discretion in accordance with the powers conferred upon it. The Court emphasised that the role of judicial review was not to substitute its own view for that of the decision-maker, but rather to ensure that the decision-maker had acted within their legal authority and had properly considered the relevant matters. The applicants' argument that the Council had failed to take into account a relevant consideration was rejected as the evidence demonstrated that the Council had properly engaged with the statutory requirements.

The High Court therefore dismissed the application for judicial review.