Waterfront Place Pty Ltd v Minister for Planning

Waterfront Place Pty Ltd brought an application against the Minister for Planning in the Court of Appeal, seeking to overturn a decision of the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT). The dispute centred on whether a notice issued by the Minister for Planning was timely under the statutory requirements. Specifically, the Minister had to give notice to Waterfront Place no later than seven days before a hearing date, but the notice was given on a Monday, after the period had expired on a Sunday. The issue before the Court of Appeal was whether the statutory requirement to provide notice within a specific timeframe could be extended by a general statutory provision that allows for time extensions where the period expires on a weekend or public holiday, and whether this extension applied when the statutory language used a specific phrase like “no later than.”

The Court of Appeal found that the phrase “no later than” in the statute did not demonstrate a contrary intention that would exclude the general time extension provision. The Court reasoned that the general rule for extending time when the statutory period would otherwise expire on a weekend or public holiday applied unless there was a contrary intention expressed in the statute. Given that the specific statutory language did not negate the application of the general rule, the Court held that the Minister’s notice was timely as it was given on the next available business day. Consequently, the Court of Appeal dismissed the application and refused leave to appeal, upholding the decision of VCAT.