In the media
Auction rates will decline further: Corelogic
Auction clearance rates continue to slide for a fourth
consecutive week further highlighting poor market conditions and
current negative sentiment (25 October 2018).
More...
Melbourne house prices fell faster than Sydney over the
quarter: Domain
Rising mortgage rates, a credit crackdown and a decrease
in overseas buyers has seen capital city house prices decrease 2.9
per cent over the year, in what could be good news for would-be
home buyers entering the property market (25 October 2018).
More...
Victoria
Mordialloc Freeway
The Victorian Government's Mordialloc Freeway will
take thousands of trucks off local roads in the south east, slash
travel times and give local residents safer and quieter streets. An
Environment Effects Statement (EES) for the $375
million Mordialloc Freeway has been released, showing that the
project will deliver massive benefits for drivers, walkers,
cyclists and the environment (25 October 2018). More...
More...
Loose litter leads to fine for remitter
Environment Protection Authority Victoria
(EPA) has fined a Hampton Park landfill more than
$8000 after a significant volume of plastic litter blew into a
neighbouring property (25 October 2018).
More...
Build Aware inspections in Shepparton
Joint teams from five government agencies have conducted
167 inspections on building sites around Shepparton as part of the
Build Aware campaign (25 October 2018).
More...
Apple global flagship store design refinement
The Minister for Planning has endorsed Apple's revised
concept plans for a global flagship Apple store in Federation
Square, subject to a small number of modifications (to the
landscape plan, upper level terrace, screen façades and
profile of the structural steelwork) (25 October 2018).
More...
Federation Square put up for heritage listing,
threatening Apple store plans
Heritage Victoria recommends Melbourne's Federation
Square for heritage listing, in a move that could jeopardise tech
giant Apple's flagship store plans (18 October 2018).
More...
La Trobe University unveils 'City of the
Future'
La Trobe University has unveiled plans to develop its
235-hectare campus at Bundoora in Melbourne's north. The campus
is set to be transformed, as part of the University City of the
Future plan, into a 'multi-precinct' (24 October 2018).
More...
e-waste program
The Victorian Government has awarded 76 councils with
$16.5 million to help them manage Victoria's e-waste and keep
it out of landfill (23 October 2018).
More...
Melbourne's eight cities: Mini-CBDs to transform
Victoria's capital
The idea of one single city centre is being challenged in
Melbourne, where the population has surged beyond 5 million people.
There are now plans for another seven CBDs, to stop the city being
choked by growth — but not everyone is convinced it will work
(16 October 2018).
More...
New South Wales
Closing loopholes for certifiers
Building and development certifiers are facing the
toughest penalties to date, under laws that aim to clean up the
industry and give confidence to the community and homebuyers.
Minister for Better Regulation Matt Kean said the reforms passed in
Parliament this would allow the NSW Government to come down hard on
dodgy operators (26 October 2018).
More...
Greater City Commission: Why Sydney needs to keep its
sheds and industrial lands
The Property Council of Australia has expressed concern
that the land currently available across Greater Sydney represents
less than two year's forward supply. Managing and supporting
valuable industrial and urban services lands requires a
precautionary approach and, where appropriate, protection from
competing land uses such as residential redevelopment (25 October
2018).
More...
Queensland
Childcare centre proposed for Brisbane's tallest
tower
A childcare centre has been proposed to be built within
Brisbane's tallest residential tower. A design plan submitted
as part of the development application showed the floor broken into
seven different group areas which had varying capacities of 10 to
22 children (25 October 2018).
More...
Brisbane developer delivers inner-city West End
park
A Brisbane developer has delivered on its promise to
deliver an inner-city public park the size of Brisbane's Post
Office Square (19 October 2018).
More...
Brisbane City Council forces sale of homes to recover
overdue rates
Brisbane City Council is looking to recover more than
$130,000 in unpaid rates by forcibly selling nine homes across the
city. If a property has outstanding rates for more than three years
the council can move to sell it (16 October 2018).
More...
In practice & courts
SRO: Declaring properties that are vacant in
2018
Homes left unoccupied for more than six months a year, which are
located in 16
specified council areas, attract vacant residential land tax.
If you own a property in one of these council areas and it will be
unoccupied for six months or more in 2018, you can notify us via our
online portal. Notifications are due by 15 January 2019.
When using the portal to notify us about property that has been
vacant in 2018, you should select 2019 as the tax year (22 October
2018).
Water Grid Partnership established
The Water Grid Partnership continues our delivery of Water
for Victoria's Action 9.1: Develop a grid oversight function
and Action 9.2: Plan for future grid augmentations. Enhancing the
grid: Victoria's Water Grid Partnership in 2018 outlines the
challenges to water security. The report explains the rationale for
the partnership and how it will operate (16 October 2018). More...
More...
Approvals
VC152 establishes planning policy for the management of
land for major hazard facilities and their respective buffer
distances; Implements a new particular provision to support a
simpler and straightforward development assessment process for
residential aged care facilities. Introduces permit exemptions for
community care accommodation to enable the streamlined renewal and
development of these facilities, and provides clarity on the extent
of permit exemptions for rooming houses.
More...
VC154 implements initiatives from Plan Melbourne 2017-2050 and Water for Victoria – Water Plan by modifying the Planning Policy Framework to reflect integrated water management objectives and by introducing a new particular provision for stormwater management in urban development. More...
VC155 amends the Planning Policy Framework at Clause 15.03 Heritage to introduce a new strategy to consider the restoration or reconstruction of a heritage building that has been unlawfully or unintentionally demolished, and inserts 'The Burra Charter: The Australia ICOMOS Charter for Places of Cultural Significance, 2013' as a policy guideline; Makes minor changes to the wording of the residential rooftop solar energy facility provisions recently introduced by Amendment VC149 to ensure that they are clear and unambiguous with respect to their intended operation. More...
GC110 introduces a new Environmentally Sustainable Development Local Planning Policy into the Brimbank, Greater Bendigo, Greater Dandenong, Hobsons Bay, Kingston, Whittlesea and Wyndham Planning Schemes. More...
Cases
Shah v Vega & Anor [2018] VSC
562
JUDICIAL REVIEW AND APPEALS – Application pursuant
to Order 56 of the Supreme Court (General Civil Procedure) Rules
2015 for judicial review of a VCAT decision in respect to a tenancy
dispute – Landlord applied to VCAT for compensation for
alleged damage to premises by tenant – Procedural fairness
– Whether landlord was denied a fair hearing – Landlord
not provided with an interpreter at VCAT hearing –
Non-English speaking background – Landlord self-represented
and made extensive submissions at VCAT and in this Court –
Yahome Pty Ltd v Delic [2013] VSC 52, referred to –
Landlord's difficulties with English were not so severe or so
obvious as to warrant an adjournment to secure an interpreter
– Landlord not materially disadvantaged by the absence of an
interpreter – Whether Member failed to have regard to
relevant evidence – No basis for judicial review insofar as
landlord's claim concerns Member's factual findings –
Whether landlord given proper opportunity to present her evidence
– Whether Member erred in calculation of depreciation –
Member not bound to follow ATO guidelines – No error of law
arises from any ground of review – Proceeding constituted an
attempt to relitigate the Member's factual findings –
Application dismissed.
Waterfront Place Pty Ltd v Minister for
Planning [2018] VSC
621
PLANNING – Call in of proceedings in the Victorian
Civil and Administrative Tribunal by the Minister for Planning
– Calculation of time – Meaning of cl 58(3)(b) in sch 1
to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act
1998 (Vic) – Application of s 44(1)–(4) of the
Interpretation of Legislation Act 1984 (Vic).
Sentinel Citilink Pty Ltd v PS Citilink Pty
Ltd [2018] QSC 239
REAL PROPERTY – TORRENS TITLE – TRANSFERS
– OTHER MATTERS – where the seller and the buyer
entered into a contract for the sale of certain commercial property
– where the contract was a standard REIQ contract for the
sale of commercial property with additional special conditions
– where the contract recorded a purchase price of $81,200,000
– where the buyer paid a deposit pursuant to the contract
– where the buyer was obliged to pay 'the balance of the
Purchase Price' on the settlement date – where a special
condition provided that the seller must pay to the buyer, by way of
an adjustment to 'the balance Purchase Price payable on
settlement', an amount equivalent to the value of extant
incentive arrangements affecting leases on the property –
where the value of outstanding incentives was $2,037,364.45 as at
the date of contract and $2,003,050.67 as at the date of settlement
– where the adjustment resulted in an amount of
$79,196,949.34 required to be transferred at settlement –
where the seller and the buyer disagreed on the amount of
consideration to be shown on the relevant transfer forms (form 1
and form 24) – where the parties have an obligation to
complete the forms in accordance with the applicable instructions
and otherwise consistently with the law – where the parties
each produced different versions of form 1 and form 24 displaying
different amounts for consideration – where the contract
failed to settle – whether the seller was correct in
insisting upon completion of a form 1 and a form 24 which recorded
consideration of $81,200,000, not the adjusted figure of
$79,196,949.34 – whether the seller breached its obligation
under the contract to do all acts and execute all documents
necessary for the purpose of completing the sale.
This publication does not deal with every important topic or change in law and is not intended to be relied upon as a substitute for legal or other advice that may be relevant to the reader's specific circumstances. If you have found this publication of interest and would like to know more or wish to obtain legal advice relevant to your circumstances please contact one of the named individuals listed.