What sort of disputes does the Land and Environment Court deal with?
About the Court’s jurisdiction……….. The Land and Environment Court Act 1979 (the Act) gives the Land and Environment Court (the Court) the power to determine environmental, development, building and planning disputes. It has the same status as the Supreme Court of New South Wales. The Court has six judges who have the same status as judges of the Supreme Court. It also has nine (9) full-time commissioners and a number of Acting Commissioners who have relevant expertise and / or qualifications in planning and development (such as engineering, architecture, town planning and valuation) as set out in the Act. The Court hears three general categories of proceedings. Proceedings can be: 1. A merits review of an administrative decision. These matters do not involve a breach of law. The Court stands in the shoes of the original decision maker and re-hears the merits of the decision. Re-hearing the merits of a decision involves looking at whether a decision was right or wrong. Issues in disput
