The NSW Land and Environment Court finalised 1,671 cases across all its jurisdictions in 2025, up 6 per cent on the previous year, but the sharpest growth came in development appeals, which reached an average of more than three cases per day. The court’s review found 54 per cent of development appeals arose after councils failed to determine applications within statutory deadlines, allowing applicants to appeal under deemed-refusal rules.
Planning Minister Paul Scully said delays were alarming during a housing supply crisis. “Projects which fit within planning controls should not end up in the Land and Environment Court, wasting ratepayers’ money and adding thousands to the cost of new homes,” he said. “It’s disappointing that some councils are continuing to stand in the way of much-needed housing supply.”
Among the most contentious approvals was the demolition of a 32-room Paddington boarding house, overturning a City of Sydney council refusal. Other projects included an $80 million over-55s estate with 146 homes on coastal land in Yamba, a fast-food precinct at Kariong that generated hundreds of objections, and a solar farm with more than 9000 panels in Deniliquin.
Woollahra had the highest number of appeals in NSW with 59, followed by Northern Beaches (41) and Central Coast (40). Woollahra Mayor Sarah Dixson rejected suggestions her council was disproportionately refusing applications. “Every application is assessed on its merits, but there are a lot of applications which go far beyond the scope of council controls that are not appropriate,” she said.
University of Sydney urban planning professor Nicole Gurran said the concentration of appeals in wealthier areas could reflect financial incentives. “The more valuable the site, the more likely a developer is to push the envelope and propose something that might not otherwise be permissible under council planning controls,” she said. “Developers can then effectively engage in ‘decision shopping’ by appealing refusals in court in the hope of securing a more favourable outcome.”
Tom Forrest, chief executive of property industry group Urban Taskforce, said lengthy legal battles could add tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees and holding costs, undermining financial viability and slowing new home supply.
But community groups said the growing reliance on court appeals risked sidelining local knowledge. Dennis Mentzines of the Drummoyne Responsible Development Group cited a nine-storey waterfront proposal approved on appeal after Canada Bay Council rejected it. “Local councils have a very good understanding of their own unique infrastructure constraints – schools, roads and hospitals – and the impacts on the local area,” he said. “The courts are now looking at one-size-fits-all statewide planning changes across suburbs that are all completely different to one another.”
Local Government NSW has called for a review of deemed-refusal rules, arguing they can push disputes into court before councils have sufficient time to complete complex assessments.