Trust Company of Australia Ltd v The Valuer-General

(2007) 154 LGERA 437; [2007] NSWCA 181

NSW Court of Appeal

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Interrogate

Catchwords

1. Valuation of Land
2. › Land value
3. › Meaning of 'improvements'
4. › Whether improvements must add value by reference to highest and best use of land
5. › Whether additions to land that reduce value for highest and best use are improvements
6. › Whether comparator is natural state of land or highest and best use
7. › Valuation of Land Act 1916 (NSW), s 6A(1)
1. Statutes
2. › Construction
3. › Meaning of 'improvements' to land
4. › Construction by reference to ordinary English meaning
5. › Construction by reference to context in which words used
6. › Construction by reference to whole instrument
7. › Construction by reference to legislative history and purpose
8. › Whether court limited to constructions presented by parties
9. › Whether statute should be given construction simplest to apply
10. › Valuation of Land Act 1916 (NSW), ss 4(1), 6A, 7B, 14BB, 14G, 14L, 14Q, 15
1. Appeal
2. › Appeal from Land and Environment Court to Court of Appeal
3. › Class 3 proceedings
4. › Appeal limited to questions of law
5. › Mixed question of fact and law
6. › Whether wrong legal principle applied
7. › Land and Environment Court Act 1979 (NSW), s 57(1)

Quick Take

For the purposes of determining land value under section 6A(1) of the Valuation of Land Act 1916, 'improvements' means any human operations on land that enhance its value compared with its natural state as at the date of valuation — not by reference to the land's highest and best use. Structures on land that are unsuitable for the highest and best use but which enhance the land's value above its natural state are 'improvements' that must be notionally removed, and no deduction is permitted for demolition costs of such structures. The temporal sequence in section 6A(1) requires improvements to be identified and notionally removed before the notional sale (and hence highest and best use) is determined.