A decision by a local government to grant a permit to one competing applicant constitutes, in substance, a decision to refuse the competing application, even where the decision-maker was unaware of the competing application. This triggers review rights for the refused applicant as an 'affected person'. However, s 19 of the SAT Act bars judicial review proceedings where the applicant has already commenced merits review in the Tribunal in respect of the same decision. The Re Carey principles strongly militate against granting prerogative relief where a party has failed to pursue available statutory appeal rights and instead seeks judicial review after the appeal time has expired.
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