The Court held that in assessing compensation under Part 5 of the Planning and Environment Act 1987 (Vic) for planning blight, counterfactual assumptions in the 'before' or 'unaffected' scenario are not confined to zoning and planning controls but may extend to other elements of the planning process, including the likely extent of an approved CHMP had the reservation not existed. The Court further held that ss 41 and 43 of the Land Acquisition and Compensation Act 1986 have no application to Part 5 claims, and that while a claimant bears a legal onus to establish financial loss within s 98(1), no legal onus of proof applies to the factual and counterfactual questions involved in determining quantum, with doubts to be resolved in favour of the claimant. The status of the Pointe Gourde principle in Part 5 claims was left unresolved as it was unnecessary to determine.
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