Burwood Council v Wanless [2025] NSWLEC 10

Land and Environment Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: Burwood Council v Wanless [2025] NSWLEC 10 Hearing dates: 24 February 2025 Date of orders: 26 February 2025 Decision date: 26 February 2025 Jurisdiction: Class 4 Before: Pritchard J Decision: The Court orders that: (1) The respondent must, within 14 days of the date of service of these Orders, trim, prune or otherwise cut all grass and weeds at the front, sides and rear of 22 Austin Avenue, Croydon, NSW (the subject premises) so that the said grass and weeds do not exceed the height of 10 centimetres above the finished ground level and must remove from the subject premises the said trimmed, pruned and cut grass and weeds. (2) If the respondent fails to comply with Order 1 above, the applicant may, pursuant to s 678(1) of the Local Government Act 1993 (NSW) (the LG Act), undertake the works specified in Order 1 and the applicant shall be entitled to recover its expenses and costs thereof from the respondent in accordance with s 678(6) of the LG Act. (3) Prior to the applicant's employees and contractors attending the subject premises for the purpose specified in Order 2, the applicant must comply with the notice requirements of s 193 of the LG Act. (4) The respondent must thereafter maintain all grass and vegetation at the front, sides and rear of the subject premises so that the grass and vegetation does not exceed a height of 10 centimetres above ground level. (5) The respondent is to pay the applicant's costs as agreed or assessed. Catchwords: CIVIL ENFORCEMENT – alleged failure to comply with order made pursuant to s 124 of the Local Government Act 1993 (NSW) – ex parte hearing – Council seeks civil enforcement orders in relation to grass and weeds – orders made Legislation Cited: Local Government Act 1993 (NSW) ss 124, 130, 131, 131A,132, 133, 134, 135, 193, 676, 678 Category: Principal judgment Parties: Burwood Council (Applicant) Susan Wanless (Respondent) Representation: Counsel: H Woods (solicitor) (Applicant)