Court cases
Council goes to court constantly, and almost always out of sight. Nearly every decision to fight, settle or fold is taken in a closed session, and council publishes no list of the matters it is running. This is one, assembled from the record council does publish.
How this was built. Three sources, none of them inside a closed session. Council must name each appeal on an agenda every time it takes a decision about it — usually the decision to shut the doors — so those headings, pulled back out of council's own published agendas, give a docket council never compiled. Reported judgments come from Queensland Judgments and the Information Commissioner. Outcomes come from the open-session resolutions where council ratifies what it agreed to behind the door. Where we could not establish an outcome, the table says so rather than guessing.
Open, as far as the record shows
Matters with no resolution on the public record. Some are plainly live; others have simply gone quiet, and council never came back to an open session to say how they ended. The date each one was last named on an agenda is the honest measure of how current this is.
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Live D92/2025 58 Seaview Terrace Sunshine Beach
MCU — dwelling house
Third concurrent dwelling-house refusal appeal in Nov 2025 close session
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Live 2420/2025 3 Allambi Rise Noosa Heads
MCU — dwelling house
Fourth concurrent dwelling-house refusal appeal in Nov 2025 — closed-session item 9.1
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Live 1219/2020 Multiple dwellings appeal
Multiple dwellings application
4+ year saga — status in the published record unclear; possibly resolved Dec 2024
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Defended D96/2024 428 Cootharaba Road Cootharaba (Lot 1 RP 176808)
STA — Short-term accommodation appeal — Judith Leanne Johannesen v Noosa SC
Underlying DA MCU24/0003 refused. Council resolved to defend Aug 2024 — split vote: Lorentson/Finzel/Wegener/Wilkie/Wilson/Stockwell FOR; Phillips AGAINST. Consultant Pivotal Perspective
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Live 3156/2023 47 Goodchap St Noosaville (3971 sqm residential-zoned)
Application for hospital & health-care service (1536 sqm day surgery) — Noosa Privatised Hospital Pty Ltd (Ramsay Health Care) v Noosa SC
DA Aug 2022; refused 21 Sep 2023; appeal filed 26 Oct 2023; returned to closed session Jul 2024 — likely still active
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Live Noosa Airfield
Declarations under s.11(1)(c) PECA + enforcement orders s.180(3) Planning Act — 1975 consent alleged lapsed + 1994 rezoning alleged ineffective
Substantive enforcement proceeding still pending; (No 2) was procedural disclosure application dismissed
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Defended D30/2018 29 & 35A Tait St / 30 Eagle Drive
Reconfiguring a Lot — REC17/0011
No subsequent settlement resolution in the published record
Every appeal we can trace
Planning & Environment Court appeals against council decisions, newest activity first. Before council counts the times the matter appeared on a published agenda since April 2023, and how many of those went into closed session — a matter listed twice in a fortnight is the committee and then the ordinary meeting ratifying it. Blank means the matter predates council's current published meeting feed. Where we hold no register entry for an appeal, the description is council's own agenda heading, verbatim — typos and all.
| File | Matter | Outcome | Before council | Last listed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1576/2026 | Short Stay Letting Local Law Review Decision - 8 Witta Circuit, Noosa Heads | Not established | 2 | 2026-08-20 |
| 1763/2026 | Short Stay Letting Local Law Review Decision - 5/7 Peza Court, Noosa Heads | Not established | 2 | 2026-08-20 |
| 1842/2026 | For Minor Change to a Development Permit for a Material Change of Use for a Duplex Dwelling at 2/16 Grant Street, Noosa Heads | Not established | 2 | 2026-08-20 |
| D927/2025 | Application for Development Permit for Building Works (Dwelling House) and Referral Agency Planning (Building Height, Gross Floor Area, Setbacks, and Cut) at 58 Seaview Terrace, Sunshine Beach | Not established | 1 · 1 closed | 2026-07-16 |
| 2611/2024 | 2 Bottlebrush Avenue Noosa Heads MCU23/0105 — multiple dwellings (4 small dwellings), food and drink outlets (2 tenancies) and office | Settled | 4 · 3 closed | 2026-05-21 |
| 2697/2025 | 4 Arakoon Crescent Sunshine Beach MCU — dwelling house (paired with 2698/2025)BV Investments Pty Ltd (Hancock Prospecting / Rinehart) v Noosa SC — 4 Arakoon | Settled | 4 · 2 closed | 2026-05-21 |
| 2698/2025 | 6 Arakoon Crescent Sunshine Beach MCU — dwelling house (beachfront; paired with 2697/2025 next door)BV Investments Pty Ltd (Hancock Prospecting / Rinehart) v Noosa SC | Settled | 4 · 2 closed | 2026-05-21 |
| D114/2025 | For Minor Change to a Development Permit for a Material Change of Use for a Duplex Dwelling at 1/27 Duke Street, Sunshine Beach | Not established | 2 | 2025-12-18 |
| D92/2025 | 58 Seaview Terrace Sunshine Beach MCU — dwelling house | Live | 4 | 2025-11-20 |
| 2420/2025 | 3 Allambi Rise Noosa Heads MCU — dwelling house | Live | 2 · 2 closed | 2025-11-20 |
| D44/2025 | Application for a Material Change of Use for Food and Drink Outlet and SHORT-TERM Accommodation at 203 - 207 Gympie Terrace, Noosaville | Not established | 4 · 2 closed | 2025-11-20 |
| 3746/2023 | 94 & 142 Noosa Drive STA — 15 eco cabins | Settled | 3 · 2 closed | 2025-08-21 |
| 1391/2025 | Application for a Material Change of Use for a Function Facility at 658 Louis Bazzo Drive, Ringtail Creek | Not established | 2 | 2025-06-19 |
| 1998/2024 | 28 Eenie Creek Road Noosaville MCU — childcare centre | Not established | 2 · 1 closed | 2025-04-08 |
| 1219/2020 | Multiple dwellings appeal | Live | 1 · 1 closed | 2024-12-16 |
| D130/2023 | 39-41 Picture Point Noosa Heads RAL22/0021 | Settled | 2 · 1 closed | 2024-10-14 |
| 1997/2024 | Relating to Refusual of MCU23/0101 Material Change of Use for Short Term Accommodation at 561 Gympie Kin Kin Road, Kin Kin | Not established | 2 · 1 closed | 2024-09-16 |
| D96/2024 | 428 Cootharaba Road Cootharaba (Lot 1 RP 176808) STA — Short-term accommodation appealJudith Leanne Johannesen v Noosa SC | Defended | 1 | 2024-08-12 |
| 3156/2023 | 47 Goodchap St Noosaville (3971 sqm residential-zoned) Application for hospital & health-care service (1536 sqm day surgery)Noosa Privatised Hospital Pty Ltd (Ramsay Health Care) v Noosa SC | Live | 2 · 1 closed | 2024-07-18 |
| D23/2022 | 111 Lake Weyba Drive Noosaville (Lot 4 RP36729) RAL appeal | Settled | 1 · 1 closed | 2024-07-15 |
| — | Noosa Airfield Declarations under s.11(1)(c) PECA + enforcement orders s.180(3) Planning Act — 1975 consent alleged lapsed + 1994 rezoning alleged ineffective | Live | — | 2024 |
| D154/2023 | Enforcement Notice Issued to 1/5 Attunga Heights, Noosa Heads. | Not established | 1 | 2023-11-07 |
| D155/2023 | Enforcement Notice Issued to 3/5 Attunga Heights | Not established | 1 | 2023-11-07 |
| D153/2023 | Application for Material Change of Use – Relocatable Home Park (Community and Affordable Housing – 32 Dwellings) at 55 and 70 Carpenters Rd Cooroy | Not established | 1 | 2023-10-10 |
| D133/2023 | Application for Building Works for a Dwelling House at 60 Seaview Tce, Sunshine Beach | Not established | 1 | 2023-10-10 |
| D14/2023 | Application for Multiple Dwelling (20 Units) - MCU22/0031 & Operational Works Clearing of Vegetation - OPW22/0062 at 11C Church Street, Pomona | Not established | 1 · 1 closed | 2023-09-18 |
| BD2147/2022 | Application for a Dual Occupancy at 6 Margit Crescent, Sunrise Beach | Not established | 1 | 2023-04-11 |
| DB928/2022 | 54 Mary Street MCU19/0089.02 & OPW19/0160.02 — service station + shop + signage | Settled | — | 2023-02-16 |
| — | Kin Kin Quarry Enforcement-order application — 5 alleged breaches of Quarry Management Plan (truck convoying; uncovered loads; operating hours; school-bus-hours trucks; intensification of use)Noosa Shire Council v Cordwell Resources Pty Ltd (breach litigation) | Part win | — | 2022 |
| 67/2020 | 5 Taylor Court MCU/0134 — refusal of bar | Settled | — | 2020-11-19 |
| D144/2019 | 54 Seaview Terrace Application for building works | Settled | — | 2020-11-19 |
| 765/2020 | 28 Eenie Creek Road Refusal of RAL18/0023 | Settled | — | 2020-08-31 |
| D61/2018 | 135 Lake Weyba Drive Refusal of RAL17/0504 | Settled | — | 2020-08-20 |
| BD1605/2020 | 191 Hollett Rd Noosaville Council ALLOWED applicant minor-change appeal — improved outcome accepted | Settled | — | 2020-07-16 |
| 30/2019 | 20 Mitti St Noosa Heads RAL — flooding & drainage conditions | Settled | — | 2020-05-29 |
| 245/2019 | 42 Seaview Terrace Application appeal | Settled | — | 2019-12-19 |
| D30/2018 | 29 & 35A Tait St / 30 Eagle Drive Reconfiguring a Lot — REC17/0011 | Defended | — | 2018-04-19 |
| 281/2017 | 2 Parkyn Court Refusal of OPW16/0016 — tidal works | Settled | — | 2017-09-21 |
| D121/2015 | 125 Myall St Cooroy MCU14/0056 — service station + shop + fast food + car wash + self-storage + tourist park | Not established | — | 2016-08-18 |
| — | Kin Kin Quarry — Cordwell Quarry-approval breach + application to change existing court approval | Not established | — | 2016-05-19 |
Reported judgments
Matters that produced written reasons, so anyone can read what the court actually said. 27 of them, 1993 to 2024.
| Citation | Case | Result | What it was about |
|---|---|---|---|
| [2024] QPEC 51 | Cordwell Resources Pty Ltd v Noosa Council Judge EversonFor council: McCullough Robertson · Batty KC + Hedge | Council won | Enforcement notice — fixed screening plant in breach of approval Kin Kin QuarryEnforcement notice upheld after 4-day hearing |
| [2024] QPEC 5 | Jephcott v Noosa Shire Council For council: McCullough Robertson · Batty + Bowness | Council won | Short-term accommodation — refusal upheld (no existing use right) Peregian BeachSTA local-law permit refusal upheld |
| [2024] QPEC 38 | Noosa Shire Council v Noosa Airfield Pty Ltd & Anor (No 2) Judge Long SCFor council: Thynne + Macartney · Batty + Hedge | Council lost | Non-party disclosure application dismissed Noosa Airfield enforcement (1975 consent alleged lapsed)Procedural loss — main enforcement proceeding ongoing |
| [2024] QPEC 26 | GTH Project No 4 Pty Ltd v Noosa Shire Council Kefford DCJFor council: Thynne + Macartney · Hughes KC + Rix | Council won | Refusal of GemLife retirement village — 246 units 144 Myall St Cooroy (adjacent Cooroy Golf Club)5-year saga 2019-2024; CARA joined as co-respondent; 115-page judgment; $130M project refused |
| [2024] QPEC 18 | Cordwell Resources Pty Ltd v Noosa Shire Council For council: McCullough Robertson · Batty + Hedge | Procedural | Non-party disclosure / expert inspection of quarry plant Kin Kin QuarryProcedural ruling |
| [2023] QPEC 14 | Escanaba Pty Ltd v Noosa Shire Council For council: McCullough Robertson · Batty + Bowness | Council won | Short-stay letting — refusal of local-law application Sunshine Beach duplexRefusal of 27 Apr 2022 upheld |
| [2021] QPEC 77 | Noosa Spotlight Property 2 Pty Ltd v Noosa Shire Council For council: Thynne & Macartney · Hughes QC + Rix | Council won | Refusal of large-format retail (Noosa Marketplace) 2-18 & 20 Hofmann Drive Noosaville8225 sqm retail / Spotlight & Anaconda |
| [2021] QPEC 61 | Mackenzie v Noosa Shire Council For council: Thynne + Macartney · Batty + Yuen | Declaration | Section 11 declaration on calculation of site cover Building site cover disputeDeclaration application |
| [2021] QPEC 21 | Serratore & Anor v Noosa Shire Council | Council lost | Enforcement notices for unlawful vegetation clearing — set aside as defective Rural land — 5 joint ownersNotices issued 19 Apr 2019; set aside on appeal |
| [2021] QPEC 19 | Noosa Shire Council v 64 Gateway Drive Pty Ltd For council: Wakefield Sykes / Thynne Macartney · Lyons | Council lost | Declaration that 16 Ancillary Dwelling Units not ancillary — dismissed 64 Gateway DriveCouncil's declaration dismissed; subsequently SETTLED Jun 2021 |
| [2021] QPEC 11 | Pelican Noosa Pty Ltd v Noosa Council Cash QC DCJFor council: McCullough Robertson · B G Rix | Council lost | Appeal against refusal of minor-change application — jetty extension approval Lot 163 CP907408, southern bank of Noosa River, Noosaville (1,705 m² marine facility lease)Appeal allowed; Council refusal set aside |
| [2020] QPEC 8 | Thomco (No. 2087) Pty Ltd v Noosa Shire Council For council: Wakefield Sykes · Hughes QC + Lyons | Not established | Minor change to permit for visitor accommodation Peregian Beach |
| [2019] QPEC 54 | Trowbridge & Anor v Noosa Shire Council & Ors For council: Wakefield Sykes · Hughes QC + Batty | Not established | Definition of "Detached house" under Noosa Plan 2006 Detached-house definition dispute |
| [2017] QPEC 75 | Como Glasshouse Pty Ltd v Noosa Council Robertson DCJFor council: Wakefield Sykes · Hughes QC + D Jones | Part loss | Infrastructure charges notice — exclusion of demand from prior lawful turf-farm use (Turf farm property)Appeal allowed in part; adjourned for re-calculation of demand offsets |
| [2017] QLC 19 | Marchesi v Noosa Council For council: Wakefield Sykes · M J Batty | Not established | Rating-category appeal — High-Rise Units Category 27 Rating category disputeRefers to 2014-15 Revenue Statement |
| [2015] QPEC 24 | Northbrook Corporation Pty Ltd v Noosa Shire Council For council: Wakefield Sykes · Hughes QC + Williamson | Not established | Planning appeal |
| [2014] QICmr 36 | Madden and Noosa Shire Council; Third Party For council: (Council in-house) | Council lost | RTI external review — refusal of access set aside Camel Company / Noosa Horse Riding recordsCouncil had wrongly refused access on public-interest grounds |
| [2006] QCA 109 | Cameron v Noosa Shire Council McMurdo P; Jerrard JA; Holmes JFor council: HopgoodGanim · R S Litster | Not established | Reported [2006] 2 Qd R 299 Historic |
| [2002] QPEC 42 | Aqua Blue (Noosa) Pty Ltd v Noosa Shire Council | Not established | Substantial commencement of recreational resort & convention centre Aqua Blue resortHistoric |
| [2002] QCA 245 | Percy v Noosa Shire Council For council: King & Company · Gibson QC + Copley | Not established | — Historic |
| [2002] QCA 229 | Kettering Pty Ltd v Noosa Shire Council For council: Deacons · Gore QC + Rackemann | Not established | — Kettering matterHistoric |
| [2002] QCA 16 | Kettering Pty Ltd v Noosa Shire Council For council: Deacons · Gore QC + Rackemann | Not established | — Kettering matterHistoric |
| [2001] QCA 106 | Noosa Shire Council v Kettering Pty Ltd | Not established | Kettering matter Historic — Council as appellant |
| [2000] QPEC 71 | Kettering Pty Ltd v Noosa Shire Council | Not established | Kettering matter Historic |
| [2000] OIC S0157 | Noosa Shire Council and Dept of Communication and Information; T M Burke Estates Pty Ltd (Third Party) | COUNCIL AS APPLICANT (reverse FOI) | Reverse FOI — Council sought to keep legal advice from disclosure (T M Burke development matter / Development Control Plan compensation) Development Control Plan affecting T M Burke landCouncil had provided legal advice to Dept + commented on it to third party and newspapers. 4-year matter filed 1996 |
| [1999] QPEC 57 | Ure v Noosa Shire Council | Not established | — Historic |
| [1993] QSC 17 | Resort Management Services Ltd v Council of the Shire of Noosa | Not established | — Hastings St resort contextHistoric |
Council wins when it is defending
Our reading
Of the 11 reported judgments with a clear-cut result, council is 5–5 with 1 split. Sorted by who started the fight, the pattern is sharper than the raw tally: in every one of those wins council was the respondent, defending a refusal or a notice it had already issued. In the two decided matters where council was the moving party — its declaration against 64 Gateway Drive, and its non-party disclosure application in the Noosa Airfield enforcement — it lost both. Its third proceeding as applicant, the 2022 Kin Kin Quarry breach litigation, produced a part win: an enforcement order on covered truck loads, and failure on the intensification and school-hours truck limits it also sought.
Two decided matters is a small number to hang a pattern on, and the sample is skewed by what gets written up: settled appeals produce no judgment and no reasons, and they are the large majority of council's caseload. But it is the only tally the public record supports, and it points the same way each time.
Who council pays to run these
Instructing solicitors named in the judgments, by the matters they appeared in. Counsel are listed against each judgment above. This counts appearances, not fees — council does not break out legal spend by matter.
| Firm | Matters | Span |
|---|---|---|
| McCullough Robertson | 5 | 2021–2024 |
| Thynne + Macartney | 5 | 2021–2024 |
| Wakefield Sykes | 5 | 2015–2020 |
| HopgoodGanim | 1 | 2006 |
| Deacons | 2 | 2002 |
| King & Company | 1 | 2002 |
Council's planning work sat with Wakefield Sykes of Tewantin for most of the two decades after de-amalgamation — the same firm that had acted against the shire in the Kettering and Cameron appeals before it acted for it. From 2021 the work moved to the Brisbane firms, split between Thynne + Macartney and McCullough Robertson. On the other side, one firm recurs more than any other: P&E Law has appeared against council in 7 of the reported matters.
Not in a courtroom
Three matters that belong on a legal register without being court cases: two councillor-conduct findings, and one in which council was the victim.
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Upheld in part Stockwell inappropriate conduct matter (Cr Brian Stockwell)
One count of inappropriate conduct upheld (other unsubstantiated) — failing courtesy to council staffer
Reprimand + mandatory training/counselling at councillor expense within 3 months. Motion by Cr Lorentson carried unanimously
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Misconduct found Glasgow misconduct matter (former Cr Jess Glasgow)
Two misconduct offences under Local Government Act 2009 — offensive comments about women + disrespectful behaviour on The Bachelorette + misleading media
$4000 fine. CCT said had Glasgow still been a councillor he would be sacked. Generated 130 complaints
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Council defrauded $2.3M AI-imitation cyber fraud against Noosa Council
International criminal-gang fraud using social-engineering AI techniques — Council defrauded of ~$2.3M ratepayer funds
About $640,000 had been recovered by December 2025, leaving a net loss near $1.66M. Council staff were cleared of fault, no system was breached and no data was stolen; council says it has implemented all Queensland Audit Office recommendations
What this page cannot show you
- What the fighting costs. Council's financial statements disclose legal spend in aggregate at best, never by matter. There is no public figure for what any appeal on this page cost ratepayers.
- The reasons for settling. Every settlement here was agreed in closed session on legal advice the public never sees. The open-session resolution records that council settled, not why it stopped defending.
- Council's own prosecutions. Council prosecutes local-law and development offences in the Magistrates Court. None of that appears in a judgments database or on a council agenda, so none of it is here.
- Matters that never reach an agenda. Advice, threatened proceedings, debt recovery and anything settled under delegation leave no trace we can find.
Outcomes marked not established mean exactly that: council listed the appeal, and we have not found a published resolution or judgment saying how it ended. If you know how one of them finished, tell us.