Victorian government ordered to pay $27m to landowner over disputed rezoning for public transport project
Consensus Summary
A Victorian Supreme Court ordered the state government to pay Jeffrey Barrett $27.925 million after he sued over financial losses from public acquisition overlays on his rural property in Melbourneās west. The land, originally zoned for rural use, was rezoned in 2010 for a future transport corridor including a regional rail link and ring road. Barrettās 2021 development application was rejected due to the overlays, while Transport for Victoria initially offered no compensation, later amending its stance to admit liability but still refusing to pay until 2025. Justice Claire Harris ruled Barrettās losses were a direct consequence of the rezoning, awarding him the full amount. Barrettās son criticized the governmentās prolonged legal battle, calling it unfair for landowners without resources. The case highlights tensions over the Outer Metropolitan Ring Road (OMR) project, a proposed $31 billion orbital freeway through Melbourneās west, with the government already spending hundreds of millions on land acquisitions along the corridor.
ā Verified by 2+ sources
Key details reported by multiple sources:
- Jeffrey Barrett, a landowner in Wyndham Vale, Melbourneās west, was awarded $27,925,000 in compensation by the Supreme Court of Victoria for financial losses linked to public acquisition overlays on his property in 2010.
- The land was originally zoned for rural use but was rezoned in 2010 with public acquisition overlays for a future transport corridor, including a regional rail link, ring road, and Western Grasslands Reserve.
- Wyndham City Council rejected Jeffrey Barrettās 2021 development application due to the public acquisition overlays, while approving a different proposal on another property not covered by the overlays.
- Transport for Victoria initially offered $0 in compensation to Jeffrey Barrett in 2021, later amending its offer to $18,650,000 in 2025 after admitting a prima facie right to compensation existed.
- The case was presided over by Supreme Court Justice Claire Harris, who ruled that Barrettās financial loss was a natural, direct, and reasonable consequence of the land being reserved for public use.
- The Outer Metropolitan Ring Road (OMR) project, a proposed 100-kilometre orbital freeway, is planned to pass through over 600 properties in Melbourneās west and north.
Points of Difference
Details reported by only one source:
- Justice Harris noted that Transport for Victoriaās initial formal response did not admit Barrett had suffered any financial loss, and the government authority continued to make no offer of compensation until 2023.
- The court limited the trial to determining the appropriate amount of compensation, with both parties agreeing that without the public acquisition, one property would have been within the urban growth boundary in 2010, while the other would have been nearly entirely outside it.
- Transport for Victoria disputed Barrettās claim that some financial loss was caused by the grassland reservation planning overlay, arguing some loss stemmed from Barrettās failure to obtain a cultural heritage management plan.
- Brett Barrett, Jeffrey Barrettās son, criticized the state governmentās legal tactics, stating the process was ādauntingā and āexcessively costlyā for most landowners along the corridor.
- The Victorian government had already spent at least $350 million compensating landowners along the OMR corridor before the latest Supreme Court ruling, with potential total payouts reaching $2.7 billion.
- Justice Harris ruled that the Department of Transport and Planningās initial position of making no offer in reliance on a claim of no financial loss was unreasonable, and that Barrettās introduction of new evidence on hydrology and cultural heritage caused a nine-month adjournment.
- Infrastructure Australia identified the OMR as a potential project for a five- to ten-year investment pipeline in 2026, with planners urging the government to accelerate the project to avoid economic productivity losses due to congestion.
- The combined state and federal governments allocated $20 million in 2021 for a business case for the OMR, with the cost of land acquisition along the corridor marked as commercial in confidence.
Contradictions
Conflicting information between sources:
- ABC states the government initially made a formal compensation offer of $0 in 2021, while THEAGE clarifies the government initially made no offer at all and later admitted a prima facie right to compensation in 2023.
- ABC does not mention the $350 million previously spent by the government on compensating landowners along the OMR corridor, which THEAGE explicitly states.
- THEAGE reports that Brett Barrett scaled back his claim from $31.31 million to $28.27 million, while ABC states Barrett revised his claim to just over $28 million in March 2025.
- ABC does not mention the governmentās potential total payout of $2.7 billion for the OMR corridor, which THEAGE explicitly references.
- THEAGE states that Justice Harris ruled Barrett contributed to delays by introducing new evidence just before the planned hearing, while ABC does not mention this specific detail.
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