A long-running battle over the Heritage Plaza Shopping Centre in Caboolture has shifted again, with the Queensland Land Appeal Court finding that Genamson Holdings may be entitled to more compensation than first ruled — but not everything it had sought.
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Genamson, which owns the popular Heritage Plaza, had sued Moreton Bay Regional Council after the latter allegedly issued two notices to resume land at the site for a proposed flood detention basin. The basin was proposed to temporarily hold stormwater during heavy rain and reduce flood risk in the surrounding area.
The notices were later withdrawn, but the dispute did not end there. Genamson claimed it had been left with significant costs, from disrupted development plans and lost tenancy income to higher holding charges. The company lodged a claim under the Acquisition of Land Act 1967 (Qld), arguing it should be compensated for losses caused by the resumption attempts.
In September 2024, the Land Court took a narrow view of what the developer could claim, limiting compensation to legal and professional fees incurred in preparing its case. Broader claims, including “disturbance payments” for financial losses, were rejected.
That prompted an appeal. The Land Appeal Court delivered its decision in Genamson Holdings Pty Ltd v Moreton Bay Regional Council [2025] QLAC 2. The higher court overturned the earlier ruling, finding that the lower court had applied too narrow an interpretation of section 16(1A) of the Act.
The judges said that while “costs and expenses” were not broad enough to include losses like rent or tenant incentives, they did extend beyond strictly legal fees. As a result, the case has been sent back to the Land Court to decide what additional costs, if any, Genamson can recover.
The outcome has been described as a partial win for the developer, since the decision widens the scope for compensation but does not guarantee the full recovery of its claimed losses.
Despite that success, the Land Appeal Court made no order as to costs, meaning both sides must bear their own legal bills. In earlier stages of the dispute, director Geoff Lowe said legal costs had already exceeded $750,000.
The decision follows years of tension between the developer and the council, stretching back to 2016. Back then, Genamson’s bid to expand Heritage Plaza was knocked back. Two years later, council voted to resume more than half of the site for a detention basin. At the time, Mr Lowe warned that the move would damage tenants, threaten almost $15 million in economic activity, and force the company into further legal action.
Since then, Mr Lowe has also written to the council outlining a proposal to construct a private underground basin beneath the shopping centre itself. He compared the idea to a project beneath a mosque in Istanbul, suggesting that similar solutions could help balance commercial development with flood mitigation.
The debate comes as communities face increasing warnings about future flood risk. A new climate report by the Australian Climate Service projected that Brisbane could face more than 300 flood days each year by 2100 if global warming trends continue. The report stressed the need for proactive infrastructure investment to adapt to climate pressures already being felt across Queensland.
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For now, the court’s decision opens the door to a broader reading of compensation rights under Queensland law, while leaving unresolved how future compensation claims will be handled.
Published 25-September-2025
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