Causes of disputes in construction planning permit applications

The planning permit mechanism has been adopted to balance the benefits between landowners and the other stakeholders regarding construction development. Like many other construction disputes, planning permit application disputes have been suggested to be resolved by negotiations. In recent years, a considerable amount of dispute cases were referred to the Australian State Civil and Administrative Tribunals that burdened the legal system. This study aims to identify the causes of disputes in planning permit applications via a new approach. Court cases in the State of Victoria, Australia, that are related to the planning permit applications were identified from the Australasian Legal Information Institute (Austlii) database system. A triangulation approach is adopted to identify the causes of planning permit disputes. The following seven major causes of disputes in planning permit applications were identified: ineffective environmental management plans, contamination concerns, pollution concerns, noise concerns, traffic congestion, impact on locality, and violations of local council's directions. Further studies regarding court case investigations are suggested to extend to other states within Australia, which would provide a wider perspective in order to examine causes of disputes that relate to planning permit applications.