Hearings and reviews
You may need to attend several different hearings and reviews as part of your proceedings in the Planning and Environmental Court (P and E Court): a directions hearing, review hearing, callover hearing and final hearing.
The hearings begin once the party with the onus of proof (usually the developer) applies for a directions order within at least 3 months of the proceeding being filed. A directions hearing before a judge is then set.
Timings
Directions/review hearings in Brisbane are held at:
- 10am every day during a P and E Court applications week; and
- Outside of a P and E Court applications week, at a time and date determined by the Court
The P and E application weeks for the current year can be found on the P and E Court Calendar.
The court in which the directions/review hearing will be conducted in Brisbane is published in the Daily law list after 6.00pm the day prior to the day the matter is listed. The information will also be posted on the display panels in the court foyer on the day.
If your matter is listed in a court outside of Brisbane, please contact the local Registry for information on when directions/review hearings will be held.
Attending hearings and reviews
All parties must attend all hearings and reviews listed before a judge or the court.
A party is any individual or organisation that has filed a notice of appeal, an originating application, an entry of appearance or a notice of election to co-respond. Property developers, local councils and other government bodies, businesses, home owners and residents affected by the case may become a party to proceedings in the court.
If it’s difficult for you to attend a review or hearing in person, you can apply to appear by telephone. To apply, speak to or email the judge’s associate by no later than 12pm on the business day prior to the hearing date. If you do not know which judge will be hearing the matter, email the P and E Court List Manager on DC-PEListManager@justice.qld.gov.au for advice.
If your case is to be reviewed by a judge and all parties wish to adjourn (postpone) the review, the ADR Registrar may adjourn the matter ‘on the papers’ if all active parties agree and the request complies with the Practice Direction 9 of 2023 (see practice direction 2024/09 , paragraphs 8 and 9 regarding when the ADR Registrar may grant an adjournment).
If satisfied with the request, the ADR Registrar will list the review on a later day instead.
Types of hearings and reviews
Directions hearing
At the directions hearing, the court issues a directions order outlining the steps that parties must take and time frames for doing so. A draft order is usually agreed between the parties beforehand and handed up to the judge.
Directions orders usually include a dispute resolution plan. This may be a 'without prejudice' conference chaired by the ADR Registrar or other means of dispute resolution.
Read more about alternative dispute resolution in the P and E Court.
Review hearing
Review hearings may occur on numerous occasions during the proceeding and enables the Court to check the progress of the case.
At a Review hearing, the parties are expected to tell the Court:
- whether they’ve complied with the previous directions order
- if they haven’t complied, when will attend to the outstanding matters
- whether adjustments are required to the timetable outlined in the previous directions orders.
The Court usually schedules a subsequent Review Hearing to ensure matters are progressing in an expeditious manner.
A party may make an application for another Review hearing before the scheduled hearing, if a dispute arises that may cause delays in the timetable.
Pre-callover review
A Pre-callover review occurs at least six weeks before the month in which the parties are seeking trial dates, as outlined in a prior directions order. The purpose of the Pre-callover review is to satisfy the Court the proceeding is ready for trial.
If the Court is satisfied the proceeding is ready for trial, the matter will be listed for a Callover hearing. If not satisfied the Court may postpose the matter to a later hearing pool.
The P and E Court Calendar displays the Pre-callover review dates for the current year.
Pre-hearing review
At the initial Directions hearing or a subsequent Review hearing, the Court may determine a case is suitable to be fast-tracked to a trial (Ready for Hearing list). These cases are not expected to require more than a 5-day trial and will be heard within 12 months of the case being filed.
Direction orders will be made timetabling the entire proceeding up to trial and will include a Pre-hearing review at the end of the timetable. The purpose of the Pre-hearing review is to satisfy the Court the proceeding is ready for trial.
Pre-hearing reviews are conducted on a date determined by the Court, as opposed to the set Pre-callover review dates.
If the Court is satisfied the proceeding is ready for trial, the case will be allocated fixed trial dates. If not satisfied, the Court may adjourn the Pre-hearing review to a later date or remove the case from the fast-track list.
Callover hearing
A callover is a final review of the case. In a callover, a judge allocates fixed hearing dates for the cases that both:
- are due to be heard in a particular sitting
- have satisfied the court at the Pre-callover review that the case is ready to proceed.
The callover is usually held a few weeks before the final hearing. For example, many cases may be set down for hearing in Brisbane during February. At the January callover, the judge sets specific February dates for each case to be heard.
The P and E Court Calendar displays the callover hearing dates for the current year.
Final hearing (Trial)
If all steps in the directions order have been followed, the final hearing determines the result of the case.
Open communications
The core of our justice system is the principle that each party knows the case against them. All communications about the case must occur openly and in the presence of all interested parties.
Therefore, parties to proceedings in the P and E Court can’t speak to judges outside the courtroom or contact the judges about the hearing.
A judge’s associate may contact you about:
- when a hearing will occur
- when a judgment will be given
- procedural matters.
Property inspection
If you think having the judge inspect the relevant land, buildings or area would help the court understand the evidence, let the judge know.
Contact the judge’s associate after the callover when you know which judge is conducting the final hearing.
Usually the inspection won’t involve taking or recording evidence.
Show the judge only those things that are relevant to the case. Additionally, avoid telling the judge anything during the inspection regarding your evidence or case, or the opponent’s evidence or case.