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ARTICLE · 30 JULY 2026

Contract? What Contract? When A Council Resolution To Accept An Offer Is Not Binding

Bartier Perry Solicitors
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The NSW Court of Appeal’s decision in Piety Developments Pty Ltd v Cumberland City Council is a timely reminder that, for councils, passing a resolution to “accept” an offer is not the same thing as entering into a legally binding contract. Even where a resolution is passed in open session, livestreamed, and later recorded in Council minutes, it may still fall well short of creating enforceable contractual rights.

AustraliaCorporate/Commercial Law
David Creais
David Creais
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The NSW Court of Appeal’s decision in Piety Developments Pty Ltd v Cumberland City Council is a timely reminder that, for councils, passing a resolution to “accept” an offer is not the same thing as entering into a legally binding contract. Even where a resolution is passed in open session, livestreamed, and later recorded in Council minutes, it may still fall well short of creating enforceable contractual rights.

The case provides important guidance on how the basic principles of contract formation operate in the context of local government decision-making as regulated by the Local Government Act 1993.

Background to the dispute

Cumberland City Council owned land which it had acquired by compulsory acquisition and was using as a car park.

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