Clifford Ireland
Listed in “The Best Lawyers in Australia” 2027 for:
- Climate Change Law (since 2023)
- Construction/Infrastructure Law (since 2022)
- Land Use and Zoning Law (2025)
- Planning & Environmental Law (since 2020)
- Real Property Law (since 2021)
- Water Law (since 2022) – “Lawyer of the Year in 2023 and 2025”
Listed by Doyles Guide as a Leading Environmental and Planning junior counsel, 2024 and since 2013
Clifford has 19 years of experience at the Bar, and a total of 29 years as a specialist in private practice in environmental and planning law, environmental criminal law, water, development, mining, land acquisition & valuation, and associated areas of property law. He appears at trial regularly in both the Land and Environment Court and Supreme Court.
Qualifications
Bachelor of Arts, University of Sydney
Bachelor of Laws (First Class Honours), University of Sydney
Master of Laws, University of Sydney
Professional experience
Solicitor and Senior Associate, Blake Dawson Waldron (now Ashurst)
Research Assistant, Land and Environment Court of New South Wales
Recent and Significant Cases
- Jindalee Road Wines Pty Ltd v Natural Resources Access Regulator (NRAR); Littore v NRAR [2025] NSWCCA 215, significant case on the principle of totality applicable in sentencing. Appeared in the Court of Criminal Appeal for the Appellants who were resentenced with downward adjustments made to the fines in respect of all the offences from $887,500 to $558,000, applying the principal of totality.
Murray River water thieves hit with $558,000 fine - Budvalt Pty Ltd v The Minister for Lands and Water; Hospitality and Racing, the Minister administering the Water Management Act 2000 [2025] NSWSC 609. Appeared for the Plaintiff in the Supreme Court who challenged a decision of the Defendant concerning the share share component for a replacement floodplain harvesting access licence on the basis of jurisdictional error. The challenge was successful with the Access Licence remitted to the Defendant for determination in accordance with law. The Minister discontinued its appeal to the Court of Appeal after exchange of written submissions and prior to oral argument in February 2026.
- Ice Box Liquor Pty Ltd v Independent Liquour & Gaming Authority [2024] NSWCATAD 180 – Review of decision of the Authority to refuse a packaged liquor licence.
- Bronger v Greenway Health Centre Pty Ltd t/as Greenway Plaza Pharmacy [2023] NSWCA 104 Brereton JA, Beech-Jones JA, Mitchelmore JA – Appeal – Judicial Review. Appearing for the Appellant. Appeal allowed. Orders made by Pain J on 27/7/2022 set aside and new orders inserted granting injunctive relief preventing the Respondent from conducting a “retail pharmacy” as part of a medical complex at the Greenway Medical Centre, Wetherill Park. Costs in favour of the Appellant.
- Greenway Health Centre Pty Ltd Trading as Greenway Plaza Pharmacy ACN 620 125 019 v Bronger & Anor [2023] HCASL 148 (12/10/2023) Jagot J (On the papers) – Special Leave application, appearing for the Respondent on a question of law – judicial review application. Special Leave application dismissed with costs.
- Natural Resources Access Regulator v Lidokew [2023] NSWLEC 131 (Duggan J) – major Class 5 prosecution under the Water Management Act 2000 – successful defence of multiple Tier 3 charges.
- 107 High Nth Sydney Pty Ltd v North Sydney Council [2023] NSWLEC 1231– Sydney development: When is it reasonable to obscure a neighbour’s Harbour Bridge views? Written about in the Sydney Morning Herald, 20 May 2023.
- Site R & D Pty Ltd v Byron Shire Council [2022] NSWLEC 1121 – Significant subdivision development in Byron Bay Shire, successfully approved by the NSW Land & Environment Court in a merits appeal decision handed down on 8 March 2022, by Commissioner Chilcott after a 9 day hearing. Clifford appeared for the Joint Venture Applicants who appealed the refusal by the Northern Regional Planning Panel, under delegation from Byron Shire Council (the Respondent) of the Applicant’s DA seeking consent to subdivide land in two separate areas forming part of the West Byron Urban Release Area (WBURA). Complex issues included: the Applicant’s requests to vary development standards under SEPP 1; whether the Site contained core koala habitat, potential impacts on frog habitat, and biodiversity impacts, including proposed tree removal; acceptable design of road access to industrial land and the satisfaction of all jurisdictional requirements. This is an important decision for planning and environmental law as it addresses complex planning and environmental issues and resolves them in a lengthy and detailed judgment which may have application for similar future cases.
- Secretary, Department of Planning and Environment v Goodman Property Services (Aust) Pty Ltd; Secretary, Department of Planning and Environment v Burton Contractors Pty Ltd T/as Burton Civil Engineering Contractors (No 2) [2021] NSWLEC 34 – Successfully argued, appearing unled, that criminal charges brought by the NSW Department of Planning were legally defective.
- Mangoola Coal Operations Pty Limited v Muswellbrook Shire Council [2021] NSWCA 46 – This was a rating and land valuation case, the amounts in issue being many millions of dollars, and concerning the rating categorisation of land surrounding one of the largest open cut coal mines in Australia. Was buffer land surrounding a mine categorised as “mining” or “farming”? Also appeared at trial: [2020] NSWLEC 66 (11 June 2020).
- Tropic Asphalts Pty Ltd v Snowy Monaro Regional Council [2021] NSWCCA 24 – Appearing unled for the Prosecutor in the NSW Court of Criminal Appeal, successfully defended a decision of Moore J (dated 16 September 2020 [2020] NSWLEC 136), against an application under s 5F of the Criminal Appeal Act 1912 (NSW) for leave to appeal. The defendant argued the subpoena was tainted by improper purpose and illegality.
- Palm Beach Protection Group Inc v Northern Beaches Council (No 2) [2020] NSWLEC 181 (15 December 2020) and Palm Beach Protection Group Incorporated v Northern Beaches Council [2020] NSWLEC 156 (20 November 2020) – Successful environmental or public interest judicial review proceedings, before Preston CJ of LEC, Chief Judge of the Land and Environment Court.
- Kiangatha Holdings Pty Ltd v Water NSW [2020] NSWCCA 263 (19 October 2020) – NSW Court of Criminal Appeal. Successfully appealed a decision of the NSW Land & Environment Court (20 December 2019) arguing that the Prosecutors’ summonses were bad for duplicity. The case lays down some important guidelines for the guidance of prosecutors in the area of environmental crime, concerning the need for precision in pleading.
- Menangle Sand and Soil Pty Ltd v Minister for Planning [2020] NSWLEC 1425 – Successful merits review appeal to the NSW Land & Environment Court against a decision of the Minister for Planning refusing a modification application of an existing consent seeking the extension of a major sand mining operation or quarry for the purpose of extraction of sand and soil and ancillary works, for a further 15 years of operation. The quarry in question had originally supplied the sand used for the concrete used in the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
- AMT Planning Consultants Pty Ltd t/as Coastplan Consulting v Central Coast Council [2018] NSWCA 289 – successfully defended an appeal concerning the character of the use of the land for which development consent was granted for the purposes of establishing an “existing use” under sections (formerly known as) 106 and 107(1)(b)(i) of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (EPA Act)
- EPA v Wellington [2017] NSWLEC 8; (2017) 222 LGERA 31 – successfully argued that the Class 5 criminal proceedings concerning a pollution incident leading to the pollution of the Macquarie River from the council’s sewage treatment plant should be dismissed on legal grounds.
- EPA v Riverina [2015] NSWCCA 165; (2015) 90 NSWLR 57 successfully defending serious criminal charges under the POEO Act brought against client who was a manufacturer of stockfeed. Leading decision on duplicity of criminal charges in environmental crime.
Publications
Clifford is the Editor of the “Local Government – Finance – Actionable Liability” section of Lexis Nexis’ Local Government Planning & Environment NSW Service.
Japanese and Australian Environmental Law – Some points of Comparison 21 February 2026
A Selection of Recent Climate Change Litigation Cases in Australia and England 5 January 2025
An in Depth Look at 4 Recent Climate Change Cases 28 February 2024
NSW Civil & Administrative Tribunal: Retail Lease Jurisdiction paper 23 March 2023
Climate change and environmental planning law [2008] NSWBarAssocNews 10