Survey Act 1992

In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears—

submerged land;

an interest in land;

a documentary record; or

a record made by an electronic, electro-magnetic, photographic or optical process; or

any other kind of record;

a cadastral survey; or

any process of determining—

the form of land; or

the position of a point, object, structure or feature on or in land, by the measurement of distances and angles (including measurement by means of an electronic device) or by photogrammetry;

a mark or peg of a kind specified in survey instructions in force under this Act that is placed on or in land for the purposes of defining a boundary of the land; or

a permanent survey mark;

A person who holds a licence under this Act will be taken to be registered under this Act.

A reference in an instrument (whether of a statutory nature or not)—

to a licensed surveyor is to be taken to be a reference to a licensed surveyor within the meaning of this Act;

to a registered surveyor is to be taken to be a reference to a licensed or registered surveyor within the meaning of this Act.

For the purposes of this Act, a surveyor whose licence or registration is under suspension will be taken not to hold a licence or not to be registered (as the case may require).

Without limiting the generality of the expression, a person who is not a surveyor will, unless exempted by the regulations, be taken to

For the purposes of this Act, a person occupies a position of authority in a trust or corporate entity if the person—

in the case of a body corporate—

is a director of the body corporate; or

exercises, or is in a position to exercise, control or substantial influence over the body corporate in the conduct of its affairs;

manages, or is to manage, the business of the body corporate that consists of the provision of surveying services; or

where the body corporate is a proprietary company—is a shareholder in the body corporate; or

in the case of a trust—is a trustee or beneficiary of the trust.

However—

a minor who is a shareholder in a proprietary company, or a beneficiary under a trust, is not, for that reason, to be regarded as a person occupying a position of authority; and

a charitable organisation that is a beneficiary of a trust is not, for that reason, to be regarded as occupying a position of authority in the trust.

For the purposes of this Act, a person who holds more than 10 per cent of the issued share capital of a public company will be regarded as a person occupying a position of authority in that company.

There will be a Surveyor‑General.

The Surveyor‑General must be a person who is eligible to be licensed or registered under this Act.

The Surveyor‑General may delegate to any person any of the

A delegation under this section—

may be made subject to such conditions as the

is revocable at will; and

does not derogate from the power of the Surveyor‑General to act in any matter.

at any reasonable time, enter any land for the purposes of performing the functions assigned to the Surveyor‑General under this

take such action as is necessary to enable those functions to be carried out effectively (including excavating or breaking the surface of land to the extent necessary to uncover or place a survey mark).

The Institution of Surveyors is responsible for—

monitoring the operation of this Act and the law relating to surveying; and

exercising a general oversight over surveying, and the keeping of survey records, in this State; and

monitoring the operation of survey instructions in force under this

exercising a general oversight over the professional practice of surveyors; and

monitoring the standards of courses of instruction and training available to—

those seeking licensing or registration as surveyors;

surveyors seeking to maintain or improve their skills in surveying practice; and

consulting with educational authorities in relation to the establishment, maintenance or improvement of courses referred to in paragraph (e); and

making recommendations to the Minister with respect to the matters referred to in the preceding paragraphs; and

providing financial and other assistance for the conduct by a university of, or participation of a student in, a course of instruction and training that provides qualifications for licensing or registration as a surveyor, and otherwise promoting surveying as a career, as agreed with the

carrying out such other functions as are assigned to it by this

The Institution of Surveyors must carry out its functions under this Act with a view to promoting and maintaining high standards of competence and conduct in surveying practice.

establish the position of Registrar and ensure that a person is appointed to, or acting in, that position at all times; and

establish and maintain a register of surveyors and ensure—

that the register is accurate; and

that the register is available for inspection by or on behalf of the Surveyor‑General without charge and by any other person on payment of the fee fixed by the Institution of Surveyors with the approval of the

make administrative arrangements for receiving, considering and investigating complaints against surveyors; and

establish and maintain a system for collecting the levies payable under this Act on lodgment of survey plans; and

establish and maintain such other administrative arrangements as are necessary for the performance of the functions assigned to it by this

The Institution of Surveyors—

must keep separate accounts of fees and levies received under this

must prepare a statement of those accounts in respect of each financial year and have the statement audited by a registered company auditor.

Fees and levies received by the Institution of Surveyors under this

The Institution of Surveyors must, on or before 30 September in each year, deliver to the Minister a report on the performance of its functions under this Act during the financial year that ended on the preceding 30

The report must include, in respect of the financial year to which it relates—

statistics relating to licences, registrations and renewals granted under this Act, complaints against surveyors received under this Act and investigations carried out under this Act; and

the audited statement of accounts of fees and levies.

The Minister must, within 12 sitting days after receipt of the report, cause a copy of the report to be laid before each House of

The Institution of Surveyors may, by instrument in writing, delegate any of its functions or powers under this Act other than this power of delegation.

A delegation—

may be made—

to a member of the Institution of Surveyors; or

to a committee established by the Institution of Surveyors;

may be made subject to conditions and limitations specified in the instrument of delegation; and

is revocable at will and does not derogate from the power of the

he or she is a licensed surveyor; or

he or she is acting under the supervision of a licensed surveyor;

the survey mark is placed in the course of a survey carried out as

he or she is a licensed surveyor; or

he or she is acting under the supervision of a licensed surveyor;

the survey is carried out through the instrumentality of a licensed surveyor or a person acting under the supervision of a licensed surveyor;

the survey is carried out as part of a course of training approved by the Institution of Surveyors.