Survey Co-ordination Act 1944

For the purposes of this Act there shall be established and maintained in the central plan office a register, to be called the central plan register, which shall be in the form prescribed and shall contain the prescribed classifications and particulars.

The Surveyor-General, after such inquiry as he thinks necessary, shall cause to be entered in the central plan register a record of such of the plans – set out on any list forwarded to him in accordance with section seven; or forwarded to him under the provisions of section six – as appear to him to be of general value for the purposes of this Act, and shall cause to be marked or stamped upon every such plan, whether in the central plan office or not, such particulars of its registration and classification as are prescribed.

Where it appears to the Surveyor-General that any registered plan in the possession of any public authority is of such general value for the purposes of this Act that it should be lodged in the central plan office – in the case of any plan in the possession of a Government department, within the meaning of the State Service Act 2000 – with the consent of the Minister administering that department; and in the case of any plan in the possession of an Agency, within the meaning of the State Service Act 2000, not being a Government department – with the consent of the Head of that Agency; and in the case of any plan in the possession of any other public authority – with the consent of the chairman, president, or chief executive officer of the authority – such plan or a certified copy thereof shall, when required by the Surveyor-General, notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in any enactment other than this Act, be lodged and kept in the central plan office.

No registered plan which remains in the possession of any public authority shall be destroyed or, except in pursuance of this Act, be removed out of the possession of such authority without the consent, in writing, of the Surveyor-General.

Where any alteration is effected in any registered plan which remains in the possession of any public authority, the proper officer thereof shall, within fourteen days after the alteration is effected, notify the Surveyor-General thereof, in writing, and, if a copy of the registered plan has been lodged with the Surveyor-General, a plan showing the details of the alteration shall be forwarded to, or lodged with, the Surveyor-General together with the notification of the alteration.

For the purpose of the registration and classification of plans pursuant to this Act, every person authorized by the Surveyor-General shall, at all reasonable times, have free access to all plans specified in any list forwarded to the Surveyor-General under the provisions of this Act which are in the possession of any public authority, and shall be entitled to mark or stamp on any of those plans such particulars as are required for the purposes of subsection (2).

The Surveyor-General shall cause to be published in the prescribed manner and form – in the month of July next after the commencement of this Act, and thereafter in the month of July in every year in which the Minister so directs – an index of plans recorded in the central plan register as at the preceding thirtieth day of June; and in the month of July in every year in which such index is not published – a supplementary index of all plans so recorded since the last publication of the index or supplementary index, as the case may be, up to the preceding thirtieth day of June.

A copy of such portion of each index or supplementary index as is required shall be made available – without charge, to the Commonwealth survey authority and to every public authority; and with the consent of the Surveyor-General, upon payment of the prescribed fee, to any person.