{"id":"land-boundaries-act-1841","name":"Land Boundaries Act 1841","slug":"land-boundaries-act-1841","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"wa","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":44830,"registerId":"wa-land-boundaries-act-1841-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-02","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Land Boundaries Act 1841","content":"![Crest]()Western Australia\n\nLand Boundaries Act 1841\n\nWestern Australia\n\nLand Boundaries Act 1841\n\nContents\n\n1. Marking of boundaries 1\n\n2. Notice of intended survey to be Gazetted 2\n\n3. Approval, recording and Gazettal of marked boundaries 2\n\n4. Recorded boundaries deemed true boundaries, etc. 2\n\n5. Proviso, distances on the Avon Base Line shall be taken as the guide for the survey of that line, and of the Avon District 3\n\n6. Entry onto land etc. 3\n\n7. Injuring landmarks an offence 3\n\n10. Interpretation 4\n\n11. Short title 4\n\nNotes\n\nCompilation table 5\n\nDefined terms\n\n  \n\nWestern Australia\n\nLand Boundaries Act 1841\n\nAn Act to provide for the more effectual and accurate establishment of the boundaries of land within the Colony of Western Australia.\n\nPreamble\n\nWhereas the want of a sufficient survey‑force in this Colony has heretofore rendered it impossible to ascertain with accuracy the proper boundaries of several grants of land; and whereas many deeds have accordingly been issued, in which the land has been described, either by marks or measurements which on more accurate survey are likely to prove in some degree erroneous, or by measurements to be made of certain distances in certain directions, according to the compass; and whereas it is expedient that all such descriptions should, with as little delay as possible, be corrected or carried into effect, by the erection of visible landmarks upon the several lands under the direction of the Surveyor‑General of this Colony:\n\n##### 1. Marking of boundaries\n\nBe it therefore enacted by His Excellency the Governor of Western Australia, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Council thereof, that it shall be lawful for the Government, as soon as conveniently may be after the passing of this Act, to direct an authorised land officer to ascertain and mark by landmarks the proper boundaries of every grant heretofore made or hereafter to be made by Her Majesty, or her predecessors, her heirs or successors, of lands within this Colony, of which the description contained in the deed of grant shall be such as hereinbefore stated.\n\n[Section 1 amended: No. 126 of 1987 s. 4.]\n\n##### 2. Notice of intended survey to be Gazetted\n\nAnd be it enacted that notice shall be published in 3 successive ‘Gazettes’ of the intended survey of each district.\n\n##### 3. Approval, recording and Gazettal of marked boundaries\n\nAnd be it enacted that whensoever and so soon as the several boundaries shall have been ascertained and marked within any such district as aforesaid, an authorised land officer shall report the same, accompanied by a map or plan of the said district, and a description of the several landmarks placed therein, for the approval of the Governor‑in‑Council; and when so approved shall enter a description of each grant of land so surveyed, according to such landmarks, in a record‑book to be kept by him for that purpose; and every such description shall be signed by him and by the Governor‑in‑Council; and notice of every such entry shall be published in 3 successive ‘Gazettes’.\n\n[Section 3 amended: No. 126 of 1987 s. 5.]\n\n##### 4. Recorded boundaries deemed true boundaries, etc.\n\nAnd be it enacted that all boundaries of lands so entered and signed as aforesaid, shall be deemed and taken to be the true boundaries of such lands respectively; all former descriptions thereof, in any title deeds or otherwise, notwithstanding, and whether such lands be in possession of the original owner or owners, or of his, her or their heir or assignee; and such record‑book or a certified copy to be made and issued on demand without fee, of any entry in such book signed by the Surveyor‑General or, in the case of signature of any such entry after the coming into operation of section 6 of the *Acts Amendment (Land Administration) Act 1987*, by an authorised land officer shall and may be given in evidence of the boundaries of such lands in any suit or cause affecting the same.\n\n[Section 4 amended: No. 126 of 1987 s. 6.]\n\n##### 5. Proviso, distances on the Avon Base Line shall be taken as the guide for the survey of that line, and of the Avon District\n\nProvided always and be it enacted that with respect to the district marked and known in the books of the Western Australian Land Information Authority established by the *Land Information Authority Act 2006* section 5 as the ‘Avon District’, the distances formerly marked out upon the line commonly known as the ‘Avon Base Line’, shall be deemed and taken in all surveys under this Act of such base line, and of all boundary lines of such lands parallel thereto, to express and contain the distances which the same were originally assumed to express and contain in the survey formerly made of the said ‘Avon Base Line’.\n\n[Section 5 amended: No. 126 of 1987 s. 6; No. 31 of 1997 s. 141; No. 60 of 2006 s. 140.]\n\n##### 6. Entry onto land etc.\n\nAnd be it enacted that it shall be lawful for an authorised land officer or any person or persons assisting him from time to time to enter upon any lands within this Colony for the purposes of this Act, and to take materials, and erect landmarks upon any part or parts of such lands respectively; and any person who shall wilfully obstruct or hinder him or them in the execution of such duty shall forfeit and pay a sum not less than $2 nor exceeding $10.\n\n[Section 6 amended: No. 113 of 1965 s. 8(1); No. 126 of 1987 s. 7.]\n\n##### 7. Injuring landmarks an offence\n\nA person who wilfully injures or defaces any such landmark as aforesaid commits an offence.\n\nPenalty: Not less than $20 and not more than $100.\n\n[Section 7 inserted: No. 59 of 2004 s. 141.]\n\n[**8.** Deleted: 1 and 2 Edw. VII No. 14 s. 3(2).]\n\n[**9.** Deleted: No. 78 of 1995 s. 63.]\n\n##### 10. Interpretation\n\nIn this Act —\n\n  authorised land officer has the meaning given by the *Land Administration Act 1997*.\n\n[Section 10 inserted: No. 126 of 1987 s. 9; amended: No. 31 of 1997 s. 141.]\n\n##### 11. Short title\n\nThis Act may be cited as the *Land Boundaries Act 1841* 1.\n\n[Section 11 inserted: No. 10 of 1970 s. 3.]\n\nNotes\n\n1 This is a compilation of the *Land Boundaries Act 1841* and includes the amendments made by the other written laws referred to in the following table. The table also contains information about any reprint.\n\nCompilation table\n\n| **Short title** | **Number and year** | | **Assent** | | **Commencement** | |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| Untitled  2 | 4 & 5 Vict. No. 20 | | 30 Sep 1841 | | 30 Sep 1841 | |\n| *Criminal Code Act 1902* s. 3(2) | 1 & 2 Edw. VII No. 14 | | 19 Feb 1902 | | 19 Feb 1902 | |\n| *Decimal Currency Act 1965* | 113 of 1965 | | 21 Dec 1965 | | s. 4-9: 14 Feb 1966 (see s. 2(2));   balance: 21 Dec 1965 (see s. 2(1)) | |\n| *Statute Law Revision Act 1970* s. 3 | 10 of 1970 | | 29 Apr 1970 | | 29 Apr 1970 | |\n| *Act Amendment (Land Administration) Act 1987* Pt. II | 126 of 1987 | | 31 Dec 1987 | | 16 Sep 1988 (see s. 2 and *Gazette* 16 Sep 1988 p. 3637) | |\n| *Criminal Law Amendment Act (No. 2) 1992* s. 16(1) | 51 of 1992 | | 9 Dec 1992 | | 6 Jan 1993 | |\n| *Sentencing (Consequential Provisions) Act 1995* s. 63 | 78 of 1995 | | 16 Jan 1996 | | 4 Nov 1996 (see s. 2 and *Gazette* 25 Oct 1996 p. 5632) | |\n| *Acts Amendment (Land Administration) Act 1997* s. 141 | 31 of 1997 | | 3 Oct 1997 | | 30 Mar 1998 (see s. 2 and *Gazette* 27 Mar 1998 p. 1765) | |\n| **Reprint of the *Land Boundaries Act 1841* as at 22 Nov 2002 (**includes amendments listed above) | | | | | | |\n| *Courts Legislation Amendment and Repeal Act 2004* s. 141 | | 59 of 2004 | | 23 Nov 2004 | | 1 May 2005 (see s. 2 and *Gazette* 31 Dec 2004 p. 7128) |\n| *Land Information Authority Act 2006* s. 140 | | 60 of 2006 | | 16 Nov 2006 | | 1 Jan 2007 (see s. 2(1) and *Gazette* 8 Dec 2006 p. 5369) |\n\n\n2 Now known as the *Land Boundaries Act 1841*; short title inserted (see note under s. 11).\n\nDefined terms\n\n*[This is a list of terms defined and the provisions where they are defined. The list is not part of the law.]*\n\n**Defined term Provision(s)**\n\nauthorised land officer 10\n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"A positive credit balance is required for all requests, including BYOK, so fallback providers remain available. Add credits at https://vercel.com/d?to=%2F%5Bteam%5D%2F%7E%2Fai%3Fmodal%3Dtop-up to continue.","source":"analysis-cron"},"summary":{"complexity_score":1,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"Scope cannot be assessed as no legislative content was provided. The source material is a website error message, not the text of the Land Boundaries Act 1841."},"complexity_factors":["No legislative text was provided — only a website error page","Unable to assess complexity of the actual Act without its content","Score of 1 reflects absence of analysable material, not simplicity of the underlying law"],"plain_english_summary":"## Land Boundaries Act 1841 (WA)\n\n**No analysis possible.**\n\nThe content provided is not the actual legislation — it is an **error page** from the Western Australian legislation website indicating that the page for the Land Boundaries Act 1841 is no longer available at its previous web address.\n\nNo legislative text, provisions, or substantive content could be retrieved or analysed. To find the current version of this Act (if it is still in force), you would need to:\n- Visit the [Western Australian Legislation website](https://www.legislation.wa.gov.au)\n- Search for the Act directly using the site's search function\n- Or contact the Parliamentary Counsel's Office Helpdesk as suggested on the error page"},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":4,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"Core purpose remains the establishment and marking of boundaries (preamble; s 1), but scope has been modernised: procedural safeguards and administrative actors were added (Gazettal and Governor‑in‑Council approval — ss 2–3), recorded boundaries were given conclusive evidentiary force (s 4), entry and penalty provisions formalised (ss 6–7), and the role term 'authorised land officer' was linked to later land administration law (s 10). A specific surveying rule for the Avon Base Line was also preserved (s 5)."},"complexity_factors":["Cross-references and reliance on external definitions and bodies — the Act depends on the meaning of 'authorised land officer' in the Land Administration Act 1997 (s 10) and on the Western Australian Land Information Authority's records (s 5).","Administrative approvals and formalities — surveys must be reported, accompanied by maps, approved by Governor‑in‑Council, recorded and Gazetted in triplicate notices (ss 2–3), creating multi-step procedural requirements.","Evidentiary effect — recorded and signed boundary entries are declared to be the 'true boundaries' and admissible as evidence in litigation, displacing original deed descriptions (s 4), which changes dispute-resolution mechanics.","Powers of entry and limited criminal/penal provisions — authorised officers and assistants may enter land and take materials to erect landmarks; obstruction and damaging landmarks attract statutory penalties (ss 6–7), raising compliance risk for landholders.","Historical layering of amendments — the Act has been repeatedly amended and modernised (see compilation notes), so interpreting which version and which delegated roles apply requires attention to amendment history (compilation table).","Special local exception — a proviso preserves historical distance measures for the Avon Base Line and parallel lines, which creates a locale-specific surveying rule (s 5)."],"plain_english_summary":"Authorises government direction of authorised land officers to survey and erect visible landmarks, publish notices and approvals in the Gazette, record those landmarks as conclusive boundaries, and to enter land for those purposes. It affects landowners, occupiers and survey officers: it replaces earlier deed descriptions with recorded, signed landmarks as legal evidence (preamble; ss 1–4,10), creates small fines for obstructing officers (s6) and penalties for damaging marks (s7), and preserves a specific rule for the Avon Base Line (s5)."},"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[],"contradictions":[]},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation remains tightly focused on its original purpose: establishing accurate land boundaries through government survey and recording. While it has been amended multiple times (notably in 1987, 1997, 2004, and 2006), these changes have been technical updates—replacing obsolete references (e.g., 'Surveyor-General' with 'authorised land officer'), modernising penalties, and updating institutional names (e.g., Western Australian Land Information Authority). The core mechanism and scope have not expanded beyond the original intent of correcting inaccurate colonial land descriptions."},"complexity_factors":["Only 7 operative sections (with 2 deleted and 2 covering interpretation/short title)","Single defined term ('authorised land officer') in the interpretation section","Minimal cross-referencing—only references to external Acts for definitions and one specific provision about the Avon Base Line","Straightforward procedural structure: survey → gazette notice → approval → recording → legal effect","No nested exceptions or complex conditional logic; only one proviso (section 5) creating a special rule for the Avon District","Language is archaic but structurally simple—typical of mid-19th century colonial legislation","Penalties are fixed ranges with no elaborate sentencing provisions or alternative penalties"],"plain_english_summary":"This is one of Western Australia's oldest laws, dating back to 1841, and it deals with fixing property boundaries properly.\n\n**What it does:**\nBack in the early days of the colony, land grants were often described vaguely—using compass directions or rough measurements that turned out to be wrong when properly surveyed. This law gives the government power to send surveyors onto private land to mark the *actual* boundaries with physical landmarks (like posts or markers). Once these boundaries are recorded and published in the government Gazette (the official public record), they become the legal truth—overriding whatever was written in the original land deeds, even if those deeds said something different.\n\n**Who it affects:**\n- **Landowners** in Western Australia, especially those with older land grants that might have inaccurate descriptions\n- **Surveyors and government land officers** who have the power to enter private property, erect markers, and record boundaries\n- **Anyone who interferes with survey work** or damages boundary markers (they face fines)\n\n**Key protections and processes:**\n- The government must give public notice in the Gazette before surveying a district\n- Land officers can enter private property to do the work and take materials needed for landmarks\n- Once boundaries are recorded and signed off by the Governor-in-Council, they're legally binding\n- There's a special rule for the **Avon District** (near the Avon Base Line)—distances there keep their original measurements from early surveys, even if modern surveying would suggest different figures\n- Damaging or defacing a landmark is an offence carrying fines between $20 and $100\n- Obstructing a surveyor carries fines between $2 and $10\n\n**Why it matters:**\nThis law solved a massive practical problem in colonial Western Australia: people were buying and selling land based on dodgy descriptions. By allowing the government to fix the boundaries once and for all—and making those fixed boundaries legally binding—it created certainty for property ownership. The law still operates today, though it's been updated to reference modern legislation like the *Land Administration Act 1997*."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/land-boundaries-act-1841","history":"/api/acts/land-boundaries-act-1841/history","analysis":"/api/acts/land-boundaries-act-1841/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/land-boundaries-act-1841/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/land-boundaries-act-1841/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/land-boundaries-act-1841/documents"}}