Licensed Surveyors (General Surveying Practice) Regulations 1961

The regulations rest on a small set of organising concepts that determine what surveyors must do and how their work is judged.

Authorised survey: The regulations apply to “authorised surveys” under the Licensed Surveyors Act 1909, a defined term in the Act as referenced in regulation 3. The regulations use that concept repeatedly to determine when field records must be kept and lodged (regulation 8), when certificates must be issued (regulation 25A), and when special‑area procedures apply (Part 7).

Field record: A field record is the central documentary artefact. Regulation 8 requires every surveyor to keep a field record for each authorised survey, and sets an expectation that the record will allow another surveyor to readily understand methodology, scope and the marks used (regulation 8(1), (2A) and (2B)). For surveys that establish boundaries the field record must be lodged with the plan (regulation 8(2C)), and where specified the field record must be lodged within six months of completion (regulation 8(3)). The field record is the vehicle for recording observed and previous measurements (regulations 28 and 29), the results of area calculations (regulation 35A), and descriptions of any alternative marks used (regulations 36(6), 38(3) and 39(3)).

Certification: The regime mandates professional certification at several points. A surveyor must certify field records in the prescribed certificate form (regulation 17(1) and Table), initial and date each page containing notes (regulation 17(2)), and must put a certificate on plans in the prescribed form (regulation 54). Re‑establishment surveys trigger a specific certificate to the registered proprietor and the client within 30 days (regulation 25A(1)). For subdivisions in special survey areas a final survey certificate in a prescribed form must be given to the Surveyor General (regulation 55E) and lodged before plans can be passed for dealings (regulation 55F(1)).

Accuracy, closure and calibration: The regulations emphasise accuracy (regulation 5). Distances must be recorded to at least 0.005 m (regulation 9(1)), reference distances to the highest practicable precision (regulation 9(2)), and the reference surface must be stated (regulation 9(3)). Angular and linear closure limits are specified (regulation 34), and miscloses must be distributed by generally accepted mathematically sound processes (regulation 35). Equipment calibration at intervals not exceeding two years is mandatory (regulation 20(1)), with the Surveyor General required to arrange standards to enable compliance (regulation 20(2)).

Marking and referencing: A technical standard for marking boundaries and placing reference marks is central. Regulation 36 prescribes materials, dimensions and marking conventions for posts and pegs, including a Table that ties post/peg size to parcel area. Regulation 37 mandates the placement of two reference marks at angles or key points, their relation by distance (and direction where practicable) to an alignment, and measurement of the distance to the nearest millimetre (regulation 37(2) to (4)). Regulations 38 and 39 set specifications for reference and intermediate marks, and regulation 40A provides additional requirements for streets, rights‑of‑way and other public thoroughfares.

Connection to previous surveys and geodetic network: Each new survey must be connected to a previous survey unless otherwise provided (regulation 22(1)), and the regulations require connection to approved map grids and the State geodetic network in accordance with guidelines (regulation 22A). Re‑establishment may be based on connections to standard survey marks where the surveyor has connected to a geodetic station (regulation 22B).

Guidance and authorised departures: The Board and Surveyor General have express powers to issue guidelines and to authorise departures from the regulations for particular surveys or study different types of surveys (regulation 3A and regulation 26A). Where a survey is authorised to be conducted by other methods the Surveyor General or the Board may issue directions or guidelines for those cases (regulation 26A(3)).

Special survey areas and early lodgment: Part 7 creates a special pathway for subdivisions in declared special survey areas, requiring control networks, pre‑placement of lot corners, early lodgment options for dealings, control network summaries and final certificates, and continuing obligations to disclose non‑availability of access to purchasers (regulations 55BB, 55B, 55C, 55E and 55F).

Discipline and enforcement: The regulations do not themselves create a suite of criminal offences beyond the single penalty for removal or defacement of survey marks (regulation 51(1)). Instead, they function chiefly as standards that feed into professional discipline under section 21 of the Act, which is referenced multiple times (regulations 5 and 56).

These concepts structure compliance obligations, allocate decision rights (Board and Surveyor General), and create the documentary chain that the Western Australian Land Information Authority receives and relies upon.

Primary obligations fall on licensed surveyors, defined in regulation 3 as “a surveyor licensed under the Act whose name appears on the register.” The regulations repeatedly address the licensed surveyor as the actor required to perform duties: to keep field records (regulation 8(1)), certify those records (regulation 17), calibrate equipment (regulation 20), place marks (Part 5, especially regulation 36 and regulation 37), and lodge certificates and plans (regulations 25A, 54, 55E and 55F). The surveyor also has reporting duties, for example to report removal or defacement of a survey mark to the Surveyor General (regulation 51(2)).

The Surveyor General is a central decision maker and recipient of information. The Surveyor General approves plans (regulation 3 definition), arranges standards to support calibration (regulation 20(2)), may authorise alternative survey methods, declare special survey areas and issue or require compliance with guidelines (regulation 26A), and receives final survey certificates and reports required in re‑establishment cases (regulations 25 and 55E). The Board, separately, may produce guidelines for practice (regulation 3A) and request field records from surveyors (regulation 8(4) and (5)).

Public authorities are actors in two ways. Surveyors must obtain relevant information before commencing a survey from the department that administers the Land Administration Act 1997, the department administering the Mining Act 1978, and the Western Australian Land Information Authority (regulation 4(2)(a) to (c)). The Western Australian Land Information Authority is also the lodgment repository for plans and field records, as indicated by the definition of “lodge” in regulation 3 and the lodgment requirements in regulation 8(2C). The Western Australian Planning Commission is specifically referenced for Part 7 by requiring its file number to appear in the field record for subdivisions in special survey areas (regulation 55B(3)(a) and regulation 55F(2)(i)).

Registered proprietors and clients of surveyors are affected through notification and certificate obligations. Re‑establishment surveys require the surveyor to provide copies of a written certificate to the registered proprietor and the surveyor’s client within 30 days of completion (regulation 25A(1)). For subdivisions in special survey areas the surveyor must take reasonable steps to ensure purchasers are told that access may not be available at settlement and to advise purchasers of any changes to practical completion timeframes (regulation 55BB(9)).

Members of the public are indirectly affected by the physical marking rules and the sole penalty provision. The placement, description and protection of survey marks (Part 5) dictate which physical features will exist on the ground and how they must be recorded. Regulation 51(1) creates a criminal penalty for a person who removes or defaces a survey mark, a fine of $1,000. That penalty is the only expressly criminal sanction in these regulations.

Clients and employers of surveyors will bear the cost consequences of the technical obligations, because the regulations impose procedural and equipment requirements on the surveyor, such as calibration every two years (regulation 20(1)), maintenance of precise measurement standards (regulations 9 and 34), and the need to place durable and in many cases substantial posts or pegs (regulation 36 and Table). The regulations are silent on who pays those costs; they impose duties on the licensed surveyor without prescribing cost allocation between surveyor, client or landowner.

Other users of land and infrastructure managers have specific interfaces. Where boundaries abut streets, rights‑of‑way, pedestrian access ways, drainage reserves or railways, additional marking requirements apply (regulation 40A). For pastoral and timber leases there are tailored rules permitting longer intervals between intermediate marks and different permitted mark types (regulation 47).

Finally, the Board and the Surveyor General, through guideline and authorisation powers (regulations 3A and 26A), are positioned to affect how the general rules apply in practice, which creates an administrative channel by which standards can change in response to technology or policy without formal amendment to the regulations themselves.

This section sets out the principal affirmative duties imposed on surveyors, the documentary obligations that follow, and the discrete rights, discretions and administrative mechanisms that act on or protect parties.

Duties of surveyors: Regulation 4 states primary professional duties. Every surveyor must work in a professional manner and study the interests of the State in all operations (regulation 4(1)(a)), disclose doubts, discrepancies and difficulties as soon as practicable (regulation 4(1)(b)), and afford the Surveyor General all information obtained in the due performance of entrusted surveys (regulation 4(1)(c)). Before commencing a survey the surveyor must obtain relevant survey information from specified State departments and the Western Australian Land Information Authority (regulation 4(2)). Regulation 7 requires compliance with guidelines under these regulations and directions or guidelines under other Acts unless the surveyor can demonstrate to the Surveyor General that compliance is inappropriate in the particular circumstances or an equivalent alternative action has been taken.

Record‑keeping and lodgment obligations: The surveyor must keep a field record for each authorised survey (regulation 8(1)). The field record must be sufficient that another surveyor would readily gain complete understanding of the survey methodology, scope and marks used (regulation 8(2A)), and must show everything done or found on the ground in the course of the survey (regulation 8(2B)). When a survey establishes one or more boundaries the field record must be lodged with the plan of the authorised survey (regulation 8(2C)). Lodgment deadlines apply: where a field record is required to be lodged it must be lodged within six months of completion of the survey (regulation 8(3)). The Board may request a copy of a field record and the surveyor must comply (regulation 8(4) and (5)).

Precision and measurements: Distances must be recorded as observed and reduced to a precision of at least 0.005 metre (regulation 9(1)), with referencing and offset distances recorded at the highest practicable precision (regulation 9(2)), and the reference surface of each distance stated (regulation 9(3)). Any distances or angles not measured by the surveyor must be designated as “cal.” or “orig.” depending on whether calculated or copied from earlier data (regulation 12). Area calculations must be recorded to prescribed units and precision (regulation 35A).

Calibration and standards: Measuring equipment must be calibrated at regular intervals not exceeding two years (regulation 20(1)). The Surveyor General must arrange availability of a standard or standards to enable compliance (regulation 20(2)).

Connections and geodetic network: Each survey must be connected to a previous survey unless otherwise provided by regulation or guideline (regulation 22(1)). Authorised surveys are to be connected on an approved map grid and guidelines will specify the map grids and the extent of connection (regulation 22A). Where a survey has been connected to a geodetic station, re‑establishment of alignments and boundaries may be based, at the surveyor’s option, on that connection (regulation 22B). Azimuths must be derived by observation or by applying convergence corrections from the nearest point of observation, and derivation must be obtained at intervals of not more than 8 km (regulation 27).

Marking obligations: Regulation 36 prescribes materials, sizes and marking conventions for corners and angles. Survey marks must be firm and stable (regulation 36(2)), and the Table to regulation 36 ties post or peg size to enclosed area. Reference marks must be placed as required by regulation 37, related by distance and, if practicable, direction to an alignment, and the distances must be measured and recorded to the nearest millimetre (regulation 37(3) and (4)). Specification of reference marks and intermediate marks is in regulations 38 and 39.

Certificates and notifications: Surveyors must certify the field record in the specified certificate form and initial and date pages with notes (regulation 17). For re‑establishment surveys a certificate must be given within 30 days to the registered proprietor and the client, and the surveyor must keep a duplicate for seven years and make it available on request by the Board’s authorised officer (regulation 25A(1) and (2)). Plans must carry a certificate signed by the surveyor (regulation 54). Subdivisions in special survey areas involve further certification obligations: an Initial Survey Certificate option for early lodgment (regulation 55BB(4) and (5)), a Final Survey Certificate for the Surveyor General (regulation 55E), and lodgment requirements before passing plans for dealings (regulation 55F(1)).

Reporting and preservation duties: Where survey marks are removed or defaced the surveyor must report the event to the Surveyor General as soon as practicable (regulation 51(2)). Regulation 24A requires that if reference marks cannot be expected to remain safe from disturbance the surveyor must establish additional reference marks in places confidently expected to be safe.

Administrative discretion and rights to deviate: The Board and Surveyor General may issue guidelines (regulation 3A) and may authorise alternative methods for surveys (regulation 26A(1) and (2)). The Surveyor General may declare special survey areas and specify conditions for them in guidelines (regulation 26A(4) and (5)). Regulation 7 contains a limited right to depart from guidelines or statutory directions where the surveyor demonstrates to the Surveyor General that compliance is inappropriate in the particular circumstances or an equivalent alternative has been taken.

Discipline and enforcement interface: The regulations state that failure to meet required accuracy or other provisions may be taken into account when determining whether proper cause exists for disciplinary action under section 21 of the Act (regulation 5 and regulation 56). The regulations therefore operate as enforceable professional standards feeding into the Act’s disciplinary mechanisms, rather than as a comprehensive enforcement code with multiple monetary penalties.

Monetary penalty: The only monetary fine created within the regulations is for removal or defacement of survey marks, a fine of $1,000 (regulation 51(1)).

Rights and protections for third parties: The regulations require that registered proprietors and clients receive certificates for re‑establishment surveys (regulation 25A(1)), and purchasers in special survey areas must be informed about possible lack of access at settlement and any changes to timeframes (regulation 55BB(9)). These provisions create informational rights for property owners and prospective purchasers.

The regulatory text establishes a mixed enforcement architecture made up of a single direct statutory penalty provision, reporting requirements, professional certification, lodgment controls and an explicit channel to professional discipline under the Act.

Statutory penalty: Regulation 51(1) creates a direct criminal offence for any person who removes or defaces a survey mark. The prescribed penalty is a fine of $1,000. The regulation does not specify further criminal procedures or additional sanctions; it sets a fixed monetary penalty for the conduct described.

Reporting requirement and administrative follow up: Regulation 51(2) imposes a duty upon surveyors to report removal or defacement of a survey mark to the Surveyor General as soon as practicable after becoming aware. This reporting obligation creates a surveillance pathway that can trigger administrative responses, re‑establishment works, or involvement of other authorities, although the regulations do not specify subsequent operational measures the Surveyor General may take.

Professional discipline: Two separate provisions make conformity with the regulations a relevant factor in disciplinary proceedings under the Licensed Surveyors Act 1909. Regulation 5 states that findings about a surveyor’s accuracy or reliability, or neglect to comply with the regulations, may be taken into account in determining whether there is proper cause for disciplinary action under section 21 of the Act. Regulation 56 expressly states that whether a surveyor has acted in accordance with these regulations may be taken into account for disciplinary purposes under section 21 of the Act. The regulations do not set out the mechanics of the disciplinary process; they only identify the regulations as standards of professional conduct that feed into the statutory disciplinary power.

Lodgment, plan acceptance and dealings: Several provisions tie lodgment and certification practices to the administrative acceptance of plans and the ability to effect dealings. For example, Part 7 requires that before any examined plan will be passed for dealings the surveyor must lodge the final survey certificate and the field record recording referencing detail (regulation 55F(1)). Regulation 8(2C) requires field records that establish boundaries to be lodged with the plan, and regulation 8(3) sets a six month lodgment deadline for such field records. Non‑lodgment may therefore impede the administrative acceptance of plans and delay dealings, although the regulations do not prescribe a specific monetary penalty for late lodgment except for the separate requirement in regulation 53A that a certificate be lodged where a plan is not lodged within two years.

Board requests and compulsion to produce records: The Board may request a copy of a field record and the surveyor must comply with that request (regulation 8(4) and (5)). This compulsion gives the Board an administrative enforcement lever to audit survey practice and follow up non‑compliance.

Certification obligations as compliance triggers: The mandatory certificates in regulations 17, 25A, 54 and 55E place on surveyors an express professional declaration of compliance with relevant written laws and the regulations. Those certifications create possible grounds for disciplinary action when false or negligent. The regulations require the surveyor to accept full responsibility when providing these certificates; the certificates therefore act as both compliance instruments and potential evidence in enforcement or disciplinary proceedings.

Administrative discretion and guidelines: The Board and Surveyor General may issue guidelines (regulation 3A and regulation 26A). The existence of guidelines means enforcement will partly be shaped by those instruments. Regulation 7 permits a surveyor to demonstrate to the Surveyor General that compliance with a guideline or direction is inappropriate and to show an equivalent alternative action. That mechanism establishes both an enforcement standard and an administrative route for exceptions, centralising ultimate discretion with the Surveyor General.

Limits of the regulatory penalty architecture: The regulations impose few express statutory monetary penalties beyond the fine for interfering with marks. The practical enforcement of standards therefore depends heavily on administrative controls (lodgment, certification, Board requests), the Surveyor General’s approvals and audit capacity, and professional discipline under section 21 of the Act. The regulations themselves do not specify investigative powers, timelines for disciplinary proceedings or administrative sanctions, so enforcement relies on the wider Act and administrative practice.

The regulations are expressly designed to operate alongside several named statutes and instruments and to be read in the context of the Licensed Surveyors Act 1909. They reference both substantive land laws and procedural instruments administered by State agencies.

Gateway to the Act: The regulations apply to “authorised surveys” under the Licensed Surveyors Act 1909, a defined concept in the Act as noted in regulation 3. The regulations therefore rely on the Act to define the universe of surveys they cover and to provide the disciplinary framework (for example section 21 of the Act is invoked in regulations 5 and 56).

Interaction with land administration and mining regimes: Regulation 4(2) requires that before commencing a survey the surveyor must obtain relevant survey information from the department of the Public Service principally assisting in the administration of the Land Administration Act 1997, and from the department principally assisting in the administration of the Mining Act 1978. This establishes a direct legal and administrative interface: surveyors must consult those agencies’ records and directions before starting work. The regulations do not reproduce those Acts’ provisions, but they make knowledge of their content a prerequisite for efficient compliance (regulation 6) and place an obligation on surveyors to be conversant with relevant written laws.

Lodgment and cadastral registration: The Western Australian Land Information Authority, established by the Land Information Authority Act 2006 section 5, is the lodgment repository referenced by the regulations. The definition of “lodge” (regulation 3) and multiple lodgment requirements (regulation 8(2C), regulation 55F(1)) create a procedural link to the Authority’s registration and dealings processes. Regulation 54 further references the Transfer of Land (Surveys) Regulations 1995 by excluding compiled plans as defined in that instrument from the requirement to carry the prescribed certificate.

Planning and subdivisions: Part 7 references the Western Australian Planning Commission indirectly by requiring the Commission’s file number to appear in the field record for subdivisions in special survey areas (regulation 55B(3)(a) and regulation 55F(2)(i)). Special survey area procedures in Part 7 also require coordination between survey control networks, construction works and plan lodgment, which implicitly links to planning approvals, engineering, and construction regimes administered by planning and local government authorities.

Standards and guidelines: The Board and the Surveyor General have powers to issue guidelines and to approve departures from the regulations (regulations 3A and 26A). Those guidelines will determine how the regulations interact with contemporary survey practice, geodetic reference frames, and potentially with technical standards set by other authorities. The regulations make compliance with guidelines mandatory absent a surveyor convincing the Surveyor General of inappropriateness or having taken an equivalent action (regulation 7). Thus guidelines act as an intermediary layer between the regulations and other technical standards.

Disciplinary machinery: The regulations rely on the Act’s disciplinary power (section 21) for enforcement of professional standards. They do not themselves specify the full range of sanctions or the disciplinary process; that framework exists in the Act and in the Board’s procedures under the Act. The regulations therefore interact with the Act’s adjudicative mechanisms when breaches occur.

Procedural precedence and authorisations: Regulation 26A allows the Surveyor General or the Board to authorise surveys to be conducted by methods other than those in the regulations and to specify conditions for special survey areas. Those authorisations will govern how the regulations apply where statutory or practical circumstances require alternative methods. The regulations thus have an inbuilt mechanism to be adapted to the requirements of other legal or operational regimes.

Silence on cost allocation and civil remedies: The regulations impose duties and certification obligations but are silent on who bears the monetary cost of compliance, or on civil liability for negligence, trespass or boundary disputes. Those matters fall to contract law, the Licensed Surveyors Act, and other civil remedies outside these regulations. Practitioners should note that the regulations create professional standards, certification obligations and administrative consequences, but do not by themselves set out private law remedies or cost‑sharing mandates.

In sum, the regulations operate as technical and procedural standards within a broader statutory ecosystem, interacting with land administration, mining, planning and cadastral registration laws, while relying on the Board and the Surveyor General to mediate application through guidelines and authorisations.

The compilation table included in the reprint provides a granular history of the instrument from its inception to the reprint date, showing a pattern of incremental amendment and republishing.

Origin and earliest reprints: The instrument originally appeared as the Licensed Surveyors (Guidance of Surveyors) Regulations 1961, gazetted 28 November 1961 and commencing 1 January 1962. Early amendments and reprints followed; a reprint was approved 22 February 1971.

Key chronological amendments and reprints: The compilation table records significant amendment entries in the following years:

• 1965: Untitled regulations (Gazette 4 August 1965 p. 2223) introduced changes effective 4 August 1965. The Decimal Currency Act 1965 also affected the instrument as noted in the table.
• 1970: Untitled regulations (Gazette 24 February 1970) and a reprint in 1971.
• 1972: Amendments were promulgated 1 September 1972 (Gazette 1 Sep 1972 p. 3411‑13).
• 1979: Amendments gazetted 9 November 1979 (Gazette 9 Nov 1979 p. 3519‑20).
• 1982 and 1983: Amendment Regulations in 1982 and 1983 (Gazette 26 Feb 1982 p. 648; Gazette 23 Sep 1983 p. 3799).
• 1986: Amendments in 1986 (Gazette 26 Sep 1986 p. 3705‑6) and a reprint as at 20 January 1986.
• 1990: Amendment Regulations 1990 (Gazette 26 Oct 1990 p. 5382‑4) and a reprint as at 2 August 2002 after further changes.
• 1997: Amendments in 1997 (Gazette 4 Apr 1997 p. 1757‑67), which inserted or revised a number of provisions and introduced obligations such as the re‑establishment certificate in regulation 25A.
• 2000: Substantial amendments on 5 September 2000 (Gazette 5 Sep 2000 p. 5053‑61), which introduced provisions such as regulation 3A (guidelines), regulations 22A and 22B (connections to standard survey marks), and others addressing modern survey standards.
• 2003 and 2005: Further amendments on 12 September 2003 and 22 April 2005.
• 2006: Amendments in 2006 including a set of changes coming into effect on 1 January 2007 (Gazette 29 Dec 2006 p. 5899‑900).
• 2013: The most recent consolidated amendment in this reprint is the Licensed Surveyors (Guidance of Surveyors) Amendment Regulations 2013 (Gazette 26 Jul 2013 p. 3449‑82), with many regulations updated and the instrument re‑titled Licensed Surveyors (General Surveying Practice) Regulations 1961 for the reprint dated 6 December 2013.

Renaming and consolidation: The instrument’s title changed from Licensed Surveyors (Guidance of Surveyors) Regulations 1961 to Licensed Surveyors (General Surveying Practice) Regulations 1961, as noted in the compilation table. Multiple reprints have consolidated amendments over the decades.

Repealed and deleted provisions: The text shows a sequence of deleted or omitted regulations across various amendment events, for example regulations 2, 10 and 11, 18 and 19, 24, 30, 31, 32, 33, 43, 44, 45 and 46, and others being deleted by successive amending instruments. Those deletions reflect periodic streamlining and replacement of older procedural provisions.

Insertions of modern standards: Several insertions modernise the instrument: regulation 3A allowing the Board to make guidelines (inserted 5 Sep 2000), the 2013 updates which added precision requirements for recording distances to 0.005 m (regulation 9) and the explicit requirement that field records show everything done on the ground (regulation 8(2B)). The 1997 and 2000 amendment rounds also introduced requirements for certificates and field record lodgment that link to administrative practice and the Land Information Authority’s systems.

Practical implication of history: The amendment history indicates the instrument has evolved from guidance towards a more prescriptive, administratively integrated set of rules reflecting changes in surveying practice, technology and cadastral systems. The Board and Surveyor General powers to issue guidelines provide a mechanism to adapt practice without immediate statutory amendment, but the compilation table shows that periodic formal amendments have updated the regulatory baseline over decades.

For practitioners, the reprint notes and compilation table provide the authoritative chronology up to 6 December 2013. The text itself includes marginal notes of amendment and insertion dates, making it possible to trace when particular duties, certificates or technical specifications (for example the Table to regulation 36) were introduced or altered.

The reprinted regulations and the compilation table presented in this document do not include any judicial or tribunal decisions, and the statutes reproduced here do not cite case law or list decisions taken under the Act or these regulations. There are no cases named in the text of the regulations as reproduced in this reprint.

Because the regulations function primarily as a set of technical standards and as inputs into the disciplinary mechanism of the Licensed Surveyors Act 1909 (section 21) they are likely to appear in administrative and disciplinary proceedings, and potentially in civil proceedings concerning boundary disputes, professional negligence, or the effect of survey certificates. However, the regulatory text itself contains no record of litigation, no reported decisions and no guidance about how courts or tribunals have interpreted particular clauses.

Practitioners who require binding interpretations, precedent on the acceptance of alternative marks, or case law on the limits of disciplinary sanctions under section 21 will need to consult external sources of authority such as decisions of tribunals, disciplinary board determinations, and court judgments interpreting the Act and these regulations. The instrument’s internal references to the Act, to Board guidelines and to the Surveyor General’s approvals suggest that dispute resolution will often turn on the evidentiary quality of field records, the conformity of marking practices to the Table in regulation 36, and the surveyor’s adherence to prescribed precision and closure standards (for example regulations 9 and 34). These are factual and technical matters that commonly feature in litigated boundary and professional discipline cases, but no such cases are cited in the reprint.

In short, the regulations as printed here contain no litigation history or named judicial authorities. For authoritative interpretations and precedential guidance, practitioners should review disciplinary tribunal records under the Licensed Surveyors Act 1909 and court decisions dealing with cadastral survey disputes, as the reprint itself does not supply that material.

The regulations contain a number of specific technical and procedural traps for the unwary that can generate administrative rejection of plans, disciplinary scrutiny, or operational problems on the ground. These are concrete, source‑based risk points to watch.

Field record completeness and lodgment timing: Regulation 8 mandates that field records for authorised surveys must show everything done or found on the ground (regulation 8(2B)), and where boundaries are established the field record must be lodged with the plan (regulation 8(2C)). Field records that fail to meet the “complete understanding” standard in regulation 8(2A) risk rejection by the Board or the Surveyor General, and incomplete or late lodgment (there is a six month lodgment deadline in regulation 8(3)) can impede passing plans for dealings. The Board may request copies of field records and the surveyor must comply (regulation 8(4) and (5)). If a plan is not lodged within two years from ground marking the surveyor must lodge a certificate that the marks are intact (regulation 53A); failure to manage those timelines creates additional administrative obligations.

Precision and recording rules: Distances must be recorded and reduced to a precision of at least 0.005 m (regulation 9(1)), referencing distances at the highest practicable precision (regulation 9(2)), and reference surfaces must be stated (regulation 9(3)). Reference mark distances must be measured and recorded to the nearest millimetre (regulation 37(4)). Small lapses in notation or insufficient stated reference surfaces may render a field record non‑compliant.

Certification form and page‑level controls: Regulation 17 requires a prescribed certificate and requires each page with notes to be initialled and dated (regulation 17(2)). Using an incorrect certificate wording on plans or failing to initial and date notes on each page is a formal compliance failure that the Board and Surveyor General can treat as evidence of unsatisfactory performance (regulation 5 and regulation 56).

Calibration intervals and availability of standards: Measuring equipment must be calibrated at intervals not exceeding two years (regulation 20(1)), and the Surveyor General must arrange for standards to be available (regulation 20(2)). Surveyors who cannot demonstrate calibration records within the two year window, or who cannot show use of the Surveyor General’s standards, face compliance questions. The regulations do not specify acceptable calibration providers or methods beyond “accepted practice,” which creates an evidentiary burden for the surveyor to justify their calibration regime.

Closure limits and miscloses: Angular and linear closure limits are explicit (regulation 34), and miscloses must be adjusted by a mathematically sound process generally accepted as good survey practice (regulation 35). Failure to meet the stated angular or linear limits, or to document a sound adjustment method in the field record, gives rise to findings that may be taken into account under section 21 of the Act (regulation 5).

Marking materials and sizes: The Table to regulation 36 ties post or peg size and material to land parcel area; alternative marks are permitted only if they are of equivalent durability and stability, identifiable as cadastral marks and described fully in the field record (regulation 36(5) and (6)). Using inappropriate marks without adequate description, or a mark that does not satisfy those three criteria, risks rejection or complaint. For streets and similar features the exposed portion of angle posts must be coloured red and placed per regulation 40A, a potentially overlooked on‑site requirement.

Replacement and additional reference marks: Regulation 24A requires additional reference marks where reference marks used to re‑establish alignments cannot confidently be expected to remain safe from disturbance. Failure to create such additional marks may render re‑establishment fragile and could lead to disputes or subsequent rework.

Special survey area procedures and purchaser disclosure: Part 7 allows early lodgment for dealings (regulation 55BA and 55BB) but imposes control network and marking obligations (regulation 55BB(1) to (7)), a requirement to lodge the plan and field records within 14 days after final marking (regulation 55BB(7)), and a specific disclosure duty to purchasers that access may not be available at settlement (regulation 55BB(9)). Surveyors who lodge plans early but fail to ensure corners have been marked or to make the purchaser disclosures required expose themselves and clients to post‑settlement access disputes, and the final acceptance for dealings is contingent on completion of marking and lodgment (regulation 55F(1)).

Reporting and record retention: For re‑establishment surveys the surveyor must provide copies of the certificate to the registered proprietor and client within 30 days and must keep a duplicate for seven years and make it available on request from the Board’s authorised officer (regulation 25A(1) and (2)). Failure to retain duplicates or to provide timely copies is a concrete compliance risk.

Limits of regulatory enforcement and reliance on external processes: The regulations themselves create only a limited direct penalty scheme and otherwise rely on the Act’s disciplinary process and administrative lodgment controls. Practitioners should not expect automatic criminal enforcement beyond the single fine for removing or defacing marks (regulation 51(1)). Instead, non‑conformity commonly manifests as delay in plan acceptance, Board requests for records, or disciplinary referrals.

Silence on costs and civil liability: The regulations impose many duties and procedural obligations but are silent about who bears compliance costs, and they do not specify civil remedies for third parties who suffer loss from survey errors. Surveyors and clients should address cost allocation and liability through contractual arrangements, and ensure insurance and professional indemnity arrangements cover the procedural and technical obligations set out in these regulations.

Administrative discretion and guideline dependence: The Board and Surveyor General can issue guidelines and authorise departures (regulation 3A and regulation 26A). The existence of guidelines means surveyors must track and implement guideline changes; a failure to follow an up‑to‑date guideline can be treated as non‑compliance unless the Surveyor General accepts a justification (regulation 7).

This section sets out practical, source‑grounded steps for surveyors and their clients to meet the regulations’ requirements, with references to the relevant provisions.

1. Confirm applicability and obtain pre‑survey information (regulation 3 and regulation 4)

   • Verify that the proposed work is an “authorised survey” under the Licensed Surveyors Act 1909. The regulations apply to surveys authorised under the Act (regulation 3).
   • Before starting, obtain relevant survey information from:
     • the department administering the Land Administration Act 1997;
     • the department administering the Mining Act 1978; and
     • the Western Australian Land Information Authority (regulation 4(2)).
   • Be conversant with all written laws necessary to discharge surveying duties (regulation 6).

2. Record keeping: create and maintain a full field record (regulation 8 and regulation 17)

   • Keep a field record for each authorised survey (regulation 8(1)).
   • Ensure the field record allows another surveyor to readily understand methodology and marks used (regulation 8(2A)), and record everything done or found on the ground (regulation 8(2B)).
   • For surveys that establish boundaries, lodge the field record with the plan (regulation 8(2C)); lodge within six months of completion (regulation 8(3)).
   • Use the prescribed certification wording for field records and initial and date each page with notes (regulation 17(1) and (2)).
   • If the Board requests a copy of a field record, comply (regulation 8(4) and (5)).

3. Measurement protocols, calibration and documentation (regulation 9, regulation 12, regulation 20 and regulation 34)

   • Record distances to a precision of at least 0.005 m and reference or offset distances at the highest practicable precision (regulation 9(1) and (2)); state the reference surface (regulation 9(3)).
   • Designate any distances or angles not measured by you as “cal.” or “orig.” per regulation 12.
   • Calibrate measuring equipment at intervals not exceeding two years and keep calibration records; use standards that the Surveyor General arranges (regulation 20(1) and (2)).
   • Achieve closure within the angular and linear limits in regulation 34 and document the method used to distribute miscloses, using a mathematically sound process generally accepted as good survey practice (regulation 35).

4. Marking practice and documentation (Part 5: regulation 36 to regulation 42)

   • Select posts/pegs matching the Table in regulation 36 according to parcel area, ensuring marks are firm and stable (regulation 36(1), (2) and Table).
   • Colour exposed portions white or red as required (regulation 36(7) and regulation 40A(2)).
   • Place two reference marks at each angle for parcels greater than 4 ha, or at key points for parcels 4 ha or less, and measure the distance between reference marks to the nearest millimetre (regulation 37(2) to (4)).
   • Use iron spikes for reference marks where practicable and record descriptions of any alternative marks in the field record (regulation 38(1) to (3)).
   • For permanent boundaries exceeding 250 m place intermediate iron spike marks at intervals not exceeding 250 m and describe alternative marks in the field record where necessary (regulation 39).
   • For roads and public reserves, follow the specific additional requirements in regulation 40A.

5. Connection to prior surveys and geodetic control (regulation 22, regulation 22A and regulation 22B)

   • Connect each survey to a previous survey unless otherwise provided (regulation 22(1)).
   • Connect authorised surveys to a map grid approved by the Board and follow guidelines specifying approved grids and extent of connection (regulation 22A).
   • If the survey is connected to a geodetic station in accordance with regulation 22A, you may, at your option, base re‑establishment on that connection, following guidelines for the details (regulation 22B).

6. Re‑establishment and reporting obligations (regulation 23, regulation 25 and regulation 25A)

   • When re‑establishing original Crown surveys adhere to the principle of unchangeableness of boundary marks except where correction is warranted, and submit a full report, sketch and field record to the Surveyor General within three months where material disagreement exists (regulation 25(1) and (2)).
   • Where original intermediate marks are not truly aligned you may correct them provided no improvements are affected, and record original and amended positions in the field record, and report to the Surveyor General within three months (regulation 25(3) and (4)).
   • For surveys falling under paragraph (c) of the Act’s authorised survey definition, give registered proprietor and client copies of the prescribed certificate within 30 days and retain a duplicate for seven years (regulation 25A(1) and (2)).

7. Certification of plans and final survey certificate for special areas (regulation 54, regulation 55E and regulation 55F)

   • Put the prescribed certificate on every plan and sign it (regulation 54).
   • For subdivisions in special survey areas follow Part 7: ensure adequate connections to the State geodetic network, place control points that will survive construction, mark corners prior to lodging for dealings where applicable, and lodge required documents within the specified timeframes (regulation 55BB(1) to (7)).
   • Lodge the Final Survey Certificate and field record before any examined plan will be passed for dealings (regulation 55E and regulation 55F(1)).

8. Special survey area and purchaser disclosure obligations (regulation 55BB)

   • If working in a declared special survey area, follow the guidelines under regulation 26A(5) and the standard requirements set out in regulation 55BB.
   • If lodging a plan for dealings before completion of marking, use the Initial Survey Certificate format acceptable to the WA Land Information Authority and ensure purchasers are told that access may not be possible at settlement and are informed of changes to the practical completion timeframe (regulation 55BB(4), (5) and (9)).

9. Record retention, reporting and post‑lodgment duties

   • Keep duplicates of re‑establishment certificates for seven years and make them available to the Board’s authorised officer on request (regulation 25A(2)).
   • If a plan is not lodged within two years of ground marking, lodge a certificate confirming inspection and that all marks are intact (regulation 53A).
   • Report removal or defacement of survey marks to the Surveyor General as soon as practicable (regulation 51(2)).

10. Use guidelines and seek approvals for departures (regulation 3A, regulation 26A and regulation 7)

    • Obtain and follow Board and Surveyor General guidelines made under regulations 3A and 26A. Make sure your practice aligns with those guidelines.
    • If compliance with a guideline is inappropriate in particular circumstances, demonstrate that to the Surveyor General and show an equivalent alternative action as allowed by regulation 7.

11. Manage professional risk and disciplinary exposure

    • Treat the regulations as professional standards that may feed into disciplinary action under section 21 of the Act (regulations 5 and 56).
    • Maintain calibration, measurement, marking, certification and lodgment documentation to rebut any allegation of non‑compliance.

Practical checklist for a single authorised survey

• Before ground work: obtain agency information (regulation 4(2)); check relevant guidelines (regulation 3A); confirm any special area authorisations (regulation 26A).
• During field work: maintain the field record showing all on‑ground findings (regulation 8(2B)); measure distances to 0.005 m precision or better (regulation 9(1)); place marks to specification (regulation 36); take and record reference mark distances to the nearest millimetre (regulation 37(4)).
• After field work: initial and date each page of the field record with notes and execute the prescribed certificate (regulation 17); lodge field record with plan within six months for boundary surveys (regulation 8(2C) and (3)); where applicable issue re‑establishment certificates to proprietor and client within 30 days (regulation 25A(1)); retain duplicates for seven years (regulation 25A(2)); if plan not lodged within two years, lodge inspection certificate (regulation 53A).

The regulations place technical duties and documentary obligations on the surveyor and rely on administrative acceptance, guideline adherence and the disciplinary machinery of the Act to ensure compliance. Following the stepwise approach set out above, and keeping an auditable trail of measurements, calibrations, mark descriptions and certificates, aligns practice with the written requirements in the regulations.