There may be times you’ll need to know where your property ends and begins. Boundary surveying gives you accurate information about the border of your property.
You can have a boundary surveyed for many reasons, including:
- replacing or building a fence,
- selling or buying land,
- building or extending,
- addressing property boundary disputes.
What surveyors do
You can't survey a boundary yourself. Only surveyors can do this for you, as long as they’re registered under the Surveyors Act 2007 (the Act).
Registered surveyors can help:
- find and mark existing boundaries,
- certify the boundaries and structures on your property,
- provide engineering, topographic, and photogrammetric data and,
- give you a survey certificate to go with your development application.
Find a registered surveyor
Before you hire a registered surveyor, you'll need to know if they meet certain standards:
- They’re registered under the Surveyors Act 2007 (the Act) – before hiring a surveyor, you'll need to check their status. You can search the Access Canberra list of registered land surveyors (ACT), or the Board of Surveying and Spatial Information (NSW).
- Indemnity insurance – if you're hiring a private surveyor, you'll need to confirm if they have appropriate insurance. You can request this information from the surveyor.
- Advertising – sometimes you might see an advert that doesn't tell you if a surveyor is registered. You might see surveyors describing themselves as 'consultant surveyors' or 'land surveyors'. You'll need to check their registered status before you hire them.
If you are unsure if the surveyor meets the right standards, you can contact the ACT Registrar of Surveyors at surveyors.registrar@act.gov.au.
More information
If you are a surveying professional, you can find more information and resources for surveyors.
