Tasmanian Bills Tasmanian Bills[Index] [Search] [Download] [Related Items] [Help]
This is a Bill, not an Act. For current law, see the Acts databases.
TASMANIA
__________
SURVEYORS AMENDMENT BILL 2014
__________
CONTENTS
1. Short title
2. Commencement
3. Principal Act
4. Section 3 amended (Interpretation)
5. Section 4 amended (Functions and powers of Surveyor-General)
6. Section 5 amended (Delegation by Surveyor-General)
7. Section 5A inserted
5A. Deputy Surveyor-General
8. Sections 7 and 8 substituted
7. Application and eligibility for registration as a
surveyor
8. Registration by Surveyor-General
8A. Re-accreditation by prescribed institute
8B. Register of surveyors
8C. Disbursement of fees for registration as land
surveyor
9. Section 9 amended (Particulars to be entered in register)
10. Section 10 amended (Renewal of registration)
11. Section 10A inserted
10A. Refusal of renewal of registration
12. Section 11 amended (False or misleading statements)
13. Section 12 amended (Cancellation or suspension of registration)
[Bill 26]-IV
14. Section 15 amended (Directions for practice of surveying,
professional development, &c.)
15. Section 19 amended (Appellations to be used)
16. Section 20 amended (Saving for non-registered surveyors)
17. Section 23 amended (Survey investigation)
18. Section 23A inserted
23A. Surveyor-General may require information
19. Section 24 amended (Correction of survey errors)
20. Section 24A inserted
24A. Notification of errors and anomalies that cannot be
readily corrected
21. Section 25 amended (Survey performance)
22. Section 26 amended (Certification and adequacy of surveys)
23. Section 27 amended (Power of entry on land)
24. Section 31A inserted
31A. Temporary prohibition from practice
25. Section 32 substituted
32. Grounds for disciplinary action
26. Section 34 amended (Disciplinary action)
27. Section 40 amended (Survey examination)
28. Section 41 amended (Destruction of, damage to, &c., survey
marks)
29. Section 43 amended (Protection from liability)
30. Section 46 amended (Regulations)
31. Repeal of Act
2
SURVEYORS AMENDMENT BILL 2014
This Public Bill originated in the House of Assembly, and, having this day passed, is
now ready for presentation to the Legislative Council for its concurrence.
P. R. ALCOCK, Clerk of the House
28 October 2014
(Brought in by the Minister for Primary Industries and Water,
the Honourable Jeremy Page Rockliff)
A BILL FOR
An Act to amend the Surveyors Act 2002
Be it enacted by His Excellency the Governor of Tasmania, by
and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Council and
House of Assembly, in Parliament assembled, as follows:
1. Short title
This Act may be cited as the Surveyors
Amendment Act 2014.
2. Commencement
This Act commences on the day on which this
Act receives the Royal Assent.
3. Principal Act
In this Act, the Surveyors Act 2002* is referred
to as the Principal Act.
*No. 36 of 2002
[Bill 26] 3
Surveyors Amendment Act 2014
Act No. of
s. 4
4. Section 3 amended (Interpretation)
Section 3(1) of the Principal Act is amended as
follows:
(a) by inserting "an image or" after "is" in
paragraph (a) of the definition of
document;
(b) by inserting "images," after "which" in
paragraph (b) of the definition of
document;
(c) by inserting the following definition after
the definition of mutual recognition
legislation:
prescribed institute means the institute
prescribed as having
responsibility for the training,
examination and accreditation of
persons seeking to establish their
competency to practise as a
registered land surveyor under
this Act;
(d) by inserting the following definition after
the definition of survey mark:
survey of land includes a survey of
land undertaken to re-mark
boundaries of land originally
surveyed for a purpose authorised
by any Act;
(e) by inserting the following definition after
the definition of surveyor:
4
Surveyors Amendment Act 2014
Act No. of
s. 5
Surveyor-General means the person
appointed under section 3A of the
Survey Coordination Act 1944;
5. Section 4 amended (Functions and powers of
Surveyor-General)
Section 4 of the Principal Act is amended as
follows:
(a) by inserting "and powers" after
"following functions";
(b) by inserting the following subparagraph
after subparagraph (i) in paragraph (b):
(ia) the requirements for eligibility for
registration as a land surveyor;
and
(c) by omitting from paragraph (c) "Part 4."
and substituting "Part 4;";
(d) by inserting the following paragraphs
after paragraph (c):
(d) to issue directions as to the types
of surveys of land that may be
exempt from the requirements of
this Act;
(e) to issue directions as to the
minimum level of land survey-
related activity or professional
development required for
registration as a land surveyor.
5
Surveyors Amendment Act 2014
Act No. of
s. 6
6. Section 5 amended (Delegation by Surveyor-
General)
Section 5 of the Principal Act is amended by
inserting "functions and" after "s".
7. Section 5A inserted
After section 5 of the Principal Act, the
following section is inserted in Part 2:
5A. Deputy Surveyor-General
(1) The Minister may appoint a State Service
officer or State Service employee to be
Deputy Surveyor-General and that
person may hold that office in
conjunction with State Service
employment.
(2) The Deputy Surveyor-General so
appointed may, in the absence of the
Surveyor-General, perform any of the
functions or duties or exercise any of the
powers of the Surveyor-General under
this Act.
8. Sections 7 and 8 substituted
Sections 7 and 8 of the Principal Act are
repealed and the following sections are
substituted:
6
Surveyors Amendment Act 2014
Act No. of
s. 8
7. Application and eligibility for registration as
a surveyor
(1) A person, on payment of the prescribed
fee, may apply to the Surveyor-General
to be registered as a surveyor.
(2) A person is eligible to be registered as a
land surveyor if -
(a) the person -
(i) was a surveyor registered
under the repealed Act
immediately before the
commencement day; or
(ii) has been accredited by the
prescribed institute as
having the educational
qualifications and
practical training required
for the practice of land
surveying as prescribed in
the regulations; or
(iii) is entitled to be registered
as a land surveyor under
mutual recognition
legislation; and
(b) the person -
(i) has undertaken such land
survey-related activities
or professional
development as may be
7
Surveyors Amendment Act 2014
Act No. of
s. 8
prescribed in the
directions issued under
Part 4; and
(ii) is capable of carrying out
the practice of land
surveying in Tasmania in
accordance with all
statutory requirements.
(3) A person is eligible to be registered as a
surveyor, other than a land surveyor, if
the person has competency accreditation
which is recognised by a relevant
institution as satisfying national
competency standards for professional
surveyors practising other than in land
surveying.
8. Registration by Surveyor-General
(1) The Surveyor-General may -
(a) require an applicant for
registration to produce any
documents or other information
that the Surveyor-General
considers necessary to decide the
application; and
(b) make any inquiries that the
Surveyor-General reasonably
needs to decide the application.
(2) The Surveyor-General must register a
person who applies for registration if the
person is eligible for registration and the
8
Surveyors Amendment Act 2014
Act No. of
s. 8
requirements of this Act relating to the
application have been met.
(3) The Surveyor-General must refuse to
register a person who applies for
registration if the person is not eligible
for registration or the requirements of
this Act relating to the application have
not been met.
8A. Re-accreditation by prescribed institute
(1) If an applicant satisfies the requirements
of section 7(2)(a), but is unable to satisfy
the Surveyor-General in accordance with
section 7(2)(b), the applicant may apply
to the prescribed institute for re-
accreditation.
(2) If the prescribed institute is satisfied that
the applicant has sufficient knowledge
and skills equivalent to that provided by
the professional training referred to in the
regulations, the institute may accredit the
applicant.
(3) Accreditation under this section is
sufficient to satisfy the Surveyor-General
for the purposes of section 7(2)(b).
8B. Register of surveyors
(1) The Surveyor-General must keep a
register of surveyors.
(2) The register is to provide for -
9
Surveyors Amendment Act 2014
Act No. of
s. 8
(a) the mandatory registration of a
surveyor intending to practise as
a land surveyor; and
(b) the voluntary registration of a
surveyor intending to practise
other than as a land surveyor.
(3) The register may be kept in any form,
including electronic form, that the
Surveyor-General approves.
(4) The Surveyor-General must make the
register available to the public and may
give to any person a copy of part of, or
an entry from, the register certified by
the Surveyor-General to be a true copy.
8C. Disbursement of fees for registration as land
surveyor
(1) Any funds received by the Surveyor-
General in a financial year in respect of
an application for registration as a land
surveyor, other than any fees for late
applications, are to be provided to the
prescribed institute by the next 31 July.
(2) The funds paid to the prescribed institute
are to be applied in the payment of any
expenses necessarily incurred by the
institute in undertaking its
responsibilities under this Act.
(3) By not later than 31 September each
year, the prescribed institute is to provide
the Surveyor-General with an account of
10
Surveyors Amendment Act 2014
Act No. of
s. 9
the expenditure of the funds provided to
it in the preceding financial year.
9. Section 9 amended (Particulars to be entered in
register)
Section 9 of the Principal Act is amended as
follows:
(a) by inserting the following paragraph after
paragraph (b) in subsection (1):
(ba) his or her email address;
(b) by omitting paragraph (f) from
subsection (1) and substituting the
following paragraph:
(f) any specialist competency that
the surveyor relied on for
registration.
(c) by omitting subsections (2), (3), (4) and
(5) and substituting the following
subsections:
(2) The Surveyor-General must -
(a) on the application of a
registered surveyor and
subject to authentication
of any documents
provided, enter in the
register the particulars of
the surveyor's
membership of any
relevant institution; and
11
Surveyors Amendment Act 2014
Act No. of
s. 10
(b) delete those details, on the
application of that
surveyor.
(3) The Surveyor-General must -
(a) make a note in the register
of the date and particulars
of any suspension or
cancellation of
registration; and
(b) remove that note at the
end of the period of 3
years commencing on the
date it was made.
(4) A registered surveyor must notify
the Surveyor-General of a change
in any of the particulars referred
to in subsection (1) within one
month of the change occurring.
10. Section 10 amended (Renewal of registration)
Section 10(1) of the Principal Act is amended as
follows:
(a) by omitting "the first day of January" and
substituting "31 December";
(b) by inserting "for the following year"
after "as a registered surveyor".
12
Surveyors Amendment Act 2014
Act No. of
s. 11
11. Section 10A inserted
After section 10 of the Principal Act, the
following section is inserted in Part 3:
10A. Refusal of renewal of registration
(1) The Surveyor-General may refuse to
renew a surveyor's registration if the
surveyor fails -
(a) to correct a survey within 3
months of a request being made
in accordance with section 24(1);
or
(b) to pay all the costs of a correction
made in accordance with
section 24(2) or notification made
in accordance with section 24(4);
or
(c) to notify all relevant parties in
accordance with section 24(3); or
(d) to pay all the costs required to be
paid under section 34(1)(h); or
(e) to be re-accredited following
advice from the Surveyor-
General in accordance with
section 25(5).
(2) On the correction of a failure referred to
in subsection (1), the surveyor may apply
for a renewal of registration under
section 10.
13
Surveyors Amendment Act 2014
Act No. of
s. 12
12. Section 11 amended (False or misleading
statements)
Section 11 of the Principal Act is amended as
follows:
(a) by inserting the following penalty after
paragraph (b) in subsection (1):
Penalty: Fine not exceeding 40 penalty
units.
(b) by inserting the following penalty after
subsection (2):
Penalty: Fine not exceeding 40 penalty
units.
13. Section 12 amended (Cancellation or suspension of
registration)
Section 12 of the Principal Act is amended as
follows:
(a) by omitting paragraph (c) and
substituting the following paragraph:
(c) who has failed to apply for
renewal of registration before the
expiration of the period of 3
months commencing on the due
date for renewal; or
(b) by inserting the following paragraph after
paragraph (d):
14
Surveyors Amendment Act 2014
Act No. of
s. 14
(da) whose registration as a land
surveyor has been suspended or
cancelled as a consequence of
disciplinary proceedings in a
jurisdiction in which mutual
recognition legislation applies; or
(c) by inserting in paragraph (e) "under this
Act" after "proceedings".
14. Section 15 amended (Directions for practice of
surveying, professional development, &c.)
Section 15 of the Principal Act is amended as
follows:
(a) by inserting the following subsections
after subsection (1):
(1A) The Surveyor-General may issue
directions as to the types of
surveys of land that may be
exempt from the requirements of
this Act.
(1B) The Surveyor-General may issue
directions as to the minimum
level of land survey-related
activity or professional
development required for
registration of land surveyors.
(b) by inserting in subsection (4) "under
subsection (1) or (1A)" after "a
direction";
15
Surveyors Amendment Act 2014
Act No. of
s. 14
(c) by inserting in subsection (4) "invite
submissions and" after "must";
(d) by inserting the following subsection
after subsection (4):
(4A) Before issuing a direction under
subsection (1B), the Surveyor-
General must invite submissions
and consult on the proposed
direction and seek agreement
with -
(a) all institutions that, in
Tasmania, represent land
surveyors; and
(b) other entities that appear
to the Surveyor-General
to have a relevant interest
in the proposed direction.
(e) by omitting from subsection (5) "or
standards" and substituting ", standards
or requirements";
(f) by omitting from subsection (6)(a) "or
standards" and substituting ", standards
or requirements";
(g) by omitting from subsection (7) "or
standards" and substituting ", standards
or requirements";
(h) by inserting the following subsection
after subsection (8):
16
Surveyors Amendment Act 2014
Act No. of
s. 15
(9) Notwithstanding subsections (4),
(4A), (5), (6), (7) and (8), the
Surveyor-General may make
amendments of a minor or
clerical nature, to directions
issued under this section,
following consultation with only
those entities that the Surveyor-
General deems appropriate.
15. Section 19 amended (Appellations to be used)
Section 19 of the Principal Act is amended as
follows:
(a) by omitting from subsection (1)
"section 8(1)" and substituting
"section 7(2)";
(b) by omitting from subsection (2)
"accredited with specialist professional
survey competency as provided in
section 8(2)" and substituting "has
competency accreditation which is
recognised as provided in section 7(3)";
(c) by inserting in subsection (3) "and the
use of the appellation must include
reference to the specialised professional
survey competencies for which the
surveyor is registered" after `"Registered
Surveyor"'.
17
Surveyors Amendment Act 2014
Act No. of
s. 16
16. Section 20 amended (Saving for non-registered
surveyors)
Section 20 of the Principal Act is amended by
omitting "a registered" first occurring and
substituting "registered as a".
17. Section 23 amended (Survey investigation)
Section 23 of the Principal Act is amended as
follows:
(a) by inserting the following subsection
after subsection (2):
(2A) The Surveyor-General may
initiate an investigation, or
instruct an appropriately qualified
registered surveyor, as an
inspecting surveyor, to conduct
an investigation, based on any
information that the Surveyor-
General receives through any
means.
(b) by inserting in subsection (3) ", and those
responsible for the surveys under
investigation," after "disagreement".
18. Section 23A inserted
After section 23 of the Principal Act, the
following section is inserted in Division 4:
18
Surveyors Amendment Act 2014
Act No. of
s. 19
23A. Surveyor-General may require information
(1) The Surveyor-General may require a
person who is in a position to provide
information relevant to an investigation
under section 23 to answer questions or
provide any document or other
information relevant to that investigation.
(2) A person must not fail to answer
questions or provide any information or
record when required to do so.
Penalty: Fine not exceeding 40 penalty
units.
(3) A person must not, in answering a
question or providing any information or
record under this section -
(a) make a statement knowing it to
be false or misleading; or
(b) omit any matter from a statement
knowing that without that matter
the statement is false or
misleading.
Penalty: Fine not exceeding 40 penalty
units.
19. Section 24 amended (Correction of survey errors)
Section 24 of the Principal Act is amended by
inserting after subsection (2) the following
subsections:
19
Surveyors Amendment Act 2014
Act No. of
s. 20
(3) Where the correction of an error in a
survey of land requires a correction of
the boundaries of a property registered
under the Land Titles Act 1980, the
registered land surveyor must notify all
parties with an interest in the affected
land of the correction of the error and the
steps required to correct the affected land
title, within 3 months of the correction of
the error being made.
(4) If a registered land surveyor fails to
notify all parties in accordance with
subsection (3), the notification may be
made by an inspecting surveyor
instructed by the Surveyor-General, and
the surveyor responsible is liable to pay
the cost of that notification.
20. Section 24A inserted
After section 24 of the Principal Act, the
following section is inserted in Division 4:
24A. Notification of errors and anomalies that
cannot be readily corrected
(1) Where a survey investigation reveals an
error or anomaly in a land boundary but
that error or anomaly cannot be readily
corrected, the Surveyor-General is to
publish details of the error or anomaly in
such a way as is reasonably accessible to
any registered land surveyor.
20
Surveyors Amendment Act 2014
Act No. of
s. 21
(2) A registered land surveyor is to take into
account any error or anomaly of which
he or she has been notified under
subsection (1) in any future dealings with
the relevant boundary.
21. Section 25 amended (Survey performance)
Section 25 of the Principal Act is amended as
follows:
(a) by omitting from subsection (1)(b)
"performance indicators compiled from
the cumulative results of audits and
investigations as provided in this Part
and";
(b) by omitting from subsection (2) ",
investigations and the derived
performance indicators" and substituting
"and investigations";
(c) by omitting subsection (3) and
substituting the following subsections:
(3) The Surveyor-General may from
time to time provide each
registered surveyor with advice as
to the current status of his or her
records of survey examinations,
audit and investigations.
(4) Where, on the application in a
particular year for the renewal of
a land surveyor's registration, the
Surveyor-General finds that the
21
Surveyors Amendment Act 2014
Act No. of
s. 22
land surveyor's last 3 audits do
not comply with the relevant
statutory requirements, the land
surveyor's registration may
nevertheless be renewed for the
following year.
(5) Where a land surveyor's
registration is renewed for a year
in accordance with
subsection (4), the Surveyor-
General is to advise the land
surveyor -
(a) of the details of the non-
compliances with the
relevant statutory
requirements; and
(b) that the renewal of the
land surveyor's
registration for the year
following that year is
dependent on the land
surveyor's re-
accreditation by the
prescribed institute.
22. Section 26 amended (Certification and adequacy of
surveys)
Section 26(4) of the Principal Act is amended by
inserting "or directions issued under section 15"
after "regulations".
22
Surveyors Amendment Act 2014
Act No. of
s. 23
23. Section 27 amended (Power of entry on land)
Section 27(1) of the Principal Act is amended by
inserting after paragraph (d) the following
paragraph:
(da) break up the surface of any land, whether
paved or not, to search for survey marks
or physical objects; and
24. Section 31A inserted
After section 31 of the Principal Act, the
following section is inserted in Part 5:
31A. Temporary prohibition from practice
(1) The Director may prohibit a registered
surveyor from carrying on business as a
registered surveyor if satisfied -
(a) that the registered surveyor has
failed to comply with an order of
the Director under section 34; or
(b) that the prohibition is in the
public interest.
(2) A prohibition under this section is in
force until the conclusion of an
investigation under section 30 or a
hearing or investigation under section 33
or until the Director takes action under
section 34.
23
Surveyors Amendment Act 2014
Act No. of
s. 25
25. Section 32 substituted
Section 32 of the Principal Act is repealed and
the following section is substituted:
32. Grounds for disciplinary action
There are grounds for disciplinary action
against a registered surveyor if the
registered surveyor has -
(a) acted contrary to the Australian
Consumer Law (Tasmania) Act
2010; or
(b) acted unlawfully, improperly,
negligently or unfairly in the
course of carrying on, or being
employed or otherwise engaged
in, the business of a registered
surveyor; or
(c) falsely certified in respect of a
survey or plan; or
(d) acted contrary to a direction
issued under section 15; or
(e) contravened a provision of this
Act; or
(f) contravened a condition of his or
her registration imposed by the
Director; or
(g) gained registration as a result of a
false or misleading statement; or
24
Surveyors Amendment Act 2014
Act No. of
s. 26
(h) been found guilty of an offence
involving fraud or dishonesty that
is punishable on conviction by
imprisonment for a term of 3
months or more.
26. Section 34 amended (Disciplinary action)
Section 34 of the Principal Act is amended as
follows:
(a) by omitting paragraph (d) from
subsection (1) and substituting the
following paragraphs:
(d) require the registered surveyor to
attend a specified educational
course or provide evidence of
self-education;
(e) require the registered surveyor to
submit surveys for inspection by
the Surveyor-General, at the
surveyor's expense, prior to
lodgement with the relevant
authority;
(f) require the registered surveyor, at
his or her own expense, to have
surveys co-certified by another
registered surveyor prior to
lodgement;
(g) in the case of a land surveyor,
require the surveyor to be re-
25
Surveyors Amendment Act 2014
Act No. of
s. 27
accredited by the prescribed
institute;
(h) require the registered surveyor to
pay the reasonable costs of the
hearing or any investigation
conducted for the purposes of the
hearing, or both.
(b) by omitting from subsection (2) "a
prohibition" and substituting "any
disciplinary action under subsection (1)";
(c) by omitting from subsection (5)
"subsection (1)(d)" and substituting
"subsection (1)(h)".
27. Section 40 amended (Survey examination)
Section 40 of the Principal Act is amended by
omitting subsection (2).
28. Section 41 amended (Destruction of, damage to,
&c., survey marks)
Section 41 of the Principal Act is amended as
follows:
(a) by omitting from subsection (1) "the
regulations" and substituting "directions
issued under section 15";
(b) by omitting from subsection (3) "the
regulations" and substituting "directions
issued under section 15".
26
Surveyors Amendment Act 2014
Act No. of
s. 29
29. Section 43 amended (Protection from liability)
Section 43 of the Principal Act is amended as
follows:
(a) by inserting in subsection (1) "Deputy
Surveyor-General" after "Surveyor-
General,";
(b) by inserting in subsection (2) "Deputy
Surveyor-General" after "Surveyor-
General,".
30. Section 46 amended (Regulations)
Section 46 of the Principal Act is amended as
follows:
(a) by omitting from subsection (2)(c) "a
relevant institution" and substituting "the
prescribed institute";
(b) by omitting from subsection (2)(f)
"surveyor." and substituting "surveyor;
and";
(c) by inserting the following paragraph after
paragraph (f) in subsection (2):
(g) fees and charges payable in
respect of any matter under the
Act.
(d) by omitting from subsection (3)(a) "any
relevant institution" and substituting "the
prescribed institute";
27
Surveyors Amendment Act 2014
Act No. of
s. 31
(e) by omitting from subsection (3)(b)
"relevant institution" and substituting
"prescribed institute";
(f) by omitting from subsection (4) "an
institution" and substituting "the
prescribed institute";
(g) by omitting from subsection (4)(a) "all".
31. Repeal of Act
This Act is repealed on the three hundred and
sixty fifth day from the day on which this Act
commences.
28 Government Printer, Tasmania