LINZ reviews the Rules for Cadastral Survey

18 October 2007

The Surveyor-General has released for public consultation proposed new Rules for Cadastral Survey ¹.

Surveyor-General Dr Don Grant says the current Rules were derived from the Survey Regulations 1998 which don't fully reflect changes made in the Cadastral Survey Act 2002.

"The proposed new Rules are designed to better reflect these changes and have been reviewed in line with Land Information New Zealand's wider regulatory move to optimal regulation (see explanation below)," said Dr Grant.

The Rules are the primary tools for setting standards for:

• defining the boundaries of rights and interests in land
• marking these boundaries
• creating parcels (and their appellations)
• cadastral survey plans and datasets that are lodged with Land Information New Zealand.

Proposed changes to the current Rules include:

• boundary marking often not required
• new boundary accuracy standards.

Feedback is invited from land owners, surveyors, those transacting or registering land, land developers, Territorial Authorities and others involved or interested in cadastral surveying.

Consultation on the proposed new Rules for Cadastral Survey started on 15 October 2007 and feedback to LINZ must be received by 1 February 2008.

Background information - What is optimal regulation?

Over the past three years, LINZ has been changing the way its regulators determine when and how to intervene in the market.

Warwick Quinn, General Manager of Regulatory, says "We are not focussed on telling suppliers how to do something. Instead, we are concentrating on what should be delivered so that we only intervene where necessary."

A number of other government agencies are doing similar work. "The common theme we are all working towards is ensuring a good outcome - identifying risks and mitigating them at the right levels. Generally, the higher the risk, the higher the level of intervention. On the other hand, if a risk is low, it may be best to do nothing."

¹ cadastral surveys define the boundaries of rights and interests in land (subdivisions, unit titles, leases, etc.)