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Office of Surveyor-General

Role

The primary objectives of the Surveyor-General's operation are to :

  1. Carry out statutory responsibilities under the Licensed Surveyors Act and the Place Names Act; and
  2. Ensure accurate spatial information is available to support Government and private sector development.

To achieve this, the Office of Surveyor-General:

  1. Guarantees land boundaries are unambiguously defined to meet statutory requirements.
  2. Maintains accurate information on land tenure status to support land development.
  3. Maintains fundamental spatial data infrastructure to support the Territory's land and geographic information resources
  4. Provides administrative support to the NT Place Names Committee and Surveyors Board to carry out their respective statutory functions.
  5. Provides professional and policy advice to the Government, public and industry on matters relating to surveying and land and offshore boundaries.
  6. Formulates and reviews policies and practices on the regulation of surveying practice in the NT.
  7. Represents the Territory on local and national forums relating to surveying and land information.

Responsibilities of the functional work areas

  • Statutory Survey Services
    Administers the survey plan approval process that is critical to the land subdivision process and maintenance of the NT cadastre.
  • Client Services
    Provides savings to government through the provision of a cost-effective central brokerage and advice service to all government agencies for the provision of surveying services.
  • Geodetic
    Maintains the fundamental geodetic infrastructure upon which all spatial information, spatial products, land development and civil works rely for global compatibility and integration.
  • Digital Cadastral DataBase (DCDB)
    Maintains the integrity of the Northern Territory cadastre and other spatial data sets referred to it.
  • .Cadastral Co-ordination
    Critical for the spatial upgrade of the DCDB which underpins radical re-engineering of the cadastral survey, land titling and land development approval processes as well as improving certainty in decision making for infrastructure design and civil works.
  • Land Records
    Maintains land tenure information for all land parcels in the Territory and linked to the DCDB is a complete record of the NT cadastre within the NTLIS.
  • Land Tenure Research
    Manages the only historic map register of NT land tenure from which experienced staff produce tenure history reports vital in assisting the resolution of Native Title and Aboriginal land claims.
  • Place Names
    Maintains the Territory's official nomenclature data bases and provides the necessary administrative research and support for the Place Names Committee to make recommendations on the naming of places to the Minister as required under the Place Names Act.