Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016 The Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016, as enacted in 2017, requires proposed development to be rigorously assessed in relation to potential impacts on biodiversity. Part 6 of the Act sets out requirements for a Biodiversity Offset Scheme, which is intended to maintain sustainable levels of flora and fauna by calculating the impact
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Lines on a map or legal access? Crown Roads are found generally in rural parts of NSW, and were created in order to ensure that every portion of land had legal access to a road. In real terms, many of these crown roads, also known as “paper roads”, were not practical means of accessing land,
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New South Wales has, for decades, maintained a world-class system of land titling. Early title in NSW was based on the English Common Law system of title, a system known as “Old System”. In 1863, a more robust system of land titling was introduced called Torrens Title. Torrens Title is based on a single Register
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When is a subdivision not a subdivision? When it is a boundary adjustment. A Boundary Adjustment or boundary realignment is a survey to change the boundaries between two or more lots of land without creating a new lot – for example there are two lots initially and the proposal is to change the boundaries between
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Most land in NSW is held under Torrens Title. Torrens Title is a form of title which offers a secure title to land, guaranteed by the state. Purchasers of land do not need to establish a chain of ownership as the certificate of title document traces the evidence of ownership of land. Land which was
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Geomorphic Assessment Macquarie River, Montefiores Geomorphology is a study of how land changes over time. Fluvial Geomorphology is a study of how watercourses change over time. This blog details work undertaken by Doherty Smith & Associates Consulting Surveyors in preparing a Geomorphic Assessment of a stretch of the Macquarie River at Montefiores (Wellington), NSW. In
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In order to own land in New South Wales, the details of the land and the legal owner are noted on a Register maintained by Land and Property Information NSW. The most secure form of land title is a title issued under the Torrens title system. The Torrens title system is based on a single
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10 metre rule? 20 metre rule? Who owns a river bank in NSW? There are many urban legends, myths, rumours, claims and stories claiming that there is a 10 metre rule or 20 metre rule giving public access along river banks, even where the adjoining land is privately owned. As explained in my blog Water
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LiDAR is a method of measuring distance using laser light. The light reflected from the measured surface is analysed and the data stored as a cloud of points. LiDAR data can be captured by static ground observations using a scanning instrument or from a moving platform such as a ground-based vehicle or an aeroplane. Increasingly,
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Electronic plan lodgement, or eplan, has been available in NSW for over 10 years, and allows plans to be lodged via a portal to Land and Property Information NSW (LPI NSW). Eplan users create a digital version of a plan, scan associated documents such as administration sheets, Section 88B instruments and checklists then package all
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