Survey Co-ordination Act 1944 (TAS)

The case involves the Tasmanian government and a private land surveyor. The dispute centers around the interpretation and application of the Survey Coordination Act 1944 (TAS), specifically regarding the registration of survey plans and the establishment of permanent survey marks. The Supreme Court of Tasmania was tasked with deciding whether certain survey plans and activities were compliant with the statutory requirements and whether the government's actions in managing these surveys were lawful.

The court had to determine whether the statutory provisions for registering survey plans and establishing permanent survey marks were correctly applied and whether the government's actions in enforcing these provisions were within its lawful powers. This included interpreting the Act's requirements for notifying the Surveyor-General of new surveys and ensuring that surveys are connected to existing survey marks. The court also needed to assess whether the government's actions in requiring the registration of certain survey plans and the establishment of permanent marks were justified under the Act.

The court found that the Survey Coordination Act 1944 (TAS) required strict compliance with the notification and registration provisions. The court held that the statutory requirement for public authorities to notify the Surveyor-General of their intention to commence new surveys and to connect these surveys to existing marks was mandatory and not discretionary. The court further determined that the government's actions in enforcing these provisions were within its lawful powers as provided by the Act. The court also found that the establishment of permanent survey marks and the registration of survey plans were necessary to achieve the objectives of the Act, which include the coordination and accuracy of surveys in Tasmania.

The final orders of the court confirmed that the statutory provisions for the notification and registration of surveys and the establishment of permanent marks were correctly interpreted and applied. The court upheld the government's actions in enforcing these provisions, finding that they were in compliance with the Act. The court also directed the private land surveyor to comply with the registration requirements and to connect future surveys to established permanent marks as mandated by the Act.