Lands Acquisition Regulations (Amendment)

Overview

The Lands Acquisition Regulations 1914 were enacted by the Governor-General in accordance with the advice of the Federal Executive Council. These regulations were introduced to provide further guidelines and specifications under the Lands Acquisition Act 1906, aimed at ensuring the integrity and security of official surveys conducted for land acquisition purposes. The enactment of these regulations was necessitated by the need to clearly distinguish official government surveys from private ones, thus preventing any confusion or misuse of the official survey marks. The primary policy objective was to safeguard the accuracy and reliability of land surveys conducted by the Commonwealth Government, while also providing a penalty for the unauthorised use or defacement of official survey marks. These regulations also sought to balance the interests of land owners and occupiers by exempting them from penalties if they had to remove trees bearing survey marks for legitimate land improvements, thus addressing practical concerns while maintaining the integrity of the survey process. The Lands Acquisition Regulations 1914 superseded the earlier Provisional Regulations, ensuring that updated and more stringent measures were in place to govern the conduct of official surveys.

Scope and Application

The Lands Acquisition Regulations 1914, made under the authority of the Lands Acquisition Act 1906, apply to the surveyors who are carrying out official surveys for the purposes of the Act and to any person who may come into contact with the survey marks or landmarks set by the Commonwealth Government. These regulations establish specific guidelines for the conduct of official surveys, including the use of a distinctive mark—a broad arrow with a horizontal line beneath it—to signify the Commonwealth's involvement in the survey process. The regulations also impose penalties for the wilful obliteration, removal, or defacement of these marks and landmarks, with the exception of tree removal for land improvement purposes if it does not interfere with the integrity of the survey marks. The regulations are intended to ensure the accuracy and visibility of survey work undertaken by the Commonwealth Government and extend to all territories under Commonwealth jurisdiction. Additionally, they supersede any conflicting provisional regulations, such as those noted in Statutory Rules 1914, No. 82.

Key Provisions

The primary operative sections of these Regulations under the Lands Acquisition Act 1906 establish the visual identifiers for official surveys (Regulation 2) and prohibit the use of these identifiers in any private surveys or by unauthorized persons (Regulation 3). Additionally, they mandate the protection of Commonwealth survey marks, landmarks, and beacons from wilful obliteration, removal, or defacement (Regulation 4). Furthermore, these Regulations clarify that landowners are not penalized for removing trees that bear Commonwealth survey marks if such removal is necessary for land improvements (Regulation 5). The Regulations also declare that the Provisional Regulations known as Statutory Rules 1914, No. 82, are superseded by these current provisions (Regulation 6). These Regulations impose specific obligations on surveyors and landowners. Surveyors conducting official surveys must utilize a distinctive mark consisting of a broad arrow with a horizontal line beneath it (Regulation 2). Conversely, this mark is expressly prohibited for use in private surveys or by anyone not authorized by the Commonwealth Government (Regulation 3). Additionally, all individuals are required to protect and maintain any Commonwealth survey marks, landmarks, or beacons, ensuring they are not wilfully damaged or removed (Regulation 4). However, landowners are exempt from penalties if they must remove trees bearing survey marks for legitimate land management purposes, such as fencing or clearing (Regulation 5). Violations of these Regulations carry specific penalties. Any person found to be wilfully obliterating, removing, or defacing Commonwealth survey marks, landmarks, or beacons is subject to a penalty of ten pounds (Regulation 4). Similarly, surveyors or others using the official survey mark without authorization also face a penalty of ten pounds (Regulation 3). It is important to note that these penalties are designed to enforce the protection of survey integrity and the proper use of survey marks while accommodating necessary land management activities.