Cadastral surveying law and statutory framework
The statutory layer cake
The Cadastral Survey Act 2002 (CSA) is the core cadastral statute. It defines a cadastral survey, a cadastral survey dataset (CSD) and the licensed cadastral surveyor, and establishes the Surveyor-General within LINZ and the Cadastral Surveyors Licensing Board. The CSA replaced the Survey Act 1986, so questions referring to the Survey Act usually test transition and the fact that current powers sit in the 2002 Act.
How the other statutes interact
The Land Transfer Act 2017 governs registration and indefeasibility: title is by registration, and the approved plan and CSD define the parcel. The Resource Management Act 1991 governs subdivision consent, not ownership. A subdivision needs an RMA consent and a compliant CSD; neither automatically creates a title without registration.
Worked example
A client subdivides a lot. The RMA consent approves two lots with a 3 m access strip. The surveyor prepares the CSD from the approved scheme plan, but the access strip is drawn 2.8 m because of an existing bank. The correct approach is to reconcile the CSD with the consent condition before lodging; the consent condition binds the subdivision, and the CSD must accurately reflect the legal parcel. Registration then creates the new titles.
Traps
Do not treat an RMA consent as creating title; do not assume the Survey Act 1986 still authorises current surveys; do not confuse the Surveyor-General standards role with the Licensing Board disciplinary role.