Cadastral Surveying
New Zealand operates a Torrens (Land Transfer) system: the register, not the deed, is the evidence of title, and the Crown guarantees it. The statutory framework is the Land Transfer Act 2017, the Cadastral Survey Act 2002, and the Cadastral Survey Rules 2021, administered by LINZ and applied by licensed cadastral surveyors. Survey work is captured in a cadastral survey dataset (CSD) lodged electronically through Landonline, comprising the survey report, parcel geometry, marks, vectors and the Survey Plan.
Understand the objects: boundary points, boundary marks, parcel definitions, permanent reference marks (PRM), witness marks, and the survey purpose. Understand that a boundary is defined by the parcel geometry held in the CSD; the physical mark is evidence of that boundary, which is why reinstatement follows an evidential hierarchy rather than a blind re-measurement.
Traps
- Adopted marks versus reinstated marks versus marks placed new - each has different evidentiary weight.
- Treating a disturbed or replaced mark as if it were undisturbed.
- Assuming the CSD distances must be reproduced exactly; measurement uncertainty and boundary uncertainty are recognised.
- Water boundaries: the boundary of land adjoining the sea is generally mean high water springs, and accretion or erosion can move it - a different problem from a dry-land boundary.
- Cross-lease is a subdivision; depositing a unit plan is not.
Rule of thumb - reinstatement priority
- Undisturbed original marks.
- Original survey measurements and the CSD record.
- Reliable occupation consistent with the record.
- Well-related nearby marks with adjusted bearing and distance.
Worked example
To reinstate a missing corner, observe to three undisturbed marks and compute a least squares or Bowditch fit. If the residuals exceed what the survey accuracy requires, do not average them away - widen the search, look for an older plan, and treat the conflicting evidence explicitly in the survey report.