Division 3 Charges against surveyors

14   Power of board to deal with offences

(1)  Upon a charge made as hereinafter prescribed and after inquiry, if it is shown with respect to any surveyor that:

(a)  he or she has certified to the accuracy of any survey, knowing the same to be inaccurate, or without having taken reasonable precautions to verify its accuracy, or

(b)  he or she wilfully or by culpable negligence or through incompetence has made, or caused to be made under his or her supervision, any survey which is so inaccurate or defective as to be unreliable, or

(c)  his or her certificate of competency has been obtained by fraud, or

(d)  his or her certificate of competency had been issued in error, or

(e)  after registration, he or she has been convicted of an indictable offence, or of any offence which, if committed within this State, would be an indictable offence, or

(f)  he or she does not possess the qualification in respect of which he or she was registered, or

(g)  he or she has failed to comply with any of the provisions of this Act or the regulations made thereunder, or

(h)  he or she has been convicted of an offence relating to the duties and functions of surveyors, the carrying out of surveys or matters incidental to or consequent upon surveys, under any Act or regulation, other than this Act and the regulations made thereunder, or under any ordinance or by-law, or

(i)  he or she has been guilty of misconduct in a professional respect,

      the board may:

(j)  remove the name of such surveyor from the register, or

(k)  suspend such surveyor from practice as a surveyor for any period not exceeding three years and the details of such suspension shall be entered in the register.

(1A)  Without limiting the meaning of the expression “misconduct in a professional respect” in paragraph (i) of subsection (1), a surveyor shall be deemed guilty of such misconduct if:

(a)  after the expiration of twelve months from the commencement of the Surveyors (Amendment) Act 1964, and except where this Act otherwise provides or the board permits, he or she practises surveying:

(i)  on his or her own account under a name other than his or her own name, or

(ii)  in partnership or association under a name other than his or her own name and the name of each other person in partnership or association with whom he or she is so practising,

(b)  in connection with the practice of surveying he or she uses or allows the use of his or her name at premises at or from which, in the opinion of the board, he or she or his or her partners or associates, if any, do not regularly practise surveying,

(c)  without the permission of the board, he or she allows his or her name to be joined in connection with the practice of surveying with the name of a person not registered under this Act, except where the name is that of a deceased or retired partner who was a surveyor at the time of his or her death or retirement, and the registrar has been so notified,

(d)  he or she uses or publishes, or allows the use or publication of, any title, name, words, or letters which are capable of being understood to indicate that he or she is qualified in surveying, or as a surveyor, other than such title, name, words, or letters as truly indicate a qualification in surveying or as a surveyor which he or she in fact holds or possesses, or

(e)  he or she directly or indirectly gives or offers, or agrees to give or offer, any person any commission, gratuity, service or other consideration whatever for securing or attempting to secure for him or her any instructions to make surveys or any work in connection with surveys.

(2)  The board may in addition to suspension or as an alternative thereto make all or any of the following orders:

(a)  impose a fine on such surveyor not exceeding 20 penalty units by way of penalty,

(b)  order such surveyor to pay the cost of the correction of his or her work,

(c)  order such surveyor to pay such sum as the board thinks adequate as compensation to his or her client,

(d)  order such surveyor to pay a specified sum as costs in the case.

(e)  (Repealed)

(2A)  Nothing in this section shall authorise the board to impose a fine:

(a)  in any case coming within paragraph (e) or (h) of subsection (1), or

(b)  where a surveyor has been convicted by a court as a result of his or her failure to comply with the particular provision of this Act or the regulations made thereunder in respect of which a charge has been made pursuant to paragraph (g) of subsection (1).

(2B)  In any case coming within paragraph (g) or (h) of subsection (1), no person shall be liable to have his or her name removed from the register or be suspended from practice if his or her failure to comply with the Act, regulation, by-law or ordinance concerned does not, either from its trivial nature or the circumstances under which it took place, render such person unfit in the public interest to practise surveying.

(2C)  The board may suspend from practice any surveyor whose entitlement to practice in a reciprocating State is suspended under the law in force in the reciprocating State. The board shall not impose a period of suspension under this subsection which expires later than the period of suspension imposed by the Surveyors’ Board or other competent authority of the reciprocating State.

(3)  The board may in the case of an order of the board not being complied with suspend the surveyor until the order is complied with or may remove his or her name from the register.

(4)  The board may for sufficient cause reinstate a surveyor whose name has been removed from the register or who has been suspended from practice.

The removal of a surveyor’s name from the register, his or her suspension from practice or his or her reinstatement shall be notified in the Gazette.

(5)  Any person whose name has been removed from the register or who has been suspended from practice who practises as a surveyor before his or her reinstatement has been so notified in the Gazette and his or her name, if removed from the register, has been restored thereto shall be liable to a penalty not exceeding 20 penalty units.

15   Charge against a surveyor

(1)  Every charge against a surveyor under the last preceding section shall be submitted to the board in writing, signed by the person making the charge, and shall, except where the charge is made by a person authorised in writing to make such charge by the Institution or by an officer of any Government department or statutory authority constituted for public purposes, be accompanied by a deposit of twenty dollars; and, if it appears to the board that the charge is one into which an inquiry should be held, the board shall fix a time and place for that purpose.

(2)  At least thirty days prior to the date fixed for such inquiry, notice in writing shall be sent by certified or registered mail to the last-known postal address of the person so charged, informing him or her of the time and place fixed for the inquiry, and supplying him or her with a copy of all charges proposed to be considered at such inquiry.

(3)  At such inquiry, the person charged shall be entitled to be heard in his or her defence and to be represented by counsel, solicitor or agent.

(4)  Where the board is of the opinion that the charge is vexatious or frivolous it shall so declare and thereupon the sum deposited shall be forfeited. In the absence of any such declaration the sum so deposited shall be refunded to the complainant.

16   Reviews by Administrative Decisions Tribunal of decisions of board on inquiry

Any person dissatisfied with any decision of the board on an inquiry under this Part may apply to the Administrative Decisions Tribunal for a review of the decision of the board.