Part 3 Registration of surveyors

10   Application to registration of Licensing and Registration (Uniform Procedures) Act 2002

(1)  The Board may grant the following kinds of registration for the purposes of this Act:

(a)  registration as a land surveyor,

(b)  registration as a mining surveyor.

(2)  Part 3 of the Licensing and Registration (Uniform Procedures) Act 2002 (the applied Act) applies to and in respect of registration under this Act, subject to the modifications and limitations prescribed by or under this Act.

Note. See clause 3 of Schedule 3, which temporarily suspends the provisions of the applied Act in relation to the making of applications by way of electronic communication.

(3)  For the purposes of applying Part 3 of the applied Act to registration under this Act:

(a)  an application for the granting of registration may only be made by an individual, and

(b)  registration may be amended under that Act, and

(c)  the reference to 28 days in section 46 (1) of that Act (as to the period within which applications are to be dealt with) is to be read as a reference to 12 weeks, and

(d)  the reference to 14 days in section 48 (1) of that Act (as to the period within which notice of the Board’s decision on an application is to be notified) is to be read as a reference to 28 days, and

(e)  section 53 (2) of that Act does not have effect, and

(f)  the requirement of section 54 of that Act for a registration administration fee to be paid to the relevant registration authority within 14 days after each anniversary of the date on which the relevant certificate of registration was issued is to be read as a requirement for such a fee to be so paid on or before 31 August in each year.

(4)  Registration under this section is continuing registration for the purposes of Part 3 of the applied Act.

(5)  Subject to this section, the regulations may make provision for or with respect to such matters concerning registration under this Act as are relevant to the operation of Part 3 of the applied Act.

10A   Re-registration after removal for non-payment of registration administration fee

(1)  The Board must cause a registered surveyor’s name to be removed from the register of surveyors if the surveyor has failed to pay the registration administration fee on or before 31 August in any year.

(2)  A person whose name has been removed from the register of surveyors for failure to pay the registration administration fee is entitled to re-registration if the person pays to the Board any unpaid registration administration fee or fees together with the fee for an application for restoration of registration.

(3)  The entitlement to re-registration is an entitlement to registration on the same terms and subject to the same conditions (if any) as applied to the person’s registration immediately before the removal of the person’s name from the register of surveyors.

(4)  A person registered pursuant to an entitlement to re-registration under this section is taken to have been so registered on and from the day the person’s name was removed from the register of surveyors or on and from such later day as the Board determines and notifies to the person. However, nothing in this subsection affects any proceedings for an offence instituted against the person before the person was entitled to be re-registered.

(5)  Nothing in this section requires the Board to re-register a person if the Board is satisfied that the person would not be entitled to be registered as a registered surveyor but for this section.

(6)  An entitlement to re-registration under this section does not override any other provision of this Act pursuant to which a person’s name is authorised or required to be removed from the register of surveyors.

11   Investigations

(1)  For the purpose of investigating a survey that has been carried out by a registered surveyor, the Board:

(a)  may require the surveyor to produce, for inspection by the Board, any field books or other documents relevant to the conduct of the survey, and

(b)  may carry out further surveys, and

(c)  has a registered surveyor’s functions under Part 4 with respect to entry on lands.

(2)  The Board’s functions under subsection (1) are to be exercised:

(a)  by a Board member who is a registered surveyor, or

(b)  by some other registered surveyor to whom the Board delegates the exercise of those functions.

(3)  Action may be taken under this section on the Board’s own motion or as a consequence of a complaint made to the Board.

12   Professional incompetence

(1)  The Board may take any one of the following kinds of action against a registered surveyor who demonstrates incompetence in carrying out a survey:

(a)  it may impose conditions on the surveyor’s registration, including conditions requiring the surveyor to undergo further training or to practise only under supervision,

(b)  it may suspend the surveyor’s registration for a period of not more than 5 years,

(c)  it may cancel the surveyor’s registration.

(2)  Action is not to be taken under this section unless the Board:

(a)  has caused notice of the proposed action to be given to the registered surveyor, and

(b)  has given the registered surveyor at least 28 days within which to make written submissions to the Board in relation to the proposed action, and

(c)  has taken any such submissions into consideration.

13   Professional misconduct

(1)  The Board may take any one or more of the following kinds of action against a registered surveyor who is guilty of professional misconduct:

(a)  it may administer a caution to the surveyor,

(b)  it may impose conditions on the surveyor’s registration, including conditions requiring the surveyor to undergo further training or to practise only under supervision,

(c)  it may order the surveyor to take specified steps to correct or complete any survey in respect of which the misconduct has occurred,

(d)  it may order the surveyor to pay compensation, totalling not more than $10,000, to any person towards any loss or damage suffered by that person as a consequence of the misconduct,

(e)  it may order the surveyor to pay a penalty to the Board of not more than $10,000,

(f)  it may suspend the surveyor’s registration for a period of not more than 5 years,

(g)  it may cancel the surveyor’s registration.

(2)  Action is not to be taken under this section unless the Board:

(a)  has caused notice of the proposed action to be given to the registered surveyor, and

(b)  has given the registered surveyor at least 28 days within which to make written submissions to the Board in relation to the proposed action, and

(c)  has taken any such submissions into consideration.

(3)  An order for compensation referred to in subsection (1) (d) is enforceable by the person to whom the compensation is ordered to be paid as if it were a judgment of the Local Court exercising jurisdiction under the Civil Procedure Act 2005.

(4)  In this section, professional misconduct, in relation to a registered surveyor, means:

(a)  any contravention of the conditions of the surveyor’s registration, or

(b)  any failure to comply with the standards imposed by this Act or the regulations with respect to the carrying out of surveys, or

(c)  any failure to comply with an order referred to in subsection (1) (c), (d) or (e), or

(c1)  any failure to comply with a notice under section 9A, or

(d)  any failure to comply with the requirements of the Licensing and Registration (Uniform Procedures) Act 2002, or

(e)  any contravention of this Act or the regulations, or

(f)  any contravention of the Coal Mine Health and Safety Act 2002 or the Mine Health and Safety Act 2004, or the regulations under those Acts, with respect to the conduct of surveys, or

(g)  any act or omission that demonstrates that the surveyor is not a fit and proper person to be registered as a surveyor, or

(h)  any act or omission that the regulations declare to be professional misconduct for the purposes of this Act.

14   Applications to Administrative Decisions Tribunal for review of determinations

Any registered surveyor against whom action is taken under this Part may apply to the Administrative Decisions Tribunal for a review of the Board’s determination to take such action.

15   Register of surveyors

(1)  The Registrar of the Board is to establish and maintain a register of surveyors for the purposes of this Act, and for the purposes of Part 3 of the Licensing and Registration (Uniform Procedures) Act 2002, as applied by this Act.

(2)  The Registrar of the Board is to ensure that the register of surveyors is made available to the public, free of charge, at the Board’s offices.

(3)  The regulations may make provision with respect to:

(a)  the particulars to be recorded in the register of surveyors, and

(b)  the manner and form in which the register of surveyors is to be maintained.

Note. See also section 49 of the Licensing and Registration (Uniform Procedures) Act 2002 with respect to the particulars to be recorded in the register of surveyors.

16   Evidentiary certificates

A certificate:

(a)  that is signed by the Registrar of the Board, and

(b)  that certifies that, on a specified date or during a specified period, the particulars contained in the register of surveyors as to specified matters were as so specified,

is admissible in any proceedings and is evidence of the matters so certified.

Note. See also section 55 of the Licensing and Registration (Uniform Procedures) Act 2002 with respect to evidentiary certificates.

16A   Certain provisions of this Part apply also to former surveyors

For the avoidance of doubt, the provisions of this Part relating to professional misconduct extend to any person who was a registered surveyor at the time that any professional misconduct allegedly occurred but who is no longer a registered surveyor.