Alerts and Disclaimers

Axis Surveys has prepared the following Alerts & Disclaimers for our three main surveying products, being: – 1) Contour & Feature Survey, 2) Building & House Setout, 3) Boundary Identification Survey

For Alerts & Disclaimers in relation to other surveying products, please contact our office to make sure you, as the user, are fully aware of the limitations of a particular product or service to ensure there are no misunderstandings and that the appropriate surveying product is applied to the required application.

1) Alerts & Disclaimers for Contour & Feature Surveys

Limitations on Use & Suitability

General

A standard Contour & Feature (C&F) survey plan has limitations regarding its use for some applications. Please contact Axis Surveys about the suitability of this plan for the user’s intended use.

The notes and disclaimers shown on the face of the C&F plan form part of the plan and they must remain with the plan or any copies to ensure the user is aware that the plan has limited application and it may not be suitable for the intended use.

The C&F survey plan has usually been prepared from field survey and existing records for our client and their consultants to design new structures on the subject site and should not be used for any other purpose or by any other user without written approval from Axis Surveys.

Boundaries & Orientation

The boundary dimensions shown are from the subject survey plan and have been orientated to the site features as a “best fit” to survey marks, fence lines, retaining walls and other structures and are indicative only and should not be relied upon as the true boundaries and the location of survey marks, as found have not been checked, unless a boundary identification survey has been completed by Axis Surveys over the subject property at the time of the C&F survey. Please contact this office for more advice in relation to orientating this plan to the boundaries. Any construction setout may require a boundary identification survey be done, at additional cost, prior to commencing any works on site, please contact this office for more information.  Distance from features to the shown boundaries should not be used or relied upon unless verified by Axis Surveys.

The north point as shown has been taken from the subject survey plan or the disclosure plan, and it is the plan user’s responsibility to ensure it is suitable for their purposes.

Disclosure Plan Note

Where the survey plan is not available the dimensions shown may have been compiled from a “Disclosure Plan” where the boundary dimensions are approximate only and may be subject to change.

Title Search & Easement Information

Axis Surveys has not searched the title for easements or other encumbrances, and our C&F survey plan only shows the easements and other encumbrances as shown on the subject survey plan which may be incomplete at the date of survey. If easements or other encumbrances are shown they may have been scaled off the subject survey plan and could have limited accuracy. Please contact this office for more information or to check for current easements or encumbrances.

Level Datum & Flood Advice

Where levels and contours are related to the Australian Height Datum (AHD), they may have been derived from GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System), observations (unless otherwise stated), which may be unsuitable in some applications, please contact this office for more information particularly in flood prone areas or areas with height restrictions. Axis Surveys has not carried out a flood search or a search for any overland flow paths and the local council or relevant authority or a suitably qualified Engineer should be contacted for flood and minimum floor level requirements, prior to any construction.

Natural Ground Level Determination

The contours shown may not represent the local authority’s definition of “ground level”. Please contact this office for more advice.

Reliability & Availability of Underground Services Information

The services shown have been located where possible, where visible. Services can be missed as part of the field process or may be covered. If not located, services have been plotted from records obtained from relevant authorities which may have varied and limited accuracy. Please contact this office for more information. Any relevant underground services should be exposed and located prior to commencing any building works. At the time of survey, the sewer and stormwater information may not be available from the local authority or other relevant sources and the user should contact the authority or Axis Surveys for more information if required.

Subsurface Structures

The position of any subsurface structures has not been investigated.

Additional Survey Fee Alert for Building or Construction Setout

If the subject survey plan is over five years old, additional survey control work or a boundary identification survey may be required at extra cost before any new structures can be setout on the subject property.

If in Any Doubt About Your C&F Survey Call Axis Surveys

If the plan user requires clarification or more information about any aspect of this contour / feature survey plan please contact this office.

2) Alerts & Disclaimers for Building / House Setout Survey Work

General

Building & house setout is an area of High Risk and expense for the construction industry. The designing of houses on or near the boundary and building in older areas places increasing pressure on builders and Surveyors to ensure houses, buildings and any new structures are positioned correctly. We advise that no part of a new structure may overhang or be constructed over a boundary line, (and in most cases into easements), and this includes footings, eaves, gutters, downpipes, retaining walls, etc. If any structure is found to encroach over a boundary line or into the road reserve we must (by law), show the extent of the encroachment on any boundary survey work being undertaken, and lodge a copy of our survey plan with the State Government and write to any adjoining affected land owner advising them of our findings.  If the subject survey plan is over five years old, additional survey control work or a boundary identification survey may be required at extra cost before any new structures can be setout on the subject property.

Boundary Identification Survey May Be Required Before Building Setout Work

Where structures are being built on or near the boundaries or if the subject property is in an older area, Axis Surveys may insist that they carry out a boundary identification survey before commencing any building setout work on site.

Boundary Identification Survey Completed by Another Consulting Surveyor

If a boundary identification survey has been completed by another Consulting Surveyor, within the last 2 years over the subject site, Axis Surveys may agree to use the other Surveyor’s boundary identification survey for building setout purposes. However, Axis Surveys will not accept any responsibility for the boundary reinstatement as performed by the other Consulting Surveyor, and the correctness of the other Consulting Surveyors boundary reinstatement remains the responsibility of the other Consulting Surveyor and our client who is instructing us to use the other Consulting Surveyor’s boundary identification survey plan.

Building / House Plan Versions

It is our client’s responsibility to ensure that the building plans that we have been provided with to calculate and setout specific building points from, is the correct version. Any setout certificate we prepare after the setout work has been completed will refer to the plans we have been provided with. It is the client’s responsibility to ensure we are informed of any changes and that we receive any amended plans at least 3 working days before the setout is required. Axis Surveys does not check with the relevant authorities, the builder or the Certifier that the plans we have been provided with are the approved building plans.

Client / Builder Must Clearly Identify What Points They Require Us to Setout

Axis Surveys are Surveyors not Builders, and whilst we are experienced in interpreting building and house plans and setting out what our clients need to be able to start construction, we require clear instructions from our clients as to what points they want us to calculate and setout.

Nearly every builder that Axis Surveys works for requires unique setout points that cater to their internal processes and their specific construction methods. Our builder clients must send us a marked-up site and/or slab plan/s with the points they want us to calculate and setout from the provided building plans clearly marked, so there are no misunderstandings as to what points we are placing on the ground, for our clients to build from.

Setout Plan Left on Site

Axis Surveys prepares our own setout plan that shows what points we have setout, and we leave a copy of our plan on site for our clients and others to follow.

Building Plan Verification & Checking

Axis Surveys checks that the plans we have been provided with agree with the boundary setbacks as shown and that generally the dimensions appear to be mathematically correct for setout. If we are uncertain about setback or other dimensions, we will contact our client and ensure there are no misunderstandings. As part of this process, we may forward a setout plan to our client showing our interpretation of the points to be setout, for them to check and sign off on as an instruction for us to setout these points as shown on our setout plan.

3) Alerts & Disclaimers for Boundary Identification Survey (Ident Survey)

General

The reinstatement of the boundaries and the remarking of the corners of an existing lot or property and the placing of line pegs along the property boundary lines to ensure corner pegs or markers and line pegs are intervisible, is called a boundary identification survey. Commonly referred to as an Ident Survey.

In Queensland, to place a survey peg or another type of marker such as a screw in concrete or a nail in a fence post at the boundary corner can only legally be performed by a Licensed Cadastral Surveyor. The information and measurements taken by a Cadastral Surveyor are recorded on a Boundary Identification survey plan.

The placement of any survey marks on or near a property boundary corner (including boundary offset markers), triggers the need to prepare and lodge a formal Boundary Identification Survey Plan (Ident Plan), with the relevant Government agency. The Ident Plan is drafted and checked and contains a certificate signed by the Cadastral Surveyor and a bar code. Any structures on or near the boundary/s are also located and shown on the Ident Plan.

If structures such as permanent fences, retaining walls, buildings, walls, gutter lines, concrete slabs etc., are found to be on or near the boundary/s, Axis Surveys is required by law to notify any affected landowner/s in writing and supply them with a copy of our Ident Plan. It should be noted that our boundary identification survey relates only to visible and accessible structures and does not include any subsurface structures or information.

Boundary Identification Survey Completed by Another Consulting Cadastral Surveyor

If a boundary identification survey (ident survey), has been completed by another Consulting Cadastral Surveyor, within the last 2 years over the subject site, Axis Surveys may agree to use the other Surveyor’s boundary identification survey for building setout purposes. However, Axis Surveys will not accept any responsibility for the boundary reinstatement as performed by the other Consulting Cadastral Surveyor, and the correctness of the other Surveyor’s boundary reinstatement remains the responsibility of the other Surveyor, and our client who is instructing us to use the other Surveyor’s boundary identification survey plan.

Access Permissions

When authorizing a boundary survey, it is the responsibility of our client to arrange for site access. This includes our client’s responsibility to notify tenants and neighbours, restraining dogs and ensuring any gates are unlocked and access to the subject property is free and unhindered to allow our field surveyors to carry out the site work needed as part of the boundary identification survey.

The price as quoted assumes that the site is ready for us to perform our survey work and that access is unhindered. Our client must ensure that the site is a safe working environment and clear of plant and equipment and materials and complies with all workplace health and safety requirements and that any potential dangers are communicated to Axis Surveys. If there are any other trades working on the site, we will require that they be instructed to stop work so our staff can safely complete their work. If other trades working on site refuse to stop work to allow Axis Surveys to complete their work safely, we reserve the right to stop work and charge the client for a site visit, and to request that the work be rescheduled when other trades are not on site. Any delays or rescheduling costs incurred by Axis Surveys will be an additional charge to the client. The client will have no claim for any delays caused by Axis Surveys having to leave the site, or if the job needs to be rescheduled due to a workplace health and safety issue or direction. Should access to a site require an induction process for Axis Surveys staff, the cost of attending such an induction will be the responsibility of the client.

Please inform us of any access issues when booking in the survey work and when returning the authorization to proceed with the survey.

It should be noted that if access into an adjoining property is required for Axis Surveys to be able to complete the field work, and access is restricted by a neighbour, we may not be able to complete the survey or place all boundary survey marks. In a situation such as this we will supply you with an authorizing “Letter of Access”, but it remains our client’s responsibility to contact the neighbouring landowner and negotiate access to their property. Additional visits arising from access delays may attract further fees.

Survey Timing

Axis Surveys will confirm a start date; however, due to the uncertain nature of Boundary Surveys, we cannot guarantee that the survey and the corner marking will be completed on the same day and we cannot accept any responsibility for any subsequent delays to the construction process caused by Axis Surveys not being able to complete the boundary identification survey work on the allocated day. It should be noted that rain and other adverse weather conditions can also affect the time it takes to complete the field survey work. Survey equipment is expensive and fragile and it is normally not possible for us to work in the rain so delays should be expected with any wet weather.

Standard Inclusions for Boundary Identification Surveys

• Identification Survey to reinstate and re-peg the original lot boundaries, if accessible. Please note that typically the boundary corners and line pegs are marked by a 50mm x 50mm square wooden peg in urban areas and by a 75mm x 75mm square wooden peg in rural areas, sitting just above ground level. The long stake (typically red and white), is a finder stake for the survey peg at the corner and it does not mark the corner.

If a peg can’t be placed at the corner another survey mark such as a screw or nail in concrete or a nail in a fence post will be used and noted on our Ident Survey Plan.

• Department of Resources historical survey plan searches of relevant survey plans.
• Address and comply with all State Government requirements for Cadastral Surveys
• Drafting of a compliant Boundary Identification Survey Plan
• Lodgment of our Ident Survey Plan with the relevant Government Agency.
• For Identification Surveys completed under Sections 11 & 19 of the Survey and Mapping Infrastructure Regulation 2004, where an encroachment or improvement on or near a boundary is identified, the structure must be located and shown on the lodged plan, and the relevant affected landowners adjoining the subject property notified in writing along with a copy of our Identification Survey Plan. This work is included in our fee.

It should be noted that most fences are usually considered to be misaligned and not encroachments if they are not positioned exactly on the boundary. If fences are constructed from more permanent structures such as brick or concrete, they are more likely to be considered an encroachment. Notification letters are usually not sent for misaligned fences unless the misalignment is of a significant nature.

Additional Notes and Limitations

• Drafting of the Ident Survey Plan and notification letters may take approximately 2 to 4 weeks to be finalized after the fieldwork has been completed. Please note that Axis Surveys will do its upmost to ensure that there are no unnecessary delays to other surveying services that may be dependent on the Boundary Ident Survey by ensuring that the boundary information is available when required and if needed prior to finalizing the drafting of the Ident Survey Plan. Please contact this office for clarification and to minimize any delays.
• Uncertain Boundaries; For Identification Surveys revealing significant discrepancies between our measured boundary dimensions and the original deed dimensions, Axis Surveys reserves the right to withdraw our engagement and renegotiate our fee structure. We will notify you, if we discover an uncertain boundary situation. Although this is not common, it may have legal implications and could require a legal redefinition and new Title registration of your land boundaries. If an agreement on additional fees cannot be reached, we reserve the right to deduct our reasonable costs and refund the balance of the quote. We will also provide any historical survey plan searches purchased for the survey, to enable you to seek alternative quotes.
• Surveyors require a clear line of sight to conduct their surveys. It may be necessary to clear vegetation or other obstructions to complete the work, and the client agrees to allow Axis Surveys to clear such vegetation or move obstructions as required for them to be able to perform their duties and to leave the cleared vegetation on site. By authorising this survey, you acknowledge this requirement and indemnify Axis Surveys from any claims related to such clearing. Please ensure we are notified by you of any Vegetation Protection Orders (VPO’s) or any other clearing restrictions in place on or adjoining the subject property that we need to be made aware of before fieldwork begins.