Source document: https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1697812656457.pdf (Nauru)
REPUBLIC OF NAURU Survey Act 1961 ______________________________ As in force from 15 April 2011 ______________________________ This compilation comprises Ordinance No.

6 of 1961 as amended and in force from 15 April 2011 (being, at the time the compilation was prepared on 22 May 2011, the date of commencement of the most recent amendment).

The notes section at the end of the compilation includes a reference to the law by which each amendment was made.
The Table of Amendments in the notes section sets out the legislative history of individual provisions.

The operation of amendments that have been incorporated in the text of the compilation may be affected by application provisions that are set out in the notes section at the end of the compilation.

This compilation is prepared and published in a legislation database by the Nauru Parliamentary Counsel under the Legislation Publication Act 2011.
Contents Short title .................................................................................................. 1 Definitions ................................................................................................ 1 Application of Act...................................................................................... 2 Registration of surveyors .......................................................................... 2 Licensing of field officers .......................................................................... 3 Surveys to comply with this Act ................................................................ 3 Certain instruments to be used in making surveys ................................... 3 Measurement of lines ............................................................................... 4 Boundaries of land to be marked.............................................................. 4 Re-surveys of land ................................................................................... 4 Fixing boundary when monument missing ............................................... 4 Datum line of azimuth ............................................................................... 4 Accuracy of survey ................................................................................... 5 Field notes ................................................................................................ 5 Calculation of area ................................................................................... 6 Plans ........................................................................................................ 6 Certificate to be endorsed on plan of survey ............................................ 7 Penalty for incorrect certificate ................................................................. 7 SCHEDULE ........................................................................................................................ 8 NOTES ............................................................................................................................... 9 Table of Constituent Legislation ............................................................................ 9 Table of Amendments ........................................................................................... 9 REPUBLIC OF NAURU Survey Act 1961 An Act to regulate the making of surveys of land 1 2 Short title This Act may be cited as the Survey Act 1961.
Definitions In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears: ‘appropriate accuracy’, in relation to a survey, means the greatest accuracy that can reasonably be attained in making the survey; ‘field officer’ means a person who holds a licence that is in force; ‘Government Surveyor’ means the public officer from time to time responsible for carrying out land and other surveys on behalf of the Republic; ‘licence’ means a licence to act as a field officer granted by the Minister under section five of this Act; ‘monument’ means a natural or artificial object, or a point on such an object, used for the purpose of fixing the location of a point; ‘official plan of survey’ means a plan of survey recorded at the Government Survey Office at Nauru; ‘portion’ means a part of a District of Nauru, being a part that is specified on an official plan of survey of the District as a portion and referred to on the plan by a number; As in force from 15 April 2011 1 Survey Act 1961 ‘survey’ means a survey of land made or to be made: (a) for the purposes of a law in force in Nauru relating to the alienation, leasing, occupation or sub-division of land in Nauru or relating to the titles to land in Nauru; (b) by the Republic; (c) (d) (e) at the request of the owner, lessee or mortgagee of the land or of a person interested in becoming the owner, lessee or mortgagee of the land; in connexion with the resumption or acquisition of land in Nauru under the authority of a law in force, in Nauru; or for the purpose of establishing the location of a public road, of a common, of a public reserve or of the boundary of any land; ‘surveyor’ means a person who is registered as a surveyor under section four of this Act and includes the Government Surveyor.
3 Application of Act This Act does not prevent a survey being made otherwise than in accordance with this Act, but a plan of survey prepared as a result of a survey made otherwise than in accordance with this Act shall not be recorded at the Government Survey Office at Nauru or used for the purpose of any law.
4 Registration of surveyors (1) Cabinet may, on application by a person, register the person as a surveyor if: (a) the person is authorised under a law of a State or Territory of Australia, or New Zealand, to practise as a surveyor; and (b) Cabinet is satisfied the person is a fit and proper person to be registered as a surveyor.
(2) The Cabinet may require an applicant to furnish to the Cabinet such information relevant to the application as the Cabinet thinks fit, and may refuse to register the applicant as a surveyor until the applicant furnishes that information.
As in force from 15 April 2011 2 Survey Act 1961 (3) Where the Cabinet is satisfied that a surveyor has, in making a survey, contravened or failed to comply with a provision of this Act, the Cabinet may, by notice in writing to the surveyor, cancel the registration of that surveyor.
5 Licensing of field officers (1) The Minister may grant a licence to act as a field officer to a person: (a) who is a public officer; and (b) who produces a certificate by the Government Surveyor certifying that that person is competent to carry out cadastral surveys on his own responsibility.
(2) Where the Minister is satisfied that a field officer has, in making a survey, contravened or failed to comply with a provision of this Act, the Minister may, by notice in writing to the field officer, cancel the licence of that field officer.

(3) A field officer’s licence shall be deemed to expire (where it has not already been cancelled) when the field officer ceases to be an officer or employee of the Public Service of Nauru.
6 Surveys to comply with this Act (1) After the commencement of this Act, a survey shall not be made, except in accordance with this Act and: (a) by, or under the personal supervision of, a surveyor; or (b) by a field officer.

(2) Every plan representing a the commencement of this Act shall be a correct delineation of the boundaries of the land surveyed as marked or pegged on the ground.
survey made after 7 Certain instruments to be used in making surveys In making a survey, angles shall be measured by means of a theodolite in accurate adjustment, and distance shall be measured by means of a steel or invar band approved by the Government Surveyor.

As in force from 15 April 2011 3 Survey Act 1961 8 Measurement of lines In making a survey, a line shall be measured by the most direct method that is reasonably practicable.
9 Boundaries of land to be marked A surveyor or field officer shall, in the course of making a survey of land, mark in a distinctive and durable manner any boundary of the land that is not so marked and, if the land has been or is being sub-divided into two or more parcels of land, any boundary of such a parcel that is not so marked.
10 Re-surveys of land Where land is being re-surveyed, the boundaries of the land as marked on the ground shall be deemed to be the true boundaries of the land notwithstanding that those boundaries do not correspond with the boundaries of the land as shown on a relevant plan of the land.
11 Fixing boundary when monument missing (1) Where, in the course of surveying land, an existing monument relevant to establishing the position of a boundary of the land cannot be located after diligent search, the surveyor or field officer making the survey shall, after investigating fully the position of the boundary, determine the position of the boundary by reference to the boundaries of the adjacent parcels of land and to such other matters relevant to determining the position of that boundary as he found in the course of the investigation.
(2) For the purposes of the last preceding subsection, an existing monument, in relation to land, means a monument the position of which was fixed in the course of surveying other land.

12 Datum line of azimuth (1) A surveyor or field officer shall not adopt a line as the datum line of azimuth of a survey unless he has determined the position of the monuments that establish the position of the line.
(2) A surveyor or field officer shall, in relation to the line adopted as the datum line of azimuth of a survey: (a) if the bearing of the azimuth of the line is shown on a plan of survey recorded at the Government Survey Office at As in force from 15 April 2011 4 Survey Act 1961 Nauru — accept the bearing so shown as the correct bearing of the azimuth for the purposes of the survey; or (b) in any other case — determine the bearing of the azimuth by astronomical observations.
13 Accuracy of survey (1) The accuracy of the measurement of each line which forms part of a surround of land being surveyed shall be checked by calculating, to two places of decimals, the length of the line by the method known as latitudes and departures.
the closure of the (2) Land shall not be deemed to have been surveyed with appropriate accuracy unless the ratio of the sum of the differences of the latitudes and departures of the perimeter to the sum of the latitudes and departures of the perimeter does not exceed the ratio of one to six thousand.

14 Field notes (1) A surveyor or field officer shall make complete field notes of every survey made by him.
(2) The field notes shall be deemed not to be complete for the purposes of the last preceding subsection unless: (a) the field notes are neat, precise and readily intelligible; (b) (c) the field notes contain all the information necessary for the preparation of a full and accurate plan of the survey; the field notes contain full particulars of all astronomical observations made in connexion with the survey; (d) all bearings entered in the field notes are expressed in degrees, minutes and seconds of arc calculated clockwise from zero to three hundred and sixty degrees; (e) (f) the names of all relevant estates, and the numbers of relevant portions, are shown in the field notes; the field notes state that the survey is a survey of land in Nauru and contain particulars of the date on which the survey was made; As in force from 15 April 2011 5 Survey Act 1961 (g) the field notes specify the nature and position of each monument located in the course of making the survey and, if the surveyor or field officer was unable, after diligent search, to locate an existing monument: (i) full particulars of the investigations carried out by that surveyor or field officer in endeavouring to find the monument; (ii) the point that he has determined to be the position of the monument; and (iii) all measurements taken by him in relation to that point upon the assumption that that point is the position at which the monument should be; and (h) the field notes specify the position of the datum line and the origin of the azimuth adopted for the purposes of the survey.
(3) For the purposes of the last preceding subsection, ‘existing monument’ has the same meaning as in subsection (2) of section eleven of this Act.

(4) Particulars of each fact found, bearing taken and measurement and observation made for the purpose of a survey shall be entered in the field notes immediately after the fact was found, the bearing was taken or the measurement or observation was made, as the case may be.
15 Calculation of area The area of a parcel of land of irregular shape shall be calculated by the method known as double longitudes.

16 Plans (1) Where a surveyor or field officer prepares a plan representing a survey, he shall mark on the plan the datum line of azimuth of the survey by distinguishing letters placed at the ends of the line, and shall indicate on the plan the nature of the marks which define that line.
(2) A surveyor or field officer making a survey shall cause a plan representing the survey, and his field notes relating to the survey, to be deposited with the Government Surveyor, and shall satisfy the Government Surveyor that the survey was made in accordance with this Act.
As in force from 15 April 2011 6 Survey Act 1961 (3) When the Government Surveyor is satisfied that a survey was made in accordance with this Act and that the plan of the survey deposited with him truly represents the survey, he shall initial the plan and forward a copy of the plan to the Nauru Lands Committee.
17 Certificate to be endorsed on plan of survey A surveyor or field officer shall endorse on a plan that purports to represent a survey made by him in accordance with this Act a certificate in accordance with the form in the Schedule to this Act.
18 Penalty for incorrect certificate A person shall not endorse, on a plan that purports to represent a survey, a certificate in accordance with the form in the Schedule to this Act unless: (a) that person is a surveyor or a field officer; (b) if that person is a surveyor, the survey was made by him or under his personal supervision or, if that person is a field officer, the survey was made by him; (c) the survey was made with appropriate accuracy; (d) the survey was made in accordance with the provisions of this Act; (e) the survey is truly represented by the plan; and (f) the survey was completed on the date stated in the certificate to be the date when the survey was completed.
Penalty: One hundred dollars.
As in force from 15 April 2011 7 Survey Act 1961 THE SCHEDULE SURVEY ACT 1961 Section 17 CERTIFICATE BY A * REGISTERED SURVEYOR * LICENSED FIELD OFFICER I, , a person * registered as a surveyor under * licensed to act as a field officer under the Survey Act 1961, certify that the survey purportedly represented by this plan: * by me; (a) was made * under my personal supervision; (b) was made with appropriate accuracy; (c) was made in accordance with the provisions of the Survey Act 1961; (d) is truly represented by this plan; and (e) was completed on [date] .
* Registered Surveyor Signature of * Licensed Field Officer Date: * Strike out whichever is inapplicable.
As in force from 15 April 2011 8 Notes for Survey Act 1961 Table of Constituent Legislation Ordinances Citation Number Made Gazettal Commencement Survey Ordinance 1961 1961/06 17.11.1961 18.11.1961 18.11.1961 Survey Ordinance 1963 1963/01 16.05.1963 18.09.1963 18.09.1963 Executive Council Ordinance 1966 1966/03 14.02.1966 17.02.1966 17.02.1966 Ordinances Revision Ordinance 1967 1967/25 29.12.1967 29.12.1967 29.12.1967 Acts Citation Number Certification Commencement Statute Law Revision Act 2011 2011/08 15.04.2011 15.04.2011 Table of Amendments ad.
= added or inserted am.

= amended rep. = repealed rs.

= repealed and substituted om = omitted os = omitted and substituted Provision affected How affected Section 1 Section 2 Section 3 Section 4 Section 5 Section 6 Section 14 Section 16 Short title rs.

by Ord.

1967/25.

Rs.

by Act 2011/08.

Am.

by Act 2011/08.

Am.

by Act 2011/08.

Subs.

(1) am.

by Ord.

1966/03; Ord.

1967/25, os.

by Act 2011/08.. Subs.

(2) am.

by Ord.

1966/03, Act 2011/08.

Subs.

(3) am.

by Ord.

1966/03, Act 2011/08.


Subs.

(1) am by Act 2011/08.

Subs.

(2) am by Act 2011/08.

Subs.

(1) am by Act 2011/08.

Subs.

(2) rs.

by Ord.

1963/01, Act 2011/08.

Subs.

(2) am.

by Ord.

1963/01.

Subs.

(3) am.

by Act 2011/08.

Subs.

(4) rs.

by Ord.

1963/01.

Subs.

(2) am by Act 2011/08.

Subs.

(3) am by Act 2011/08.

Section 17 Am.

by Act 2011/08.

Section 18 Am.

by Ord.

1967/25, Act 2011/08.

As in force from 15 April 2011 9