Monday 16 March 2026

We recently shared a post on how the Planning System Reforms Act 2025 is reshaping assessment pathways and timeframes, linked below. The surveying sector is undergoing a parallel shift driven by Digital Plans Reform, the Surveying & Spatial Information Regulation 2024, and clearer, stricter expectations around Section 45 and Section 46 surveys.

Similarly to the planning reforms, the changes promise faster processing, but only when the work is technically accurate, complete, and compliant before lodgement even occurs. NSW’s digital transition continues to roll out through mandated stages. The first major milestone occurred on 1 July 2025, when all plans were required to be lodged online via LRS Connect.

From 1 July 2026, two major changes take effect:

• Digital Forms (Admin Sheets + Section 88B Instruments) must be produced in the Online Form Builder.
• LandXML digital plan files (Stage 1) must accompany deposited plans, including new lots, roads, survey connections and control marks.

By 1 July 2027, LandXML files must contain all required survey mark information, completing the shift to fully digital plan preparation. LRS is providing industry‑wide training, briefings, and platform enhancements throughout 2026. Here at Parker Scanlon our Survey Team is already adapting efficiently to these changes, because we understand readiness ultimately rests with each firm’s internal systems, workflows, and capability, which we are confident in.

The Surveying & Spatial Information Regulation 2024 came into effect on 1 March 2025, replacing the 2017 Regulation for all new surveys. Surveys initiated before that date can only rely on the old regulation if finalised before 1 January 2026, a transition period we have now moved beyond.

The Regulation introduces updated requirements relating to:

• Definitions of urban and rural surveys
• Equipment verification
• Accuracy/tolerance standards
• Boundary identification
• Datum rules
• Survey marks
• Field notes and certification obligations

These updates reflect a clear shift, with additional refinements expected with the upcoming Surveyor General’s Direction No.7, anticipated in early 2026.

Another considerable change is the formal clarification on what constitutes a land survey in NSW. The definition now includes any survey depicting boundary information whether a plan, sketch, diagram, topographic survey, WAE survey, or set‑out.

Councils across NSW are now rarely accepting surveys not prepared under Section 45 for planning or compliance purposes. This means accuracy, boundary clarity, and proper certification are non‑negotiable.

Early communication is now more crucial than ever, because survey data is central to site feasibility, design accuracy, DA documentation, subdivision planning, easement creation, engineering design, and certification pathways.

When you place the planning reforms and surveying reforms side‑by‑side, a clear theme emerges, the demand of fully resolved, complete DA packages at lodgement stage. In other words, the planning system and surveying system are being redesigned to work faster, but only if sub-consultants are prepared too.