Extract reprinted with permission.
To answer this question, xyHt has solicited the responses of surveyors and professional surveying societies and associations from across the United States and internationally. A sign of how contentious this discussion can be is that some of the panel asked not to be identified for fear of reprisal.
They even sort opinions from as far afield as Australia, with Alexander Symonds director Franco Rea. You can read his extract below, and the entire article online at https://www.xyht.com/surveying/real-surveying/
Australia
Franco Rea, LS, Director at Alexander & Symonds Surveying Consultants
Australia, at each state level, has, like many countries, demanding education, experience, and examination requirements for licensing. But again, this is for the most part boundary/cadastral-centric. There are formal cadasters in states, and South Australia was the pioneer in Torrens land registration systems. Australia has also seen great booms in mining and infrastructure surveying.
Franco Rea, LS, Director at Alexander & Symonds Surveying Consultants, Rea: responded to many of our question in a Q&A format:
xyHt: Are property surveys performed by only government surveyors (as in Sweden) or by any qualified surveyors?
Rea: Only licensed surveyors are allowed to undertake property surveys.
xyHt: Is there a national cadastre, or is it by state/region or localities (e.g. city)?
Rea: Yes, we have state cadastres that are put together to form national cadastres and managed by state and federal agencies.
xyHt: Are private surveys updated in the cadastre only by government surveyors?
Rea: No, all certified surveys performed by licensed surveyors feed back into updating the cadastre; the updating is done by the government.
xyHt: Does boundary (cadastral) surveying require a national/state/or local license or certification? Are there minimum education requirements before obtaining licenses/certifications? Are there ongoing education requirements and/or retesting to keep licenses/certifications?
Rea: Yes, the license is state-based and managed by local state-based surveyors boards. The minimum requirement is a degree in surveying and then experience and a project. All states recognise each other, and they have a reciprocating surveyors board that looks over all states registration of licensed surveyors.
xyHt: For non-boundary/cadastral surveying (e.g. construction, hydro, engineering surveying etc) are there licenses or certifications required? Minimum education and ongoing requirements?
Rea: No requirements. Some places insist on some qualifications, but most don’t.
xyHt: Do boundary and non-boundary surveyors join a surveying association or organization? Is there a mandatory requirement to join such an organization? Is said organization involved in regulating the activities of surveying? Please provide a short summary of the role of said organization.
Rea: There are no mandatory associations; there are voluntary associations: Surveying and Spatial Sciences Institute. All land surveyors are required to be licensed through their state surveyors board. This is a legislated requirement and the surveyors boards manage the licensing, education and continuing professional development programs. Payment of their license renewal does not give them any “membership benefits.” Surveyors are free to join membership associations that offer professional industry-related membership benefits.
xyHt: Are there publicly appointed (government) surveyors? Do the publicly appointed surveyors have an official role in non-boundary surveying or cadastral-only?
Rea: Very few government surveyors are left. The South Australian Government employs 14 licenced surveyors which represents 10% of our overall licences (148 2017-18 licence period).
xyHt: Surveying and geomatics degrees at universities: are these all classified as engineering degrees? e.g. we see the prefix (for example in Germany) of Ing. And Dipl. Ing. Are there surveying-only degrees with other designations? Are there no-degree surveying certifications (e.g. 2-year programs, and at trade schools or apprenticeships)?
Rea: No, in Australia we are one of the only few remaining countries that have pure surveying degrees. The master’s degree delivered by University of South Australia offers modules in a variety of surveying related subjects. At the point of practical training (further 2 years under supervision), Registered Surveying Graduates are required to provide practical training and reporting in the categories of Urban Land Surveying, Rural Land Surveying, and Engineering.
xyHt: Are all disciplines of surveying recognized and respected equally? Or, do (for instance) cadastral/boundary surveyors feel their work is the “real” surveying?
Rea: Yes, in Australia all cadastral surveyors are licenced and regulated. The profession overall promotes the benefits of using licenced surveyors, and each state co-ordinates annual recruitment activities focusing on ages 18 to 24 years. The different state boards provide financial assistance to their nominated committees for recruitment. In South Australia we have the Surveying & Mapping Committee SA (SAMSA). This committee works with the SSSI – SA Young Professionals, and together they provide activities promoting careers in Surveying.
In response to our main question, Rea said, “Yes, it is all surveying and we all get along fine. We generally need to do all types of surveying to make money, so we are all doing real surveying. We discriminate between non-cadastral and cadastral by using the term, ‘licensed surveyor,’ and you need to be licensed to use that term.”
