Survey plans

Search for a survey plan

We hold a library of survey plans that have been lodged since the colony of Queensland was established in 1859. Most of these plans have been scanned and are available in digital form.

Searches and copies of documents

Survey plan searches and copies of documents can be obtained from Titles Queensland or from approved distributors.

To purchase a survey plan, you will need to know the plan number. Every property in Queensland is identified with a unique lot and plan number, for example, Lot 7 on SP123456. You can find this information on rates notices or by using online mapping tools, such as Queensland Globe or council websites.

Colour copies of older plans

If you need a colour copy of an older survey plan because the information on the black and white version is illegible, contact the source you purchased the original plan from. This could be:

Digital data

Surveyors can obtain digital data from approved distributors.

About survey plans

A cadastral survey plan or a registered plan provides the details of the boundaries of a property, as well as its area. This is done so that the property can be easily identified by the landowners and the adjoining owners.

Other types of surveys are often done to obtain the location and levels of features on the land to facilitate building and construction design. These are usually called feature surveys or site surveys, but are also known by other names including contour surveys, contour and detail surveys, detail surveys and topographic surveys. While the locations of the site features may be approximately shown in relation to the property boundaries, the purpose of these types of surveys is not to define the boundaries of the land. The property boundaries are often plotted from existing survey records and not verified as part of this type of survey. These are not cadastral survey plans.

A cadastral survey plan is a technical and legal document prepared by a registered cadastral surveyor.

A survey plan is considered current until a new survey has been conducted and registered for the subject lot, and a new title issued. The certificate of title for each lot in Queensland refers to the current survey plan. A plan may be the current plan for some of the lots shown on the plan, but other lots may have been cancelled by a newer plan. This may mean that a current plan of a lot could be from the 1900s, whereas the current plan for a nearby lot may be either newer or older.

A cadastral survey plan does not include building location unless the property is a building unit. For more information on buildings, contact the relevant local government.

Cadastral survey plans do not contain land contours. A registered surveyor can create these plans for you.

Other types of plans, such as identification survey plans, may be available for your land. Contact Titles Queensland or consult a registered cadastral surveyor to enquire about obtaining these plans.

A current plan of a lot may not show easements, leases or covenants as such interests may have been created by a different survey plan. Refer to a title search for this information.

Reading a survey plan

A survey plan will include lot identifiers, adjoining information, bearings, distances and an area for all subject parcels covered by the survey plan. Sometimes the measurements for an individual parcel are not included on older plans. This occurs where the dimensions of one parcel are the same as the adjacent lots (e.g. if lots 1 to 20 are all the same size, the dimensions may only be shown on lot 1).

A survey plan does not include the measurements from the kerb to the property boundary.

Depending on when the survey was conducted, the information recorded on the plan may vary.

For example:

  • Some older plans may include roman numerals, notes and annotations, or the word 'road' when the road had not been named at the time of survey.
  • A survey plan may also include old street names.
  • Historical survey plans may include county prefixes and prefix abbreviations.
  • Depending on the age of a plan, dimensions may be recorded in a number of formats and you may need to convert from imperial to metric.

For examples of survey plans, visit Titles Queensland.

For surveyors

Auditing

To maintain cadastral integrity and the quality of property boundary surveys, the Department of Resources sets standards, conducts audits, and supports the Surveyors Board of Queensland (SBQ). Audits include field inspection and cover all surveys, including Identification Surveys (Idents). Findings are reported monthly to the SBQ. Titles Queensland examines plans prior to registration, while the department audits focus mostly on registered plans an Idents. Ensuring cadastral integrity and quality of survey work is the responsibility of all surveyors in Queensland.

For updates to the auditing process, view the surveying alerts.

Barcodes

The department introduced a new system for survey plan barcodes in 2021. Instead of hard-copy, stick-on labels, images of barcodes (as PDF and PNG files) are provided to cadastral surveyors at no cost. You can embed the image in the survey plan drawing or image file.

To obtain new or replacement barcodes:

Barcodes are unique and it is the surveyor's responsibility to have appropriate barcode management and version control in place once they have been allocated, to ensure that the same number is not used in different plans or sketches.

Reserved plans of survey

Reserved plans of survey no longer need to be certified by the chief executive or the Registrar of Titles, and can be lodged for registration without a letter of certification.

Further information can be found in section 4.7 of the Cadastral survey requirements (PDF, 4.9MB).

Cadastral survey field notes

Field notes are a permanent record of survey, and include information on:

  • survey procedures
  • topography
  • improvements
  • vegetation
  • geology.

In the past, draftsmen created survey plans directly from the field surveyor's notes.

While surveying, cadastral surveyors often refer to field notes to:

  • extract important information
  • understand how the information was recorded.

You can purchase copies of cadastral survey field notes:

Copies of cadastral survey field notes cost {{ pass_1919 }}.

Contact us

If you have questions about survey plans, contact us.

However, we can only provide general advice about survey plans. If you require detailed advice, or if you have questions or concerns about your specific land parcel, contact a registered cadastral surveyor.

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  • Last reviewed: 14 Jul 2023
  • Last updated: 7 Sep 2023