Environment and Resource Management

Ambulatory boundaries

Introduction

On 7 May 2010 new ambulatory boundary provisions commenced in Queensland. These provisions, contained in the Survey and Mapping Infrastructure Act 2003, the Land Act 1994 and the Land Title Act 1994, enable new feature-based methods for surveying the boundaries of land adjoining water subject to tidal influence or adjoining non-tidal boundary watercourses.

Background on ambulatory boundaries

In Queensland, most land adjoining tidal water or boundary watercourses has been granted with ambulatory boundaries. That is, the boundaries cannot be marked on the ground and they are not right line boundaries.

Until recently, the law recognised these boundaries by either referring to the line of intersection between a tidal plane and the land; or for a non-tidal boundary watercourse, by the level of normal flow in the watercourse. It took considerable technical skill and effort to define and locate these boundaries, which led to confusion about the precise location of many ambulatory boundaries.

What does the new scheme do?

The new scheme distinguishes between the:

The new scheme has moved the provisions dealing with the vesting of land in the State. The Land Act 1994 now contains provisions dealing with the vesting of land in boundary watercourses, and clarifies the vesting of land that is from time to time submerged by waters subject to tidal influence.

The new provisions provide owners with greater certainty about the extent of their land, and ensure that the method for boundary determination can be more consistently applied between sites and over time than current methods.

The new provisions include a declaration power, with safeguards including internal review and appeal rights, to deal with modified land where a natural feature can no longer be identified.

The new scheme rules out any compensation payable by the State or another person to those who consider that they have been deprived of an interest in land.

Implementation

The chief executive of DERM wrote to all local governments to advise of the new provisions and their expected impacts. In particular, the letter suggested that early in the process of considering development applications, the area of land available for the development be confirmed by a survey applying the new rules.

Reference material

The department carried out a legislative update program jointly with the Surveying and Spatial Sciences Institute throughout the state. The following links and materials may also assist stakeholders to understand the changes:

 

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Last updated 20 April 2012

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