Second Reading Speech On Land Surveyors (Amendment) Bill By Senior Minister Of State For Law, Assoc Prof Ho Peng Kee, Tuesday, 21 September 2004

Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, that the Bill be now read a second time.

Overview of the Bill

This Bill updates and streamlines the Act and makes related and consequential amendments to the Boundaries and Survey Maps Act, Land Titles Act and Land Titles (Strata) Act. We had consulted the Lands Surveyors Board and the Singapore Institute of Surveyors and Valuers on these amendments.

The Land Surveyors Act was enacted to establish a system of registration of surveyors to meet the demand for cadastral surveys in Singapore. The Boundaries and Survey Maps Act was enacted to provide for the appointment, powers and duties of the Chief Surveyor pertaining to the marking and surveying of lot boundaries; publishing and maintaining survey maps in manual and electronic forms; and, establishing a coordinated cadastre. The amendments can be divided into 3 categories, namely, amendments relating to the land surveying profession, amendments relating to land surveying, and, some consequential and related amendments.

Amendments relating to the land surveying profession

In tune with the business environment and as part of our free trade agreement obligations, the Bill removes current restrictions imposed on multi-discipline corporations and partnerships which supply survey services. The Professional Engineers Board and Board of Architects have also abolished similar requirements. First, the requirement that registered surveyors or allied professionals must hold at least two-thirds share in a limited corporation will be removed. Second, it is no longer a requirement that all the directors of a limited corporation must be registered surveyors or allied professionals. Third, the registered surveyor who has control and management of the business of a corporation (whether limited or not) need not be ordinarily resident in Singapore. This amendment is found in Clause 7.

At present, the Chief Surveyor is concurrently the President of the Land Surveyors Board. The Bill seeks to separate the functions of the Chief Surveyor and those of the President of the Land Surveyors Board by amending Section 4 of the Land Surveyors Act. The Chief Surveyor will continue to oversee, regulate and set the standards required in the conduct of cadastral surveys within the ambit of the Boundaries and Survey Maps Act while the President of the Land Surveyors Board will continue to oversee the professional learning, standards and conduct of all registered surveyors through the Land Surveyors Act. With two persons, there will be better checks and balances in promoting and regulating standards in the surveying profession.

To effect this, the Bill transfers Part IX, on Conduct of Cadastral Surveys, of the Land Surveyors Act to a new Part IIA in the Boundaries and Survey Maps Act.

We further propose to remove the requirement that Assistant Surveyors be approved and registered by the Land Surveyors Board. This is in line with Government's move to cut rules and reduce business costs. The registration requirement was imposed so that surveyors would employ Assistant Surveyors with the necessary qualifications. However, this is an unnecessary safeguard since registered surveyors are responsible for the cadastral surveys they do. As registered surveyors, they are accountable to the Land Surveyors Board for their work. Allied professionals, such as architects and engineers, do not register their assistants under their Acts. Countries with similar cadastral systems, like Australia and New Zealand, also do not approve and register Assistant Surveyors.

To foster re-learning and upgrading of the professional knowledge and skills of practising surveyors, Clause 5 of the Bill empowers the Land Surveyors Board to introduce continuing professional development as an additional condition for renewal of a surveyor's annual practising certificate. Architects and professional engineers have similar requirements.

A new section 35A is introduced to empower the Land Surveyors Board to appoint a lawyer for any investigation, hearing or appeal conducted by an Investigation Committee or the Board or on an appeal to the High Court. Also a new section 35B will empower the Board to recover the cost and reasonable expenses related to these disciplinary proceedings from the registered surveyor, licensed corporation or partnership as the case may be.

Amendments relating to land surveying

The Bill makes consequential amendments to the Boundaries and Survey Maps Act to enable the electronic submission of survey records and documents by surveyors as part of our e-Government initiative. Currently, the Act only allows hardcopies of survey records and plans to be submitted.

The Bill also empowers the Chief Surveyor to generate new maps from the coordinated cadastre established under section 7 of the Boundaries and Survey Maps Act, and to declare that the new maps supersede the maps published under the repealed section of the Boundaries and Survey Maps Act.

Consequential and miscellaneous amendments

Other related and consequential amendments to the Boundaries and Survey Maps Act are: First, to decriminalise the failure to give information to a survey officer. This is no longer necessary as all the survey districts have been surveyed and the survey maps have been published

Second, to clarify that assistants employed by registered surveyors may also enter sites to conduct cadastral surveys subject to conditions imposed by the Chief Surveyor. This is because physical measurements on the ground are usually done by assistant surveyors.

Third, to state in the Act what is the current position that registered surveyors are primarily responsible for the accuracy of their cadastral survey plans although such plans have been approved by the Chief Surveyor.

Fourth, to empower the Chief Surveyor to refuse to approve any survey plans if an encroachment has been created by the developer and it has not been resolved. Currently, the Chief Surveyor can only refuse to grant approval to a survey plan in two very narrow situations, ie where subdivision permission has not been obtained and where survey fees have not been paid. Arising from a recent case, to protect the public interest, this amendment seeks to provide an additional ground which will operate in situations where encroachments are created as a result of new developments.

And fifth, to remove the limitation period of one year for surveyors to bear the cost of rectifying errors in their cadastral surveys.

Consequential and technical amendments are also made to the Land Titles Act and Land Titles (Strata) Act to remove the current requirement for registered surveyors to deposit 2 sets of the strata title plan; one with the Chief Surveyor and the other with the Registrar of Titles. Under these amendments, registered surveyors will need to deposit only one set of strata title plan with the Chief Surveyor. This is possible because the Chief Surveyor and the Registrar of Titles are now part of the Singapore Land Authority and their work processes have been integrated. Overall, surveyors will appreciate this streamlining arising from workflow improvements.

Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move.

Issued by:
Ministry of Law
21 September 2004