Settlement by Agreement [Reference s.22A-1]
On 3 April 2012, the Board successfully settled a professional conduct matter by agreement with a licensed surveyor. The licensed surveyor had previously admitted to having engaged in unprofessional conduct in relation to his unsatisfactory audit results for three surveys, hence the opportunity for the matter to be settled by agreement in accordance with section 22A of the Surveying Act 2004.
Following consideration of the options available to the Board and the licensed surveyor to settle the matter by agreement, both parties reached consensus that altering the way he practises as a licensed surveyor is the most appropriate and practical one that will enable the licensed surveyor to address his shortcomings in relation to maintaining survey standards and supervision of his staff, these being the major issues that contributed to the unsatisfactory audit results.
In particular, the licensed surveyor agreed to alter the way in which he practises as a licensed surveyor by:
- arranging an internal workshop to educate his staff on his expectations regarding the way in which a cadastral survey should be conducted
- broadening the search field for LASSI to ensure identification of adequate permanent marks in order to comply with the legislative requirements to connect to the map grid (MGA)
- reviewing permanent mark sketch plans and data
- visiting the field and reviewing the capability for connection of the survey to MGA
- ensuring that, on completion of a survey undertaken by his field staff, the survey meets his requirements
- confirming all relevant survey documentation contains the required information.