Digital Lodgement of Cadastral Survey Data in Australia - Centre for ...

While ACTMAP is survey accurate (based on calculated not digitised coordinates), there are some very small differences
between it and the legal cadastre as defined by DPs. More work is needed to combine these two and produce all information
shown on DPs digitally (Menzies, 1997). ACTMAP has recently been made available for use online on the Internet, called
ACTMAPonline (http://www.palm.act.gov.au/actlic/).
New South Wales
In New South Wales, there is currently no digital lodgement of cadastral data as such, however an Electronic Plan Lodgement
(EPL) program is being carried out, with the main aim of replacing the existing paper lodgement system. It is intended that the
project develop a detailed understanding of the issues and mechanisms involved in the electronic transmission and receipt of
digital data (Land Titles Office NSW, 1997).
The project is being carried out between the Land Titles Office and the Surveyor General’s Department, and was commissioned
in June 1996. It is divided into five stages, of which the first three have been completed. The first stage required fundamental
organisational data to be collected to assist in determining the overall organisational requirements for plans and other
lodgement data (Land Titles Office NSW, 1997).
The second stage was to identify the requirements and issues from external organisations. This was done through personal
interviews with selected surveying firms, 13 in total, and also coordinating six workshops with industry and government
groups. The results of these interviews were used to develop a questionnaire regarding current technological capabilities of the
surveyors, which was distributed to all surveyors in New South Wales. The questionnaire was prepared jointly between the
LTO and the former Land Information Centre (LIC), and Professor John Fryer from the University of Newcastle (Land Titles
Office NSW, 1997).
The third stage involved the research of several key issues and recommended solutions to these problems. Identified issues
included legal issues such as digital signatures and legislative change; standards, including data collection, plan drawing and
plan format; fees and payments; timing and availability; security of plans in transit; and technology options such as Internet
protocols and email (Land Titles Office NSW, 1997). New software has been developed which will allow plans to be accepted in
many different formats and compared with surrounding legal information, allowing spatial comparisons to be made (Harcombe,
1997).
The fourth stage involved the implementation of a pilot project, which will be instrumental in testing key technologies and will
also enable options documented earlier to be further assessed. It will consist of four phases – pilot system design;
implementation of core electronic plan lodgement technologies, including participation of surveyors; invitation for other parties
involved in data lodgement to join in the pilot project; and lastly the introduction of electronic lodgement of plans using the
processes developed in Phases Two and Three, parallel to the existing manual methods (Land Titles Office NSW, 1998).
Queensland
In Queensland, there has been substantial collaborative research carried out between Queensland University of Technology
and the survey industry, where Mr John Hayes recently completed his PhD, entitled “A Prototype System for the Digital
Lodgement of Spatial Data” (Hayes, 1997). The thesis developed a prototype for the digital lodgement of spatial data and was
designed to take advantage of the growing amount of digital spatial data being generated by surveying organisations.
The prototype takes into account spatial data collection, manipulation and presentation procedures, transfer and retrieval
processes, format and content standards, and best practice and quality assurance. It provides for the immediate delivery of
accurate, digital land boundary data, ensuring that all data is entered into the database at source accuracy, rather than the
current procedures where it often passes through a series of processes whereby the accuracy of the data is usually degraded
(Hayes, 1997). The prototype consisted of two modules – the Data Collection and Manipulation Module, and the Spatial Data
Validation and Delivery Module.
The Data Collection and Manipulation Module was designed to utilise existing infrastructure and readily available hardware and
software components. This was done in an attempt to minimise start-up costs and allow the majority of surveying firms to lodge
their data sets in a digital format immediately. The creation of an accurate cadastral database was also an important factor, and
this process involved using different approaches depending on the class of the area of cadastral development.
The Spatial Data Validation and Delivery Module was designed to provide the mechanism for the supply of quality spatial data
to public agencies. It takes advantage of existing software (Microsoft Office), in order to utilise the functionality of the data
access objects provided within this program. The programs that were actually used were Microsoft Access – a relational
database management system; Microsoft Word – word processing software; and Microsoft Excel – spreadsheet application. By