OSG Circular Memorandum No. 1-1992

​20 October 1992

Circular to: Registered Surveyors

Plan Preparation: Rounding of Areas and Dimensions

Plans registered in the Office of the Surveyor General

As you are aware the Recorder of Titles issued a set of Guidelines for Survey Plan Preparation in Circular Memorandum No. 5 of 1972 with particular regard to the "rounding off' of areas, lengths and bearings. These instructions have recently been replaced by "Guidelines for Plan Preparation" issued by the Recorder of Titles on the 8 May 1992.

As from the 1 October 1992 areas, lengths and bearings depicted on all plans and notes prepared for registration in the Office of the Surveyor-General are to conform with the latest Guidelines issued by the Recorder of Titles as follows:

Areas
The unit of area will be the square metre (m2) or the (ha) depending upon lot size, and will be rounded as follows:
  • Areas less than 100m2 will be depicted in square metres and rounded to the nearest 0.1m2.
  • Areas greater than 100m2 and less than 1 ha (10,000m2) will be depicted in square metres and rounded to the nearest 1m2.
  • Areas greater than 1 ha and less than 10,000 ha will be depicted in hectares expressed to four significant figures, and rounded to the nearest sjgnificant figure.
  • Areas greater than 10,000 ha will be expressed in hectares, rounded to the nearest hectare.
Plan Distances
  • The only unit of length shown will be the metre.
  • All distances on the plan are to be shown to the nearest centimetre (ie. 0.01 or 20.00 etc.).
Plan Bearings
  • The expressed value of bearings shown on the plan may be rounded off:
  • to the nearest minute of arc for lengths less than 30m.
  • to the nearest 20 seconds of arc for lengths between 30m and 200m.
  • to the nearest 10 seconds of arc for lengths of 200m and over.

C.M. Rowe
SURVEYOR-GENERAL