Cadastral systems within Australia

This paper results from multiple requests to the authors for basic information on how cadastral systems operate in Australia particularly from a land surveying perspective. Australia is a federation of states and operates separate cadastral systems in each state and territory. The primary objective for each system is the same; to underpin effective land transfer and land registration within a sound land administration system to support an active land market. The paper explains the essential practices of the cadastral system including processes of land transfer and registration and the roles of professional supporting bodies for maintaining standards, quality and operability. Land information and especially ‘spatial’ information are increasingly required to contribute to decision-making in an evolving environmental and information conscious society. These demands raise the importance of the cadastre underpinning spatial data infrastructures.