Levels of Registration

There are four levels of registration recognised by the Surveyors Board of Queensland.

  1. Surveying Associate
  2. Surveying Graduate
  3. Surveyor
  4. Surveyor with endorsement

The level of registration is dependent on the applicant’s qualifications, skills, knowledge and experience. The entry requirements for each level of registration are outlined below.

1. Surveying Associate

A Surveying Associate will need to have completed one of the following:-

  • a University of Southern Queensland (USQ) Associate Degree in Spatial Science (Surveying Major); or
  • two years (with strong bias toward the core surveying subjects) of a USQ Bachelor of Spatial Science Technology (Surveying Major), a USQ Bachelor of Spatial Science (Surveying Major), or a Queensland University of Technology (QUT) Bachelor of Urban Development (Spatial Science Major); or
  • provide evidence of competency by completing a Surveying Associate Competency Assessment (SACA).

2. Surveying Graduate

A Surveying Graduate will be required to have completed either a three or four year university degree in surveying. The three-year degree is the minimum qualification requirement for obtaining registration as a surveyor, and for obtaining an engineering or mining endorsement. To seek a cadastral endorsement will require a four-year tertiary degree in surveying.

Once registered, the Surveying Graduate is required to gain practical experience in the profession and demonstrate progression towards registration as a surveyor.

Please refer to Surveying Graduate – Progression Requirements.

3. Registered Surveyor

A registered surveyor will have completed either a three or four year university degree in surveying and demonstrated their competence against the surveyor competency framework.

Please refer to the Steps to Surveyor Registration.

4. Registered Surveyor with Endorsement

A registered surveyor with an endorsement will have demonstrated competence in a specific area of surveying and satisfactorily completed a Professional Assessment Project.

A registered surveyor is able to hold multiple endorsements from cadastral, engineering, mining and consulting. A four year degree is required to seek a cadastral endorsement while a three year degree is required for engineering and mining endorsements.

A surveyor should refer to the Steps to Endorsement if they are considering seeking an endorsement.

A cadastral surveyor seeking to operate a cadastral surveying business or charge a fee for a cadastral survey needs to hold a consulting endorsement.

Competency Framework

The Surveyors Act 2003 required the Board to develop and implement competency frameworks. Applicants for registration are assessed against the competency framework appropriate to the registration that is sought. The respective competency frameworks outline the degree and other skilled based requirements for registration.