2 March 2018
Registration Issues
The Board has received requests from employers to issue registration renewals direct to the employer instead of the individual registrant, and in some cases to reissue the tax invoice in the name of the employer.
The Board’s responsibility is linked to the registrant and to maintain the required statutory information for each registrant. The Board readily accepts that some employers pay fees for their staff. However, this is an arrangement between the employer and their staff. It is the registrant’s responsibility to complete and lodge any forms and pay the prescribed fee.
Some employers have also requested that, for new registration applications or applications for competency assessment, the Board issue a tax invoice to the employer before they will pay the prescribed fee. The Board has to comply with the legislative requirements of the Surveyors Act 2003 (the Act) and an application for initial registration must be on the approved form and accompanied by the application and registration fees per s 45(1) of the Act. For a competency assessment application, s 44(2) of the Act states an application must be made and accompanied by the assessment fee.
The Board takes this opportunity to advise that the Board has a responsibility to deal directly with each individual registrant for all matters relating to registration and that:
- any tax invoices issued by the Board will be issued to and in the name of the individual registrant;
- when the requirements for renewal of registration have been met, an email is sent to the registrant confirming finalisation of the renewal and receipt of the prescribed fee;
- if the employer has an arrangement with staff to pay Board fees on behalf of the employee, this is a matter between the employer and the employee;
- applications to the Board must be accompanied by the fee prescribed under the Act;
- a registrant’s application is not complete unless the prescribed fee has been paid. The application will not be processed until the payment is received and any other requirements are met;
- the Board will not receive an application and then prepare and forward a tax invoice for the applicable fees to either the individual registrant or the nominated employer;
- all Board fees are disclosed on the Board website and can be determined at the time of preparing and lodging the application with the Board; and
- the majority of board fees are exempt from GST.
Restoration Policy
At the February 2018 Board meeting, the Board agreed to amend the Restoration Policy to include the consulting endorsement. The Board will permit a surveyor who previously held a consulting endorsement to seek restoration of the endorsement within a two-year period since the endorsement lapsed.