The Victoria/Tasmania branch of the CFMEU has announced that it has ceased to represent surveyors in those states, effective 6 February.
In a letter circulated to members, the union thanked surveyor members for their support and expressed the hope that they would remain engaged with the union movement.
Commenting on the development, Michelle Blicavs, CEO of Surveyors Australia, said that it marks the “formal end of a challenging period that began in March 2023, when surveyors were increasingly being treated as construction workers rather than as a distinct profession supporting construction and infrastructure”.
Blicavs added that “Over the past three years, Surveyors Australia, working closely with our state partners including Consulting Surveyors Victoria, has deliberately strengthened the professional standing of surveyors and the way our profession is recognised, represented and supported”.
Those efforts have included:
- Implementing a revised national certification program for engineering surveyors;
- Growing salary recognition, supported by evidence from Surveyors Australia’s 2025 salary survey;
- Updated occupational recognition by the Australian Bureau of Statistics for land, engineering and mine surveyors;
- Establishment of a national Engineering Surveyors Committee; and
- Targeted training and events focused on engineering and infrastructure surveying.
“These outcomes are practical and structural,” Blicavs said. “They strengthen the profession and reduce the likelihood of similar challenges in the future.”
Blicavs said she encourages engineering surveyors, and any other surveyors who work in infrastructure and construction, to enquire about Surveyors Australia’s Engineering Surveyor Certification program.
