The surveying and spatial communities working in Australia will be able to ensure greater integrity in their work, following the release of a new standard.

The Intergovernmental Committee on Surveying and Mapping (ICSM) has released a new version of the Standard for the Australian Survey Control Network – Special Publication 1 and associated guidelines.

The documents are designed to provide guidance to help achieve the highest level of rigour and integrity when connecting to, delivering, and maintaining the Australian survey control mark network.

As well as the standard, the publications include guidelines for adjustment and evaluation of survey control, continuously operating reference stations, surveys by global navigation satellite system networks, surveys controlled by differential levelling, conventional traverse surveys and for installation and documentation of survey control marks.

The most significant change in the documentation is the transition from describing uncertainty by the traditional surveying measures of class and order, to the international standard of measuring uncertainty as the basis for evaluating and expressing the quality of measurements and positions.

A copy of the standard and guidelines can be downloaded from the ICSM website.