New survey guidelines have been released in New Zealand, covering activities associated with Māori land and with land exchange scenarios.

The new guideline for preparing cadastral survey datasets (CSDs) for Māori land under the Cadastral Survey Rules 2021 (CSR 2021), outlines key terms and the legislative context (including Te Ture Whenua Māori Act 1993) under which it is issued.

It covers requirements for surveys supporting partitions, amalgamations, roadways, easements, and other actions relating to Māori land.

The guidance gives practical examples from approved Māori land datasets to support consistent application of the rules.

The other new guideline aids with preparing CSDs for land exchanges involving Crown land, local authorities, Māori land, reserves and other tenure types.

It looks at the most common legislative scenarios, outlines CSD and reporting requirements, and gives examples that illustrate typical exchange processes.

In other New Zealand news, the Office of the Surveyor-General has updated and improved the Utility Survey Standard – LINZ OP S 01287.

This is the standard that specifies the requirements for surveying and recording the position of utility assets.

It builds on the Utility Location Standard that was launched in 2022 and includes new accuracy standards for surveying drainage invert levels.

It is hoped that the Standard will be more easily adopted by Councils and utility asset managers as their specification for as-built surveys.

Finally, as we reported last month, LINZ is asking for industry feedback on proposed changes to the Standard for New Zealand Survey Control and its companion Guideline. Both are now 15 years old and in need of updating. Feedback can be submitted up until 27 February 2026.