New South Wales Consolidated Acts

DIVIDING FENCES ACT 1991 - SECT 18

18 Procedure for defining boundary line

(1) An adjoining owner may give notice in writing to the other adjoining owner of his or her intention to have the common boundary line defined by a registered surveyor if the owners do not agree on the position of the common boundary line for the purposes of carrying out fencing work.

(2) The owner receiving the notice may, within 7 days after service of the notice:

(a) define the position of the common boundary line by pegs if satisfied as to its position, or

(b) employ a registered surveyor to define the common boundary line,

and in either case is to inform the other adjoining owner in writing of what has been done.

(3) The owner giving the notice may have the common boundary line defined by a registered surveyor if the owner to whom the notice is given has, within 1 month after service of the notice, defined the common boundary line by pegs or failed to have the common boundary defined by a registered surveyor.

(4) If the common boundary line as defined by a registered surveyor is ascertained to be in the same position defined by pegs placed there by the owner receiving the notice, that owner is entitled to recover from the owner giving the notice any costs incurred.

(5) In any other case when a registered surveyor has been employed, all reasonable expenses are to be paid in equal shares by the adjoining owners.

(6) In this section,
"registered surveyor" means a person registered under the Surveying and Spatial Information Act 2002 as a surveyor.