How do I find my property boundaries?

Start with the survey plan your title refers to, because that plan is what fixes where the boundaries are. It gives the length and direction of each boundary, and when the land was surveyed, the surveyor left pegs or marks at the corners. The state’s online property map draws the same lines over an aerial photo, which is close enough to plan with but not close enough to build on. A fence is the least reliable guide of all, since fences often stray from the line they were meant to follow.

Where do I find the survey plan?

Your rates notice, the title or the contract of sale gives the lot and plan number, and the state’s land registry sells a copy of the plan under that number for a small fee. Older plans can be hand drawn and hard to read, and some lots have been resurveyed since, so make sure the plan you read is the current one. The post on site plans and survey plans explains what the survey plan shows and how it differs from the site plan council wants.

Can I find the pegs myself?

Often. Survey pegs and marks sit at the corners and sometimes along the line, but they get buried under turf, shifted by earthworks or pulled out by whoever built the last fence. A peg you find tells you roughly where the corner is. It does not prove the mark was never disturbed, so measure between the pegs you find and compare the distances with the plan before you rely on them.

When do I need a surveyor?

When the exact position matters. That covers a new fence on the line, a shed or a wall close to the boundary, a slab near an easement, and any disagreement with a neighbour about where the line runs. A registered surveyor finds the marks, checks them against the plan and marks the boundary again, and the certifier relies on that when the work sits close. Your state’s dividing fence law sets how neighbours share the cost of a new dividing fence. The post on boundary setbacks explains how distances to the boundary are measured.

What goes on the site plan?

The boundaries with their lengths from the survey plan, the fence lines where they actually stand, and the new work with its distance measured to the boundary rather than to the fence. Where a fence sits off the line, the plan shows both, so the certifier reads the distance that counts.

Reading it for your own lot

RapidSiteplan reads the lot from its address in a minute, with the boundary from the land records laid over the aerial photo and the house and the existing fence lines traced from it. Where the fence and the boundary part ways, you see it on the screen before anything is built. The fencing page shows the sheet for fence runs, the post on fence heights covers the height question, and the council pages for every state show what each council maps. Start with the address.

Common questions

How do I find my property boundaries? Start with the survey plan your title refers to, which gives each boundary’s length, then look for the survey pegs at the corners. The state’s online property map draws the lines over an aerial photo, close enough to plan with but not to build on. Where the exact line matters, a registered surveyor marks it.