By law
Only Licensed Surveyors peg boundaries
Torrens Survey Co is an advertising and introduction service for Adelaide property owners. It's not a surveying firm and holds no surveying licence. When you need a boundary survey or other land surveying done, we introduce you to an independent Licensed Surveyor, who quotes and contracts with you directly.
Most enquiries come down to one of five situations: a fence going up or coming down, a designer or council asking for a feature and level survey, a block someone wants to divide, a purchase where the house, shed and fences need checking against the title, or pegs that have gone missing. If you're not sure which applies, read what a land surveyor does or the difference between licensed and registered surveyors in South Australia, or just ring.
For a fence going up or coming down, a build close to the line, or pegs that have gone missing. In South Australia, only licensed surveyors can undertake a boundary survey or place a survey mark that defines a property boundary (Surveyors Board SA).
Learn More →The usual way to get the existing levels and boundary offsets a site plan has to show, for an extension, a new home or a sloping block. Designers, builders and councils often ask for one before plans can go in.
Learn More →Torrens or community title, the surveyor prepares and lodges the plan alongside the planning, conveyancing and Land Services SA steps. Land Services SA says a division can take many months, sometimes even years.
Learn More →Buying or selling, and want to know the house, shed and fences sit inside the title? An identification survey is a cadastral survey of the existing boundaries, and the Surveyors Board says to be aware of any encroachments involving neighbouring properties.
Learn More →We say what we are
Torrens Survey Co is an advertising service, not a surveying firm, and it holds no surveying licence. The independent Licensed Surveyor quotes and contracts with you directly.
A licence you can check yourself
The Surveyors Board of South Australia keeps a public register, and its Registrar can confirm a licence on (08) 8212 0343 or registrar@isasa.org.au. Checking before you agree to anything is the Board's own advice.
No made-up prices
None of the Adelaide surveying firms we checked publishes a price for a boundary or feature survey, so we don't print one either. The cost page sets out the few figures that are sourced, and says where they come from.
The question comes before the sale
Plenty of owners ring without knowing whether they need a boundary, identification or feature survey. We talk that through first, even if it means you're not ready to book anything yet.
By law
Licensed Surveyors peg boundaries
SA
Title-based boundaries
Call or send the form and tell us the address, what's happening (a fence, a design, a purchase, a split) and what anyone has asked you for. That's usually enough to work out which kind of survey fits.
We introduce an independent Licensed Surveyor, who looks at your title and the block and sets the scope. Check the surveyor's licence on the Surveyors Board register before you agree to anything.
The surveyor quotes you directly and carries out the work. Ask for what the survey covers, what you receive at the end and when, in writing, before you say yes.
Torrens Survey Co covers Greater Adelaide and the Adelaide Hills. Pick your part of town: Adelaide Hills, Northern Adelaide, Southern Adelaide, Eastern Suburbs, Western Suburbs and Inner Adelaide. Each page sets out what the Greater Adelaide Regional Plan says about that part of the city and how the four survey types apply there.
It depends on the problem. A boundary survey (also called an identification survey or re-pegging) is for when you need the legal boundary marked, for example because of a fence dispute, a build close to the line or a purchase. A feature and level survey records the existing ground levels and features so a designer can draw plans. A land division survey is part of splitting a block. If you're not sure, call (08) 5550 3814 and describe the situation, and we will point you to the right one.
The Surveyors Board of South Australia says that in South Australia, only licensed surveyors can undertake a boundary survey or place a survey mark that defines a property boundary. Torrens Survey Co isn't one of them: it's an advertising and introduction service and holds no surveying licence. Check any surveyor's licence with the Registrar at the Surveyors Board (registrar@isasa.org.au or (08) 8212 0343) before you agree to work.
Surveyors quote each job, and the price depends on the block, the evidence on site and the type of survey. None of the Adelaide firms we checked publishes a price for a boundary or feature survey, so this site doesn't either. The one sourced figure is a whole-of-project estimate for a standard one-into-two land division in metropolitan Adelaide, from one Adelaide surveying firm's published guide (May 2025): 'in the order of $30,000 – $34,000', with GST treatment not stated. That covers government fees, conveyancing and other costs as well as the surveyor, so it's not a survey price. Ask the surveyor for the scope in writing: what's measured, what you receive and what's not included. Our cost page sets out what is and isn't sourced.
We don't publish a lead time. We have no sourced figure for one, and it would be a guess. How soon a surveyor can start depends on their workload and the type of survey, so ask for a start date and a delivery date when they quote. A land division has approvals on top of the survey, and Land Services SA says the division of land can take many months, sometimes even years. If your timing matters, say so when you call (08) 5550 3814.
SA Government says the boundary can only be determined by a licensed surveyor, and a fence line doesn't show the legal boundary. Under the Fences Act 1975, the cost of a survey reasonably required for the fencing work can be included as a fencing cost, though your neighbour may object and a Magistrate would then decide. A neighbour has 30 days to respond to a fencing notice. By law you can't move or remove a survey mark, and for the dispute itself, talk to the Legal Services Commission, Community Mediation Services or a solicitor.
We can't tell you whether a division will be approved. That depends on your zone, the overlays and the council, so a preliminary enquiry at the council is the first step, and this site doesn't publish minimum block sizes. Land Services SA strongly recommends using a professional licensed surveyor and a conveyancer or solicitor to work out the planning requirements, draft the plans and lodge the paperwork. Our land division page and the blog on how to subdivide land in South Australia cover the steps in order.
After you call or send the form, we work out which survey fits and introduce you to an independent Licensed Surveyor. That surveyor looks at your title and the block, sets the scope and quotes you directly, so ask for the scope and the price in writing before you agree.
Call (08) 5550 3814Leave the details on the form and we will get back to you.
