From Marion and Oaklands Park down to Aldinga and Sellicks Beach, the south is a mix of infill blocks and new estates. Work out which survey you need, then talk to an independent Licensed Surveyor.
Land surveying in Southern Adelaide covers two quite different jobs. In the Marion area, most of the housing growth has come from general infill on established blocks. Further south in Onkaparinga, from Happy Valley to Sellicks Beach and out to McLaren Vale and Willunga, the Greater Adelaide Regional Plan (GARP) describes greenfield fronts that will be exhausted in the short-to-medium term, with future supply coming from strategic infill.
Torrens Survey Co is an advertising and introduction service. It doesn't carry out surveys. It puts you in touch with an independent Licensed Surveyor, who quotes and contracts with you directly. In South Australia, only licensed surveyors can undertake a boundary survey or place a survey mark that defines a property boundary (Surveyors Board SA), so check any surveyor's licence on the Surveyors Board register before you agree to anything. Not sure which survey you need? Call (08) 5550 3814 and start there.
For a fence going up or coming down between Southern Adelaide neighbours, or when the pegs have gone. A fence line doesn't show the legal boundary. Only a Licensed Surveyor can determine it.
The usual way to get the existing levels and boundary offsets a site plan needs, whether the designer is drawing a new home in an Onkaparinga estate or an extension in Marion.
Thinking about splitting a block in Marion, Mitcham or Onkaparinga? A Licensed Surveyor works alongside the council, planning consent and Land Services SA steps that come before new titles issue.
Buying in the south? An identification survey is how owners check for encroachments involving neighbouring properties before they buy or sell.
GARP splits the south in two. The Outer South land supply region takes in the outer southern suburbs, from Happy Valley south to Sellicks Beach and the townships of McLaren Vale, Willunga and Clarendon. The plan names Hackham, Aldinga and Sellicks Beach as greenfield fronts that will be brought online and exhausted in the short-to-medium term, with Onkaparinga Heights expected to yield 2,000 dwellings and Sellicks Beach 1,700. It anticipates around 232,000 people in the Outer South by 2051.
Marion sits in the Inner South region with Holdfast Bay and Mitcham. GARP says over 80% of dwelling growth there over the last five years has come from general infill, and that the region will still rely heavily on it. The plan names the area around the Marion Shopping Centre and Oaklands Park train station, Morphettville Racecourse and Seacliff Village as strategic infill locations, and Noarlunga as a regional centre.
A planning region isn't a permission slip. Nothing in the plan says any particular allotment can be divided or built on. That's a question for the council, PlanSA and the Licensed Surveyor who looks at your title and your block.
Land division comes up a lot where infill is the main source of new homes. Land Services SA says the process can take many months, sometimes even years, because so many agencies are involved. The Land Services SA guidance is to use a licensed surveyor and a conveyancer or solicitor to work out the planning requirements, draft the plans and lodge the paperwork. The land division surveys page walks through the steps.
Surveyors quote each job, so this site has no surveyor fee to give you. One Adelaide surveying firm's published estimate, dated May 2025, put a standard one-into-two division in the metropolitan area at in the order of $30,000 to $34,000 for the whole project (GST treatment not stated). That covers government fees, conveyancing and SA Water charges as well as the surveying, and the same firm warns it can rise significantly. The cost guide has the detail.
Minimum block sizes depend on the zone and any overlays on your land, and this site hasn't read the Planning and Design Code for these councils. Ask the council or the Licensed Surveyor before you assume a block will split, not after.
GARP notes that the Inner South region includes the escarpment protected by the Hills Face Zone. This site hasn't read the zone rules or any soil or terrain information for the south, so it won't tell you what they mean for your block. If you own or are buying near the escarpment, ask the council what applies. A feature and level survey is the usual way to get the existing ground levels and boundary offsets a site plan has to show.
If a fence is the sticking point, the Legal Services Commission says a survey will show the precise location of the boundary. If you both want it you can share the cost, and if not, the person who arranges the survey pays for it. Under the Fences Act 1975 the cost can be included in a fencing notice, but a neighbour may object and a Magistrate then decides whether a survey was reasonably required. Never move or remove a survey peg yourself.
Buying a house or land in the south? Ask about an identification survey to check whether the house, shed or fences sit inside the title. If the pegs are missing, the boundary surveys page explains how a Licensed Surveyor gets them back. For neighbouring regions, see inner Adelaide and the Adelaide Hills.
It depends on the job. A development application needs a site plan showing the site boundaries, distances to the boundaries and existing ground levels, and a feature and level survey is the usual way to get that information. Your designer, builder or council will tell you what they need, and a Licensed Surveyor can advise on the rest.
This site can't say, and no plan can promise it. GARP shows where growth is expected, but whether a particular allotment can be divided depends on its zone, overlays and the planning consent. Start with your council and a Licensed Surveyor, and expect the process to take many months, sometimes even years, according to Land Services SA.
Surveyors quote each job, and the price depends on the block, the evidence on site and the survey type. Adelaide firms we checked publish no dollar figure for boundary, feature and level, or set-out surveys. For a standard one-into-two land division, one Adelaide firm estimated in the order of $30,000 to $34,000 for the whole project in May 2025, GST not stated.
No. It's an advertising and introduction service that puts Southern Adelaide owners in touch with independent Licensed Surveyors, who quote and contract with you directly. Check any surveyor's licence with the Surveyors Board of South Australia before you agree to a job.
Tell us what the survey is for and get a written quote.
