Statute Details
- Title: Land Surveyors (Exemption) (No. 2) Order 2004
- Act Code: LSA1991-S79-2004
- Type: Subsidiary Legislation (SL)
- Authorising Act: Land Surveyors Act (Chapter 156)
- Enacting Power: Section 46(1) of the Land Surveyors Act
- Parliamentary Presentation: To be presented to Parliament under section 46(2) of the Land Surveyors Act
- Citation: Land Surveyors (Exemption) (No. 2) Order 2004
- Commencement: 1 March 2004
- Key Provisions: Section 1 (Citation and commencement); Section 2 (Exemption)
- Status: Current version as at 27 March 2026 (per provided extract)
- Document Identifier (as shown): SL 79/2004; “No. S 79” (in timeline extract)
What Is This Legislation About?
The Land Surveyors (Exemption) (No. 2) Order 2004 is a short piece of Singapore subsidiary legislation made under the Land Surveyors Act. Its central function is to carve out a specific exemption from a licensing or regulatory requirement contained in the parent Act—namely, the application of section 10 of the Land Surveyors Act—to certain persons who carry out particular types of surveying work.
In plain terms, the Order recognises that some surveying activities conducted in Singapore’s territorial waters and sea-bed are undertaken for purposes that are not primarily about land boundary or land surveying regulation. Instead, they relate to hydrographic or hydrologic surveys and related studies for navigational purposes or for marine science and ecology. The exemption is therefore targeted: it does not remove all regulation of surveying generally, but it prevents section 10 from applying to the specified activities.
The scope is geographically and purpose-based. The exemption applies to work carried out (or caused to be carried out) within the territorial limits of Singapore, and only where the work is for the enumerated purposes. This structure is typical of exemption orders: it allows the regulatory regime to remain intact for most surveying activities, while ensuring that specialised maritime and scientific work is not inadvertently captured by land-survey licensing requirements.
What Are the Key Provisions?
Section 1 (Citation and commencement) provides the formal identity of the Order and when it takes effect. The Order may be cited as the “Land Surveyors (Exemption) (No. 2) Order 2004” and comes into operation on 1 March 2004. For practitioners, this is important when assessing whether the exemption was available at a particular time, for example in disputes about compliance, professional liability, or contractual representations made around the commencement date.
Section 2 (Exemption) is the operative provision. It states that section 10 of the Land Surveyors Act shall not apply to any person who carries out or causes to be carried out any hydrographic or hydrologic survey or other study of the waters and sea-bed within Singapore’s territorial limits for navigational purposes or for studies of marine science and ecology.
Several legal points are embedded in the wording of section 2:
- “Shall not apply” to section 10: The exemption is not merely a procedural relaxation; it is a direct disapplication of the parent Act’s section 10 to the specified persons and activities. This means that, for the exempted work, the statutory consequences that would otherwise flow from section 10 are intended not to apply.
- “Any person who carries out or causes to be carried out”: The exemption is broad enough to cover not only the surveyor performing the work, but also a party commissioning or arranging the work. This is significant for government agencies, port operators, shipping companies, research institutions, and contractors who may not themselves be the technical survey performers.
- “Hydrographic or hydrologic survey” and “other study”: The exemption covers both the classic categories of hydrographic/hydrologic surveying and additional studies of waters and sea-bed. The inclusion of “other study” suggests that the exemption is not limited to a narrow technical definition, but practitioners should still assess whether the activity is properly characterised as a study of waters and sea-bed.
- Geographical limitation: The work must be within the territorial limits of Singapore. Activities outside those limits would not fall within the exemption.
- Purpose limitation: The work must be for navigational purposes or for marine science and ecology. If the same technical survey methods are used for a different purpose (for example, a land development boundary exercise or a non-navigational commercial objective not tied to marine science/ecology), the exemption may not be engaged.
From a compliance perspective, the exemption is therefore best treated as a fact-sensitive determination. The key questions are: (1) what activity was performed; (2) whether it is a hydrographic/hydrologic survey or other study of waters and sea-bed; (3) whether it occurred within Singapore’s territorial limits; and (4) whether the purpose fits navigational purposes or marine science/ecology.
Finally, the Order includes the formal “Made this 25th day of February 2004” signature by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Law, and references an internal file number. While these details are not usually central to legal analysis, they can be relevant for document authentication and for locating related legislative materials in practice.
How Is This Legislation Structured?
This Order is structured in a minimal, two-section format:
- Section 1 (Citation and commencement): sets out the short title and the commencement date.
- Section 2 (Exemption): provides the substantive exemption by disapplying section 10 of the Land Surveyors Act to specified maritime surveying and study activities.
There are no additional parts, schedules, definitions, or procedural provisions in the extract provided. As a result, the legal effect is concentrated entirely in section 2, and practitioners should focus their analysis there, while also consulting the parent Land Surveyors Act—particularly section 10—to understand what is being excluded.
Who Does This Legislation Apply To?
The exemption applies to “any person” who carries out or causes to be carried out the specified activities. This breadth means it is not limited to licensed land surveyors. It can extend to commissioning parties (who “cause” the work to be carried out) and to the entities performing the work, provided the activity falls within the defined categories and purposes.
In practical terms, the Order is likely to be relevant to maritime and research stakeholders such as port authorities, shipping and navigation-related entities, hydrographic service providers, and academic or scientific organisations conducting marine studies. However, the exemption is still constrained by the statutory conditions: the work must relate to waters and sea-bed within Singapore’s territorial limits and must be for navigational purposes or for marine science and ecology.
Why Is This Legislation Important?
Although the Order is brief, it can have meaningful compliance and risk implications. The Land Surveyors Act regulates surveying activities through licensing or statutory requirements (the precise nature of section 10 must be read in the parent Act). By disapplying section 10 for certain maritime surveying and studies, the Order reduces the risk that specialised hydrographic or marine research work is inadvertently treated as a regulated land-survey activity requiring compliance with section 10.
For practitioners advising clients, the exemption can affect:
- Regulatory compliance strategy: whether a client must engage a particular category of licensed professional for a given project;
- Contract drafting and representations: whether parties can represent that their surveying activities are exempt from section 10 requirements, assuming the facts align;
- Professional liability and indemnities: how risk is allocated when the work is commissioned by one party but performed by another; and
- Dispute resolution: whether non-compliance with section 10 could be alleged in relation to hydrographic/hydrologic work, and whether the exemption provides a defence.
From an enforcement perspective, the Order signals legislative intent to permit maritime and marine science activities without subjecting them to the same constraints as land surveying. This is particularly important in a jurisdiction where hydrographic data, navigational charts, seabed studies, and ecological research are essential to safety, environmental management, and scientific understanding.
Finally, because the exemption is purpose- and location-based, it encourages careful project scoping. Lawyers should therefore advise clients to document the purpose of the survey (navigational vs marine science/ecology), the geographic scope (within territorial limits), and the nature of the work (hydrographic/hydrologic or other study of waters and sea-bed). Such documentation can be decisive in determining whether the exemption applies.
Related Legislation
- Land Surveyors Act (Chapter 156) — in particular section 10 (disapplied by this Order) and section 46 (the enabling provision for exemption orders).
Source Documents
This article provides an overview of the Land Surveyors (Exemption) (No. 2) Order 2004 for legal research and educational purposes. It does not constitute legal advice. Readers should consult the official text for authoritative provisions.