Statute Details
- Title: Land Surveyors (Exemption) (No. 2) Order 2004
- Act Code: LSA1991-S79-2004
- Type: Subsidiary Legislation (Order)
- 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
- Commencement: 1 March 2004
- Current version status: Current version as at 27 March 2026 (per the legislation portal)
- Key provisions: Section 1 (Citation and commencement); Section 2 (Exemption)
- Core legal effect: Exempts certain hydrographic/hydrologic and marine science/ecology work from the application of section 10 of the Land Surveyors Act
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 practical purpose is to carve out a specific exemption from the licensing/qualification requirements that would otherwise apply to “land surveying” activities under the Act.
In plain language, the Order recognises that not all work involving measurements of the sea and seabed is intended to be “land surveying” in the regulatory sense. It therefore provides that section 10 of the Land Surveyors Act will not apply to persons who carry out (or cause to be carried out) particular types of surveys and studies within Singapore’s territorial limits—specifically for navigational purposes and for marine science and ecology.
The scope is deliberately targeted: it is limited to hydrographic or hydrologic surveys and other studies of the waters and sea-bed within Singapore’s territorial limits. It is not a general exemption for all surveying work, nor does it remove regulatory oversight for surveying activities that fall outside the specified categories.
What Are the Key Provisions?
Section 1 (Citation and commencement) is a standard commencement clause. 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 matters when determining whether a particular survey activity was conducted after the exemption took effect.
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, the relevant work. The exemption applies where the person carries out (or causes to be carried out):
(a) hydrographic or hydrologic survey, or (b) other study of the waters and sea-bed, within the territorial limits of Singapore, and (c) for navigational purposes or for studies of marine science and ecology.
Several practical points flow from the wording:
- “Carries out or causes to be carried out”: The exemption is not limited to the entity performing the work directly. It extends to a party that commissions or arranges for the work to be done. This is important for principals, government agencies, port operators, contractors, and research institutions that may engage specialist survey providers.
- “Within the territorial limits of Singapore”: The geographical scope is Singapore’s territorial limits. Work outside those limits would not automatically fall within the exemption, even if it is otherwise similar in technical nature.
- “Hydrographic or hydrologic survey”: These terms typically relate to measurement and mapping of water bodies, including depth, tides, currents, and related parameters. The exemption is designed to cover the kinds of technical marine surveying commonly used in navigation and maritime operations.
- “Other study of the waters and sea-bed”: This expands beyond strictly “hydrographic” or “hydrologic” surveys to other marine studies, provided they relate to the waters and sea-bed and fall within the specified purposes.
- Purpose-based limitation: The exemption is tied to navigational purposes or marine science and ecology. If the same technical measurements were undertaken for a different purpose (for example, a land development boundary determination or a land surveying objective), the exemption may not apply.
Although the Order does not reproduce section 10 of the Land Surveyors Act in the extract provided, the legal effect is clear: section 10 is displaced for the specified marine activities. In practice, this means that the statutory requirement that would otherwise apply under section 10—commonly understood as a regulatory control over who may carry out certain surveying functions—does not apply to the exempted activities.
Finally, the Order includes the formal making clause: it was made on 25 February 2004 by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Law, and includes the legislative reference identifiers (including the internal filing code). For legal research, these details help confirm the instrument’s authenticity and link it to the relevant legislative record.
How Is This Legislation Structured?
The Order is extremely concise. It contains:
- Section 1: Citation and commencement (when it takes effect).
- Section 2: Exemption (the substantive rule disapplying section 10 of the Land Surveyors Act for specified marine survey and study activities).
There are no additional parts, schedules, definitions, or procedural provisions in the extract. The structure reflects the Order’s narrow regulatory function: it is a targeted exemption instrument rather than a comprehensive regulatory code.
Who Does This Legislation Apply To?
The exemption applies to “any person” who carries out or causes to be carried out the relevant work. This broad phrasing is significant: it is not limited to licensed land surveyors, nor to particular categories of organisations. It can cover individuals, companies, statutory bodies, and research entities, provided the activity fits within the exemption’s description.
In terms of activity, the Order applies to persons involved in hydrographic or hydrologic surveys and other studies of the waters and sea-bed within Singapore’s territorial limits, where the work is conducted for navigational purposes or for marine science and ecology. A lawyer advising a client should therefore focus on both the technical nature of the work and the stated/actual purpose of the survey or study.
Why Is This Legislation Important?
Even though the Order is short, it can be highly consequential in practice. The Land Surveyors Act regulates surveying activities and, depending on how section 10 is framed, may impose requirements relating to who may perform certain surveying functions or under what conditions. By disapplying section 10 for specified marine activities, the Order reduces compliance friction for legitimate maritime and marine science work.
For practitioners, the key value of this instrument is that it provides a clear legal basis to treat certain marine surveys as outside the scope of section 10. This can affect:
- Contracting and procurement: Parties can structure tenders and contracts knowing that the section 10 requirement does not apply to the exempted work.
- Regulatory risk management: Clients can assess whether their activities require licensed land surveyors or whether the exemption provides a safe harbour for hydrographic/hydrologic and marine ecology work.
- Scope of professional responsibility: Where exemptions apply, responsibility may shift to other regulatory regimes (for example, maritime safety, environmental approvals, or research permits), but the Land Surveyors Act’s section 10 constraint is removed for the exempted activity.
At the same time, the exemption is not unlimited. Because it is purpose- and subject-matter-specific, lawyers should be cautious about over-reliance. If a project blends navigation-related measurements with other objectives that may fall within the Land Surveyors Act’s regulated domain, the exemption may not fully cover the entire scope of work. The safest approach is to map the project deliverables and methodologies to the exemption’s language: hydrographic/hydrologic or waters and sea-bed studies, conducted within territorial limits, and for navigational or marine science/ecology purposes.
In enforcement terms, the Order functions as a statutory defence or disapplication mechanism: it tells the regulator that section 10 should not be applied to the specified activities. That can be crucial in disputes, compliance audits, or investigations where the question is whether a particular survey activity required compliance with section 10.
Related Legislation
- Land Surveyors Act (Chapter 156) — particularly section 10 (disapplied by this Order) and section 46 (authorising the making of exemption orders).
- Legislation Timeline / “Land Surveyors Act” — for version history and cross-references to amendments affecting section 10 and section 46.
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.