Can't find a surveyor? We'll fly.
New Zealand survey capability for Australian projects, on a campaign basis. Tunnel and rail credentials, mobilised for the push, gone when it's done.
The shortage is worst exactly when you need people most
Australian projects are competing for a survey workforce that is stretched thin. The pinch is rarely constant, it lands in bursts: a setout push, a scanning capture window, a monitoring campaign, a programme that suddenly needs three surveyors instead of one.
Hiring permanently for a peak that lasts six weeks is expensive. Leaving the peak uncovered is more expensive. We sit in between: a New Zealand practice that mobilises for the campaign, works to your control and your standards, and stands down when the work is finished.
Same time zone, near enough. Same language, mostly. No visa gymnastics, New Zealand passport holders work in Australia under the Trans-Tasman Travel Arrangement.
Campaign work we are set up for
Short, intense, technically demanding. The work where bringing in a specialist team beats stretching your own.
Setout pushes
Grids, piles, structural setout and floor level transfer when the programme needs more hands than you have. We work to your control and your drawings, not our own way of doing things.
Scanning captures
Terrestrial laser scanning and scan-to-BIM campaigns. Registered point clouds, Revit models, as-built verification. Instrument specified to the site and brought in for the job.
HP SitePrint robotic layout
Automated floor marking for complex or non-square floor plates. We were among the first teams in New Zealand to run it in production, on a polished concrete slab with zero tolerance for error.
Monitoring campaigns
Deformation and settlement monitoring with reporting-ready outputs, the kind of work that came out of tunnelling and rail.
The credentials are the point
GeoSurvey is led by Michael Cutfield, a Licensed Cadastral Surveyor and Certified Professional Engineering Surveyor who delivered survey control on the Waterview Tunnel, Victoria Park Tunnel, the Puhoi to Warkworth motorway and Auckland's City Rail Link. In 2023 he received the Engineering Surveying Award from Survey and Spatial New Zealand.
He assesses candidates for the S+SNZ CPESurv certification and sits on the working group developing New Zealand guidance on spatial measurement and position certification. Put plainly: the standards discussion is one he helps write, not one he reads about.
What we can and cannot do across the Tasman
- Engineering and construction survey · setout, as-builts, control, monitoring, scanning. No barrier, this is the core of what we would bring.
- Cadastral and boundary work · state-regulated in Australia. A New Zealand Licensed Cadastral Surveyor can pursue registration in a state through the Trans-Tasman Mutual Recognition Arrangement, but it is a per-state process and not something we would claim before it is in place. Ask us and we will tell you exactly where we stand.
- Drone and UAV work · subject to CASA rules and accreditation, which are separate from the New Zealand CAA regime. We would confirm the position for your site before committing to aerial capture.
- Insurance and prequalification · confirmed per engagement. Send us your requirements early and we will tell you straight away whether we meet them.
We would rather lose a job for being honest about scope than win one and discover the problem on site.
Questions Australian clients ask
How does a campaign engagement actually work?
You tell us the window, the scope and the control. We scope it, price it, mobilise for the period and demobilise when it is done. No permanent headcount, no long-term commitment on either side.
Do New Zealand surveyors need a visa to work in Australia?
New Zealand citizens can live and work in Australia under the Trans-Tasman Travel Arrangement, so there is no visa process to work through for our team.
Can you do cadastral or boundary work in Australia?
Not without state registration. Cadastral surveying is regulated state by state, and while the Trans-Tasman Mutual Recognition Arrangement provides a pathway for New Zealand Licensed Cadastral Surveyors, it is a per-state process. Ask us and we will tell you exactly what our current position is rather than give you a maybe.
What about drone work?
Aerial work in Australia falls under CASA rules and accreditation, separate from the New Zealand system. We confirm the position for the specific site and scope before committing to it.
Are you insured for work in Australia?
We confirm insurance and prequalification per engagement. Send your requirements through early and we will give you a straight answer on whether we meet them before anything else is discussed.
What size project is worth flying a team for?
It is less about size than intensity. A short window with concentrated technical work travels well. Long, low-intensity work is usually better served locally, and we will tell you if that is what you have.
Got a window you can't cover?
Tell us the dates, the scope and the control. We will tell you honestly whether we are the right answer.