Skip to content

NSW Digital Plans — Known Limitations

This page lists features and scenarios that R3Survey does not currently support or has limited support for in the NSW LandXML export workflow. Use this as a guide for what plan types and scenarios are fully supported today, and what may require workarounds or future development.

Last updated: August 2026

NSW LRS mandate stages

NSW LRS is rolling out mandatory digital plan lodgement in stages. The scope of each stage (from the Digital Plan Builder User Guide, April 2026):

Stage 1 — 1 July 2026

  • New lot parcels and lot boundaries
  • New road parcels
  • Survey connections and control traverse
  • SCIMS control marks and connections
  • Natural boundary surveyed traverses and irregular line visualisation

Stage 2 — approximately 6 months after Stage 1

  • Reference marks (found and placed)
  • Boundary marks (found and placed)
  • Marks gone / not found

R3Survey's export covers both Stage 1 and Stage 2 requirements. Reference marks, boundary marks, and monument data are included in the export when present.

Important: Ground distances only

All plans prepared in R3Survey must be drawn using ground distances. The polyline geometry in the drawing represents the legal boundary dimensions directly. R3Survey does not support boundaries drawn on MGA grid coordinates with a scale factor applied to dimensions.

The Combined Scale Factor (CSF) is used only for control traverse connections between SCIMS marks — it is not applied to boundary dimensions.

If importing a LandXML file that uses MGA grid coordinates (where distanceAdoptionFactor is applied to boundary observations), the geometric dimensions from the polyline vertices will differ from the legal dimensions by the scale factor. R3Survey handles this by writing per-segment dimension overrides during import, but new plans should always be prepared on ground distances.

Fully supported

These features work end-to-end for the Stage 1 and Stage 2 mandate:

  • New lot parcels (single and multipart/part lots)
  • New road, reserved road, and railway parcels (auto-numbered R1/R2)
  • New easement and secondary interest parcels (auto-numbered E1/E2)
  • Hydrography parcels (auto-numbered H1/H2)
  • Administrative area parcels
  • Reference marks — Found, Placed, Found By Me (re-referenced), Gone, Not Found
  • SCIMS control marks and datum terminals (imported or manually entered)
  • Survey connections and control traverse with CSF
  • Observation overrides (legal bearings and distances)
  • Survey Leg Properties — Measured/Compiled for boundaries, GNSS methods for control
  • Dim. Suffix (FieldNote) text on observations
  • Parcel state — proposed, existing, adjoining (restricted by component type: Boundaries allows proposed/existing; Adjoining Boundaries allows adjoining/existing)
  • Part lot / Multipart parent auto-generation
  • XSD schema validation
  • Coordinate system, admin areas, surveyor details, purpose, plan heading

Not yet supported

Reference mark scenarios

Now supported:

  • Double reference marks — two marks at the same bearing from one corner. Draw two separate RM lines from the same corner with the same bearing. R3ADDRMLABELS auto-detects the pair and labels them with dist1 & dist2.
  • Obstructed boundary corner — corner within a structure that cannot be marked. Set the monument State to Not Marked Obstructed and Type to Not Marked in R3PROPERTIES.
  • RM symbol block insertion — R3INSERTCORNERS automatically places R3_BC_A and R3_RM_A symbol blocks at boundary vertices and RM line ends. Manual insertion also available with R3BC and R3RM.
  • Non-subject referenced points — an RM line ending at an adjoining corner or connection vertex gets State No Mark Required and is not exported as a monument. If a mark is found there, set its Type (the State switches to Found).

Not yet supported:

Scenario Description Priority
One mark referencing multiple corners A single physical mark used to reference two or more corners at different times during the survey. The export currently creates one monument per reference mark line — if the same mark references multiple corners, it may produce duplicate monument entries. Medium
Line peg A mark on a boundary line (not at a corner). The mark needs to be treated as a traverse point rather than a boundary corner. Low

Natural / irregular boundaries

Natural boundary support is implemented for common scenarios. See Natural Boundaries for the full workflow.

Supported:

  • Set segments to Natural Boundary in the Survey Leg Properties expander
  • Draw a spline along the natural boundary (creek/river bank) — the export matches the spline to the boundary run automatically
  • Consecutive natural boundary segments are exported as an IrregularLine with the spline geometry for visualisation
  • Traverse observations are generated between fit points along the spline for lot closure
  • Natural boundary legs are routed to a separate short line table (R3_NATBDY_LINE_TABLE)

Not yet supported:

Scenario Description
Multiple banks / centreline of creek Plans showing both banks of a creek or using the centreline as the boundary. Only a single bank boundary is currently supported.
Current position of waterline Tidal boundaries defined by the current position of a waterline.
Compiled irregular boundaries Compiled plans with irregular boundaries (no traverse, only the irregular line shape).
Concurrent irregular lines Two lots sharing the same natural boundary (e.g. a creek forming the boundary between two adjoining lots).

Strata plans

Scenario Description
Structural line types Strata lot boundaries need to distinguish structure right (SR), structure left (SL), and structure centre (SC) wall positions.
Building level numbers Strata parcels need building and level number attributes.
Strata datum points Level-specific datum points with stacking on the location plan.
Non-structural boundaries Boundaries not defined by structure.

Note

Strata plan support is a significant body of work. The current release targets deposited plans (DP) only.

Height observations

Scenario Description
Height difference schedule Height differences between control marks (Cl 69 SSI Reg 2017). Not currently part of the Stage 1 or Stage 2 mandate.
Benchmarks Vertical position observations for strata plans.

GNSS on cadastral surveys (SG Direction 9)

Surveyor-General's Direction No. 9 (GNSS for Cadastral Surveys) requires specific information to be shown on deposited plans when GNSS methods are used. R3Survey partially supports these requirements:

Currently supported:

  • GNSS observation method on any line — set the Method in the Survey Leg Properties expander to the appropriate GNSS type (AUSPOS, Static GNSS, RTK GNSS, CORS NRTK GNSS, CORS RTK GNSS, CORS Static GNSS)
  • Control line labels show the method (e.g. (CORS NRTK GNSS)) instead of (BY SURVEY) when a GNSS method is set
  • GNSS method is included in the exported LandXML file
  • MGA Ground / method dual labels on control lines between SCIMS marks

Not yet supported:

Scenario Description
Survey Validation table Comparison of GNSS observation vs independent check (EDM or AUSPOS) between the same marks, showing Grid Bearing, Grid Distance, Ground Distance, and Method (SG Direction 9, Section 4, Table 2).
Multiple observations between same marks The export currently deduplicates observations between the same point pair. GNSS validation requires keeping both the GNSS and EDM observations (SG Direction 9, Section 4).
SCIMS Coordinate box Table showing MGA coordinates, H Class, H Order, CSF, Method, and Status for each permanent survey mark found and/or placed (SG Direction 9, Section 6, Table 3).
Plan note for GNSS method A plan note stating which GNSS methods were used on the survey (SG Direction 9, Section 6).

Adjoining folio parcels

R3Survey does not currently export adjoining folio parcels (i.e. Parcel elements with state="adjoining" and a lot/plan name such as 1/DP123456). This is what the NSW LandXML Recipe describes and what Nixon's LXML4AC implements with the XJL/XJR/XJO commands.

What R3Survey does instead: Entities on the Adjoining Boundaries layer are exported as dimensioned connection observations (ReducedObservation with desc="Connection"). The Adjoining Boundaries layer controls the plotted appearance (solid lines vs dashed connections) and ensures the lines are dimensioned by R3DIMS.

This means:

  • Adjoining boundary lines are included in the exported XML with bearings and distances
  • They do NOT appear as named adjoining parcels (no lot/plan folio information)
  • If you import the XML back into a drawing, adjoining boundary lines will appear as dashed connection lines (since the XML has no way to distinguish them from other connections)

Future work

Adjoining folio parcel export (with lot/plan names) is a planned feature. The modelling is complex — a single adjoining lot may be represented by multiple disconnected lines, and a single line may be shared by multiple adjoining lots.

Easement scenarios

Standard easement parcels are fully supported (draw as closed polylines on the Easements layer, set class and description in R3PROPERTIES). Only these edge cases are not yet supported:

Scenario Description
Transmission line easement Easement defined by a centre line traverse with offset extremity boundaries.
Easement over track in use Approximate position easements along a track or path. Depends on irregular line support.
Easement legend Automatic generation of an easement legend table grouping easements by description.

Occupations and plan features

Scenario Description
Occupation offsets Perpendicular offsets from boundary to fence/wall/kerb shown on the plan.
Wall on boundary / boundary in wall Boundary lines that coincide with a wall or structure.
Flow direction arrows Tidal and non-tidal flow direction annotations on water courses.
Diagram / enlargement annotations Defining enlargement areas on the plan.

Administrative data

Scenario Description
Parcel notes Per-parcel annotations. Plan-level notes are supported but parcel-specific notes are not.
Road extent observations Boundaries between road parcels (road-to-road boundaries) are not currently distinguished from other road boundaries.
Amendment elements Recording corrections to a lodged plan. Not required for initial lodgement.

NSW LandXML Recipe Limitations

These are limitations of the NSW LandXML recipe itself (not R3Survey). A LandXML file does not contain all the information needed to fully draft a survey plan. Surveyors importing LandXML files should verify the imported data against the original plan.

The following limitations have been identified from the NSW LandXML Recipe v10 (Aug 2024) and documented by Nixon in LandXML for AutoCAD v1.18 (the reference NSW LandXML implementation for AutoCAD).

Adjoining boundaries cannot be distinguished from connections

The recipe has no way to mark an individual observation as "adjoining boundary." Both adjoining boundary lines and other connections (e.g. where an easement meets a lot boundary) are exported as desc="Connection". Adjoining parcels are identified at the Parcel level (state="adjoining"), but matching observations to adjoining parcel geometry requires topological analysis that is not reliable in all cases.

Nixon notes in LandXML for AutoCAD v1.18:

"Unfortunately at this time in NSW's lxml definition there is no way to tell the difference between a connection that might say define where an easement cuts a boundary, or the connection along an adjoining boundary, one which would be bracketed, the other which wouldn't."

This limitation affects both import and export:

  • On import: R3Survey places all desc="Connection" observations on the Connections layer. The surveyor must manually identify and move adjoining boundary lines to the Adjoining Boundaries layer.
  • On export: Adjoining boundary lines are exported as connection observations (dimensioned). Adjoining folio parcels (with lot/plan names) are not yet supported. See Adjoining folio parcels above.

Short arc tables not supported

Nixon notes in LandXML for AutoCAD v1.18:

"The NSW LandXML recipe currently has no ability to facilitate short arc tables, so they will not be reproduced on XML import."

Short arc tables must be added manually to the plan.

Field notes cannot specify line endpoints

Nixon notes in LandXML for AutoCAD v1.18:

"This should not be used for recording information about the ends of the lines (e.g. GI Nail placed etc.) as there is no way to determine which end of the line this comment refers to."

The FieldNote element on a ReducedObservation applies to the whole observation. Monument information at corners must be inferred from Monument elements and their pntRef linkage.

Irregular boundary areas (program limitation)

When a lot has a natural boundary, the polyline area is calculated to the irregular line (the spline), not to the right-line boundary (the traverse) as required by the Registrar General's Directions. This applies to both Nixon's LXML4AC and R3Survey. Manual entry of the correct area via an area override may be required for lots with natural boundaries.

Concurrent irregular lines (recipe + program limitation)

When two lots share a natural boundary (e.g. a creek forming the boundary between two adjoining lots), the recipe has no mechanism to identify the two irregular lines as concurrent or to define a centreline. Nixon's LXML4AC does not detect concurrent irregular lines either. This is an unsupported scenario in R3Survey — see Natural Boundaries.

Vinculum creation

Nixon notes in LandXML for AutoCAD v1.18:

"There is some debate over whether vinculums can be automatically created. They are currently not part of the draft schema."

Vinculums (dimension ties between parallel boundaries) cannot be automatically generated from the XML.

Alignment marks have no representation in the recipe

It is unknown at this stage how alignment marks are to be represented in LandXML. The NSW LandXML recipe does not distinguish alignment marks from reference marks, and neither Nixon's LandXML for AutoCAD nor the LRS Digital Plan Builder provide specific handling for them.

Workarounds

Plans with natural boundaries (creeks/rivers)

R3Survey supports natural boundary export for common scenarios. See Natural Boundaries for the full workflow. For unsupported scenarios (concurrent irregular lines, tidal boundaries), you may need to manually edit the exported XML.

Double reference marks

Draw two separate RM lines from the same corner at the same bearing, each to a different mark (e.g. either side of a road). Set the Type, State, and Origin on each independently via R3PROPERTIES. The export handles them as separate observations. R3ADDRMLABELS automatically detects the pair (same corner + same bearing) and places a single combined label showing both distances with & notation (e.g. 199°17'35" - 5.865 & 14.535).

Boundary corner monuments

To record a non-standard mark at a boundary corner (e.g. Nail in Conc, GIP), use R3INSERTCORNERS to place R3_BC_A or R3_RM_A blocks at boundary vertices. Select the block — R3PROPERTIES will show the Monument expander with defaults (Peg, Placed). Change the Type, State, Origin Survey, and Description as required. The export picks up boundary corner monuments from the block XData. Standard peg corners use the default values — you only need to change the monument details for non-standard marks (e.g. found marks, nails, GIPs).

Strata plans

Strata plans are not supported by R3Survey. Use the LRS Digital Plan Builder or Nixon's LXML4AC plugin for strata plan preparation.

See also