Establishment of Land Surveyors Board
Open ↗4.—(1) A body called the Land Surveyors Board is established, which is a body corporate with perpetual succession and a common seal, with power, subject to the provisions of this Act —(a)
to sue and be sued in its corporate name;
(b)
to acquire and dispose of property, both movable and immovable; and
(c)
to do and perform any other acts that bodies corporate may by law perform.
(2) The Board consists of the following members to be appointed by the Minister:(a)
a president who is to be appointed from among the registered surveyors;
(b)
3 registered surveyors selected from a list of at least 4 registered surveyors submitted by the Singapore Institute of Surveyors and Valuers;
(c)
not more than 3 other registered surveyors as the Minister may determine.
(3) A member of the Board is to be appointed for a term not exceeding 2 years but may be re‑appointed, and may at any time be removed from office by the Minister.
(4) A person is not qualified to be appointed as a member of the Board under subsection (2) if the person —(a)
is not a citizen or a permanent resident of Singapore;
(b)
is an undischarged bankrupt or has made any arrangement or composition with his or her creditors;
(c)
has been convicted of any offence involving fraud, dishonesty or moral turpitude, or of any other offence implying a defect in character which makes him or her unfit for the surveying profession; or
(d)
has a mental disorder and is incapable of managing himself or herself or his or her affairs, or is incapacitated by physical illness.
(5) The office of any appointed member of the Board becomes vacant if the member —(a)
dies;
(b)
resigns or is removed from office; or
(c)
becomes in any manner disqualified for office within the meaning of subsection (4).
(6) Any vacancy arising under subsection (5) must, as soon as practicable, be filled in the manner in which the appointment to the vacant office was made; and every person so appointed holds office for the remainder of the term for which his or her predecessor was appointed.
(7) The powers of the Board are not affected by any vacancy in its membership.
(8) Any question as to whether a person has ceased to be a member of the Board appointed under subsection (2) is to be decided by the Board whose decision is final.
Meetings and quorum of Board
Open ↗5.—(1) The Board is to meet at such times and such places as the president may appoint.
(2) At any meeting of the Board, 3 members form a quorum and no business may be transacted at any meeting unless a quorum is present.
(3) At any meeting of the Board, the president presides and in the president’s absence the members present must elect from among themselves one member to preside over the meeting.
(4) The member presiding at any meeting of the Board has a deliberative vote and, in the case of an equality of votes, also has a casting vote.
(5) Subject to the provisions of this Act and the Public Sector (Governance) Act 2018, the Board may determine its own procedure.[5/2018]
Common seal of Board
Open ↗6.—(1) The common seal of the Board must bear such device as the Board may approve and the seal may be broken, changed, altered or made anew by the Board as it thinks fit.
(2) The common seal must be kept in the custody of the president and must be authenticated by the president or other member acting in the president’s absence.
(3) Any document purporting to be sealed and authenticated under subsection (2) is, until the contrary is proved, deemed to be validly executed.
Functions of Board and committees
Open ↗7.—(1) The functions of the Board are —(a)
to keep and maintain a register of surveyors, an annual register of practitioners and an annual register of licensees;
(b)
to hold, or arrange for the holding of, any examinations and professional interviews that the Board considers necessary for the purpose of enabling persons to qualify for registration under this Act;
(c)
to approve or reject applications for registration under section 12 or to approve any such applications subject to any restrictions that it thinks fit to impose;
(d)
to establish, maintain and develop the standard of professional conduct and ethics of the surveying profession;
(e)
to promote learning and education in connection with the profession of surveying;
(f)
to hear and determine disputes relating to professional conduct or ethics of registered surveyors or licensed corporations, partnerships or limited liability partnerships;
(g)
to appoint arbitrators for the purpose of hearing and determining disputes between registered surveyors, licensed corporations, partnerships or limited liability partnerships and other persons;
(h)
to license corporations, partnerships and limited liability partnerships which supply survey services in Singapore;[Act 25 of 2024 wef 01/10/2025]
(ha)
to negotiate and implement any mutual recognition arrangement; and[Act 25 of 2024 wef 01/10/2025]
(i)
generally to do all acts, matters and things that are necessary to be carried out under the provisions of this Act.
(2) The Board may appoint such committees from among its members or other persons (whether or not they are registered surveyors) as it thinks fit to assist or advise the Board on such matters arising out of its functions under this Act as are referred to them by the Board.
Registrar, officers and employees
Open ↗8.—(1) There must be a chief executive of the Board called the Registrar of the Board, whose appointment and removal must be in accordance with the Public Sector (Governance) Act 2018.[5/2018]
(2) The Board may, subject to the Public Sector (Governance) Act 2018, appoint an individual to act temporarily as the Registrar during any period, or during all periods, when the Registrar —(a)
is absent from duty or Singapore; or
(b)
is, for any reason, unable to perform the duties of the office.[5/2018]
(3) In addition to duties under the Public Sector (Governance) Act 2018, the Registrar must —(a)
be under the general direction of the Board;
(b)
sign all certificates of registration, practising certificates and licences; and
(c)
record all entries of registration, cancellations and reinstatements in the register of surveyors, annual register of practitioners and annual register of licensees.[5/2018]
(4) The Registrar must —(a)
attend all meetings of the Board and record the proceedings of those meetings; and
(b)
conduct the correspondence and deal with any matters that the president or the Board may assign to the Registrar.
(5) The Registrar must —(a)
as soon as possible after 1 January each year, prepare and publish in the Gazette a list of the names of all registered surveyors who have in force a practising certificate and the principal business address at which the person practises in Singapore; and
(b)
from time to time publish in the Gazette such supplementary lists of the names of persons added to or removed from the register of practitioners as may be required.
(6) The Board may, subject to the Public Sector (Governance) Act 2018, appoint and employ, on such terms and conditions as it may determine, such other officers, employees, consultants and agents as may be necessary for the effective performance of its functions.[5/2018]
Registers
Open ↗9.—(1) The Board must keep and maintain —(a)
a register of surveyors containing the names of all persons registered under section 12, the qualifications by virtue of which they are so registered and any other particulars in relation thereto that the Board may determine;[Act 25 of 2024 wef 01/10/2025]
(b)
an annual register of practitioners containing the particulars as contained in the declaration delivered under section 15(3)(a); and
(c)
an annual register of licensees containing the names of all licensed corporations, partnerships and limited liability partnerships and any other particulars in relation thereto that the Board may determine.
(2) Any person may, on payment of the prescribed fee, inspect any register mentioned in subsection (1) at any time during the office hours of the Board.
(3) A copy of any entry in any register kept and maintained under this section purporting to be certified by the Registrar as a true copy of that entry is in all proceedings prima facie evidence of the matters specified in the copy.
Source: Singapore Statutes Online (Attorney-General's Chambers), © Government of Singapore.
