Jude Wallace

Building modern land administration systems in developed economies

Land Administration Systems (LAS) are institutional frameworks complicated by the tasks they must perform, by national cultural, political and judicial settings, and by technology. This paper assists sharing LAS capacity among countries with diverse legal systems and institutional structures by identifying an ideal and historically neutral LAS model for : • servicing the needs of governments, business and the public, • utilising the latest technologies, • servicing rights, responsibilities, restrictions and risks in relation to land, and • delivering much broader information about sustainable development. Case studies of Denmark and Victoria are used to test existing systems against the model.

Spatial information opportunities for government

Land administration systems (LAS) are now challenged by new technologies and radically different demands for land information for modern governments. Spatial information is good enough to support spatial identification and location enablement applications available in every significant type of software (word processing, spread sheets, professional applications, Web systems, GIS and databases). A place on earth can be defined with precision on the ground and in computers. Digital data can be attached to a location as never before. With appropriate computer facilities and the underpinning interpretative information layers which translate computer language into understandable descriptions of places, governments can potentially identify ‘where’ their policies are happening. A nations ability to reap the benefits of the spatial enablement of information requires the highest level input from its government and private sectors. These challenges are discussed in the context of developing a vision of iLand, a concept of spatially enabled information for modern government. This article sets this vision in the history of land administration, and the growing reliance on a new kind of information about land and its attributes that is relative and aspatial in regulation of activities and taxation.

Developing cadastres to service complex property markets

Emerging demands on cadastral design suggest that cadastres as a functional component of land administration are being redesigned to respond to initiatives in technology, government needs and business opportunities. The movements in the property market are demonstrating the need to take into account complex commodities. The surge in regulatory requirements affecting land use and building is part of the move to legalise almost all aspects of human behaviour but pose special problems for land administration. How cadastres respond to the multiplicity of regulatory interventions is an open question. This paper considers these issues in the context of building cadastral models. Four case studies are used to illustrate these issues.

A toolbox for mapping and managing new interests over land

Abstract The drive for sustainable development has led governments to create new interests over land. The role of cadastral and registration systems in the mapping and management of these new interests is unclear. Whilst these systems have always played an important role in the administration of land parcels and ownership, the new land interests are increasingly being mapped and managed elsewhere. As a result administrative inefficiencies and transaction complexities are growing. Existing cadastral and registration systems have the capacity to improve the situation; however, a guiding framework for their inclusion is needed. This paper introduces a framework of principles that articulate the roles of cadastres and registration systems in the management of new land interests. Importantly the framework is holistic and reflects other components essential to good land administration. These include the roles of land policy, legislation, flexible tenures, institutions, spatial data infrastructures and capacity building. The principles will systematize the management of land interests across different jurisdictions.

Cadastral systems within Australia

This paper results from multiple requests to the authors for basic information on how cadastral systems operate in Australia particularly from a land surveying perspective. Australia is a federation of states and operates separate cadastral systems in each state and territory. The primary objective for each system is the same; to underpin effective land transfer and land registration within a sound land administration system to support an active land market. The paper explains the essential practices of the cadastral system including processes of land transfer and registration and the roles of professional supporting bodies for maintaining standards, quality and operability. Land information and especially ‘spatial’ information are increasingly required to contribute to decision-making in an evolving environmental and information conscious society. These demands raise the importance of the cadastre underpinning spatial data infrastructures.

On the role of government land information in macroeconomic policies

In many countries macroeconomic policy making and land administration operate independently. A review of the literature from both disciplines supports this view. The failure to include authoritative land information generated by a countrys land administration system in macroeconomic policy making can result in suboptimal governmental fiscal and monetary decisions. This is demonstrated through two case studies of the Australian context, with a focus on managing land taxes and administering interest on debt financing. A simplified empirical model is derived from the study results. The model aims to articulate and promote the important role of government land information in policy and decision making. Practical implementation will require determination of the legal, institutional, and technical requirements of the model.

Inter-governmental land information asymmetries in Australia

Land information has an important role in informing macroeconomic policy. Timely and accurate market information is essential for evidence-based fiscal and monetary decisions. Currently in Australia, there is a gap between the creators of land information at state level and the users at federal level. The capacity of evidence-based policy is under-realised as a result. This paper explores the inter-governmental flow of land market information within three state-based land administration systems in Australia. Results show that integration is occurring within some state land agencies; however, communication with federal government agencies is limited, leading to information asymmetries. Future collaboration is essential. This will require an understanding of and openness to information sharing, involving a move away from historic silo approaches to land information creation and use.