Survey pegs. What that peg in your yard means, and whether you can trust it. From City Surveyors Brisbane.

You've found a white timber peg near the fence, an iron pin in the grass or a nail in the kerb. Now someone needs to know where the boundary is. In Queensland that peg is probably a boundary or reference mark placed by a registered surveyor. It's a useful clue, but it isn't proof on its own, and you can't simply pull it out.

Here you'll find what each kind of mark means and what Queensland law says about moving one. You'll also find the four-question test we use with owners to decide whether a peg is good enough for the job in front of them. It's general information only, not legal advice.

Found a peg near your fence? The short answer.

A white peg at a corner of your block is most likely a cadastral boundary mark. Queensland Government guidance says property boundaries are defined by the survey marks at the corners, usually white pegs.

So, the short answer. Leave the peg where it is. Disturbing a survey mark is an offence in Queensland, with narrow exceptions. The main one lets you disturb a boundary mark to build a fence, wall or other permanent structure along the boundary. A peg is evidence of where a surveyor once marked the corner. It can be knocked, moved or replaced over the years. Check it against your survey plan and the other corners before you build anything near the line. And for a new fence, an extension close to the line or a disagreement with a neighbour, get the boundary marked again by a registered cadastral surveyor.

The marks you might find on a Brisbane block.

Not every mark in the ground is a boundary corner. A white timber peg, often with a taller stake beside it, is a boundary peg at the corner, with a finder stake. It shows the corner as a surveyor marked it, and the stake only helps you find the peg. An iron pin buried nearby, or a nail in the kerb, is a reference mark. It's there so a surveyor can put the corner back if the peg goes missing, and it is not the corner itself. A concrete block with a brass plaque, or a small kerb mark, with a number, is a permanent survey mark. It's a long-term reference for surveys in the area, not your boundary. And extra pegs or paint near a slab, footing or pipe are often marks for building or service work. They're placed for a job on site, not to define the boundary.

The Queensland Government describes permanent survey marks as substantial marks, such as a concrete block buried about 300 mm deep with a brass plaque, usually with a numeric identifier. It says only surveyors registered with the Surveyors Board of Queensland can carry out cadastral surveys, the surveys that place boundary marks. It also warns that you cannot find your boundary by measuring from the kerb, because survey plans do not show where the kerb sits.

Can you move or remove a survey peg in Queensland?

Usually not. Under section 42 of the Survey and Mapping Infrastructure Act 2003, you must not interfere with a survey mark you know about, or should know about. Only a few exceptions apply. The maximum penalty is 100 penalty units. At the penalty unit value that applies from 1 July 2026, that is $17,270.

The exception that matters most to homeowners covers boundary marks. You may interfere with a cadastral boundary mark in order to put up a fence, wall or other permanent structure along that boundary. Permanent survey marks are stricter. They need written approval from the department before anyone disturbs them. If you're in a disagreement about where a mark sits, our guide to resolving boundary disputes in Brisbane covers the next steps.

The four-question test before you rely on a peg.

We use this test with owners before they spend money on a survey. If you can answer yes to all four, the peg is a reasonable guide for low-stakes jobs like garden beds. If any answer is no or unsure, treat the peg as a clue only.

Question one. Is the corner shown on your survey plan? Find your lot and plan number on your rates notice or in Queensland Globe. Then get a copy of the survey plan from Titles Queensland or an approved distributor. The plan shows the corners and the lengths between them. A peg in a spot the plan doesn't show as a corner is something else. Older plans can be harder to read. Lengths may be in links, chains or feet, and where a row of lots is the same size, the dimensions may only be shown on the first lot.

Question two. Does the peg look original? A peg that has been pulled and pushed back in, snapped and replaced with a stick, or reset by a fencer is no longer the surveyor's mark. Look for a clean, firm peg with its finder stake and reference marks nearby.

Question three. Is it undisturbed? Driveways, retaining walls, landscaping and old fence removals all move pegs. If work has happened near the corner since the peg went in, assume it may have shifted.

Question four. Does it agree with the other corners? Measure between pegs with a long tape and compare the distances with the plan, converting older units first. If two corners are a long way out from the plan, at least one of them is wrong. You can't tell which from the ground.

Answered no to any of these? Send us a photo of the peg and we'll tell you, free, whether you need a survey.

When a peg is good enough, and when to get the boundary marked again.

A peg that passes all four questions is fine for planting, a garden edge or rough planning. It is not enough when the line itself carries a cost or a risk. Get the boundary marked again by a registered cadastral surveyor before building or replacing a fence on the boundary, before an extension, carport, pool or shed close to the line, when you're settling a disagreement with a neighbour about where the line is, and when buying or selling a property with structures close to the boundary.

A common objection is, "the fence has been there for 30 years". Under Queensland's Neighbourhood Disputes (Dividing Fences and Trees) Act 2011, a dividing fence is meant to sit on the common boundary. New or replacement fencing work under the Act goes on that boundary unless natural features make it impracticable. Where neighbours agree on another line, the Act says that does not change who owns the land.

If neighbours replacing a dividing fence cannot agree where the boundary is, either one can give written notice of a plan to have a cadastral surveyor define it. The other neighbour then has a month to get their own survey or confirm the line in writing. Each owner usually pays half the reasonable cost, unless the survey confirms the line the other neighbour gave in writing. In practice, an old fence shows where someone built a fence. It does not show where the title boundary is.

When we re-mark a boundary, we search the plans for the lot and its neighbours and find the existing marks. We check them against each other and against the plan, then place new pegs where the corners belong. We tell you what we found and which marks we replaced. If a fence or wall is in the way of a corner, we place an offset peg and explain how far it sits from the true corner.

What boundary marking costs in Brisbane, and what you get.

Our guide to land survey costs in Brisbane puts a full boundary identification for a residential lot at around $2,800 to $4,500 or more, including GST. Lots where the original marks are hard to find sit at the higher end. One Brisbane surveying firm publishes a basic fee for an identification survey on a standard 600 to 800 m² lot. It is $3,450 plus GST, about $3,795 including GST.

On a 2021 OzBargain forum thread, one Brisbane owner said quotes to replace a single missing marker were $2,000 to $3,000. A commenter in the same thread who said they had worked as a Brisbane surveyor noted that plan search fees come on top.

One peg is not much cheaper than four. The work is in the records search and the measurements needed to put any corner back in the right place, not in hammering the peg. For a quote on your block, send us your address, your lot and plan number if you have it, and a photo of the pegs you've found.

Not sure the peg is right? We've been marking Brisbane boundaries for more than 10 years. Tell us what you've found and we'll tell you, free, whether you need a survey. You can get a free boundary quote on our website, or call us on (07) 3477 9914, Monday to Friday, 7am to 5pm.