Allen Price

Allen Price Allen Price
The Place For Surveying, Town Planning, Civil Engineering, and Project Management.

Allen Price is a member of the following industry organisations:
* Association of Consulting Surveyors
* Surveyors Australia
* Institution of Engineers, Australia
* Planning Institute of Australia
* Urban Development Institute of Australia
* Property Council of Australia

🎉Today is a special day for Allen Price as we celebrate Caroline and her incredible milestone of 25 years with our team....
27/08/2026

🎉Today is a special day for Allen Price as we celebrate Caroline and her incredible milestone of 25 years with our team.

Over the years, Caroline has become far more than one of our Senior Engineers. She has been a trusted colleague, a steady presence, and an important part of the Allen Price story, helping deliver major subdivisions and infrastructure projects that have shaped communities across our region.

When we asked Caroline to reflect on this wonderful achievement, she answered in true Caroline style:

"I'm the gift that keeps on giving!"

It was the perfect response: funny and unmistakably Caroline.

Congratulations, Caroline, and thank you for your dedication, knowledge, humour, and the lasting contribution you have made to Allen Price over the past 25 years. We are grateful to celebrate this milestone with you and look forward to many more moments shared together.

The NSW Government has released a rezoning proposal for up to 10,000 new homes, 940 new jobs and 14.4 hectares of public...
27/08/2026

The NSW Government has released a rezoning proposal for up to 10,000 new homes, 940 new jobs and 14.4 hectares of public open space in the heart of Shellharbour, alongside a companion proposal for 1,700 more homes around the new Shellharbour Hospital.

Heights, zoning, affordable housing targets and infrastructure upgrades are all on the table, and submissions close 5pm, 8 September 2026.

We've broken down what both proposals mean for developers, builders and landowners in our latest article: https://allenprice.com.au/blog/rezoning-shellharbour-city-centre-what-the-proposal-means-for-the-region/

The NSW Government has released the draft Illawarra Shoalhaven Plan, a strategic land use plan setting the direction for...
17/08/2026

The NSW Government has released the draft Illawarra Shoalhaven Plan, a strategic land use plan setting the direction for growth across the region to 2046. It's the first plan to bring Wingecarribee into the same regional framework as Wollongong, Shellharbour, Kiama and Shoalhaven.

The Plan sets out where development will be supported through a new Urban Growth Area, alongside targets for 161,000 more people, 117,000 more homes and 101,850 more jobs across the region. It also outlines plans for industrial land, transport and Australia's first urban renewable energy zone.

For builders and developers, understanding where a site sits in relation to the Urban Growth Area will be one of the first questions worth asking about any future project.

The draft Plan is open for public feedback until 5pm, Monday 28 September 2026.

Read our overview of what's proposed here: https://allenprice.com.au/blog/planning-reform-watch-nsw-maps-out-the-illawarra-shoalhavens-next-20-years/

The NSW Government has released a discussion paper proposing changes to make development applications faster and easier ...
12/08/2026

The NSW Government has released a discussion paper proposing changes to make development applications faster and easier to prepare.

At the centre of the proposal is a new digital tool that would tell applicants exactly what documents and drawings their project needs, before they even start.

It's paired with standardised requirements for drawings and reports, and a clearer lodgement process, including an online payment gateway.

The goal is fewer applications sent back as incomplete, and more certainty about timing from submission through to lodgement.

Read our full overview of what's proposed and what it means for your next project here: https://allenprice.com.au/blog/a-smarter-way-to-lodge-nsws-plan-to-fix-development-assessment-delays/

Is your fence really your property boundary?It's one of the most common assumptions we hear. Surprisingly, it's not alwa...
11/08/2026

Is your fence really your property boundary?

It's one of the most common assumptions we hear. Surprisingly, it's not always true.

Many people think if a fence has been there for decades, or it was already there when they bought the place, it must mark the legal boundary. It's not always the case.

Fences get rebuilt, shifted during renovations, replaced after storm damage, or simply built in the wrong spot to begin with. Some are only a few centimetres out. Others are way off.

This image is from one of our recent projects, where the fence was found well away from the legal boundary. Without a proper survey, there'd have been no way to know.

So what actually decides where the boundary is?

Not the fence.
Not your neighbour.
Not the real estate agent.
Definitely not the GPS on your phone.

Your legal boundary is determined by a Registered Surveyor, retracing the original survey using historical plans, survey marks, title information and measurements left by surveyors decades ago.

Every boundary has its own history, and our job is to read the evidence and re-establish exactly where it sits.

That's why it's risky to rely on an existing fence, especially if you're planning to:

🏠 Build a new home or extension
🚧 Add a shed, retaining wall or pool
🪵 Replace a boundary fence
✂️ Remove trees near a boundary
🤝 Sort out a boundary question with a neighbour

Knowing your boundary before work starts can save real time, money and hassle down the track.

If you're not sure where your fence sits, we're happy to help, whether that's an Identification Survey or a Boundary Peg Out.

Because when it comes to boundaries, it's always better to know than to assume.

The NSW Government has released a proposal to standardise the conditions attached to development consent across the stat...
10/08/2026

The NSW Government has released a proposal to standardise the conditions attached to development consent across the state.

At the moment, conditions vary widely between councils. Two similar projects in neighbouring local government areas can end up with different wording and requirements for the same underlying issues, things like erosion control, tree protection and hours of work. The proposal introduces a shared set of standard and model conditions, scaled to project size, so councils are drawing from a consistent framework rather than starting from scratch each time.

For certain larger developments, it also proposes mandatory consultation on draft conditions before consent is issued, giving applicants a formal chance to flag errors before they become costly modifications.
Read our full overview of what's proposed and what it means for your next project: https://allenprice.com.au/blog/consistent-conditions-of-consent-what-nsws-proposed-reforms-mean-for-your-project/

Ever noticed a metal pin in the kerb or a mark on the footpath and wondered what it's for?To most people, it's easy to m...
06/08/2026

Ever noticed a metal pin in the kerb or a mark on the footpath and wondered what it's for?

To most people, it's easy to miss. To surveyors, it's part of an invisible framework that defines property boundaries and keeps our towns and infrastructure accurately mapped.

These marks aren't just bits of metal, timber or concrete. They're permanent reference points that can stay in place for decades, sometimes over 100 years, and they're often relied on for future surveys.

The problem is, they're sometimes knocked out or buried during construction, landscaping or fencing work. If a mark is disturbed, we may need to search much further afield to re-establish a boundary. That means more time, more cost, and more uncertainty, not just for you, but potentially your neighbours too.

Here are a few you'll spot across NSW:

đź“ŤDrill Hole and Wing: a hole with a chiselled triangle in concrete or rock

đź“ŤState Survey Mark (SSM): a plaque set into a kerb

đź“ŤPermanent Mark (PM): a metal rod inside a metal box

đź“ŤGalvanised Iron Pipe: buried below ground

Some also carry a surveyed height value (AHD), giving a known elevation used in construction and engineering projects.

A small bit of infrastructure, doing a very important job. Worth keeping an eye out for.

More on the POSI program: https://www.spatial.nsw.gov.au/surveying/surveying_services/preservation_of_survey_infrastructure_posi

"Can't you just come out with a GPS and find my boundary?"It’s one of the questions surveyors hear most often. The reali...
29/07/2026

"Can't you just come out with a GPS and find my boundary?"

It’s one of the questions surveyors hear most often. The reality is a boundary survey often starts long before we set foot on your property.

Every property has history. Some a lot more than others. Before we can say where a boundary sits today, we need to understand how it was created and how it’s changed over time.

That means digging into historical survey plans, titles, deposited plans, parish maps and adjoining subdivisions, some of which were drawn well over 100 years ago.

In NSW, a lot of this comes from the Historical Land Records Viewer (HLRV), where millions of historical plans, maps and land records are preserved.

Once we've built a picture from the historical evidence, the search moves into the field.

Even with modern GNSS, total stations and surveying software, a cadastral survey is about far more than hammering in a timber peg.

It's about interpreting historical evidence, applying legislation and surveying principles, and making sure a property's legal boundaries are correctly re-established.

So when you get a quote for a boundary survey, you're not just paying for a few hours on site. You're investing in years of professional knowledge, historical research, field investigation and careful analysis, all so your boundaries are determined correctly.

Ever wondered how property boundaries were marked back in the day? Glass bottles. It’s not uncommon we work on propertie...
21/07/2026

Ever wondered how property boundaries were marked back in the day? Glass bottles.

It’s not uncommon we work on properties where the boundaries haven’t been surveyed for 100+ years. That means there’s a chance we’ll uncover some of the original marks surveyors used.

We're used to modern techniques for defining property boundaries today, along with reference marks that let a corner be found if it's ever lost. But in the late 1800s, surveyors often used glass bottles instead.

These photos show bottles placed along Crooked River Road in the 1890s. We also have snippets from the original survey plan showing where they were set.

More than 130 years on, these bottles are still in the ground, still in good condition, and they still provide reliable evidence of the original survey.

It’s coming across discoveries like these that make surveying such a rewarding profession. Every now and then you’ll uncover a small piece of history still quietly doing its job.

Court Success in Jamberoo – “Dwelling Entitlement” not a legal term under LEP or EP&A ActLast week, the Land and Environ...
15/07/2026

Court Success in Jamberoo – “Dwelling Entitlement” not a legal term under LEP or EP&A Act

Last week, the Land and Environment Court upheld our client's appeal in Wilson v Kiama Municipal Council [2026] NSWLEC 1423, granting consent for a rural dwelling on a lot below the minimum lot size requirement for dwellings under Clause 4.2A of the Kiama Local Environmental Plan 2011.

The Court approved our Clause 4.6 variation request, finding that compliance with the minimum lot size standard was unreasonable and unnecessary in the circumstances, and that there were sufficient environmental planning grounds to justify the variation.

Importantly, the decision confirms that a properly justified Clause 4.6 request can facilitate a planned development outcome, even where the minimum lot size standard is not met.

The judgment provides strong guidance for the assessment of dwelling applications on undersized rural lots and establishes a clear direction that lot size alone will not be determinative where the objectives of the standard are demonstrably achieved.

Congratulations to our client and the broader consultant team on securing this excellent result.

Disclaimer: As with all Land and Environment Court decisions, the judgment may be subject to appeal and should not be relied upon as establishing a final or binding position until all appeal rights have expired or been exhausted.

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Nowra, NSW
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