Frequently Asked Questions

An ePlan is a digital data file that represents cadastral and administrative information related to a plan. This includes a subset of survey data that is also contained in the Abstract of Field Records.

An ePlan is created using the SCFF methodology, which uses a DXF CAD file as the basis for providing plan and survey geometries. The SCFF is converted to ePlan using the ePlan Portal and associated services that validate the ePlan and allow additional administrative data to be added, for example easement information.

A completed ePlan includes:

• survey measurements
• parcel dimensions
• easement, road and reserve information
• land parcel descriptions and identifiers
• administrative information
• owners corporation schedules, and more.

Once the ePlan is complete, it can be used in SPEAR by attaching it to a new or existing SPEAR application. The ePlan will appear in SPEAR as a visualised PDF plan. The visualised PDF plan becomes the title diagram following registration.

ePlan improves data quality, minimises duplication, and paves the way for end-to-end digital data workflows throughout the lifecycle of a plan.

The benefits of ePlan will continue to increase over time by streamlining and automating existing manual processes for faster, more reliable, and consistent plan registration.

Benefits of ePlan will be achieved by:

• increasing data pre-population and re-use of data from authoritative cadastral systems, reducing manual entry and processing times
• increasing automatic data validation, with the aim of achieving higher quality plans, reduced requisitions, and faster registrations
• working towards visualisation of plans in accordance with legislative and directive requirements, such as the Registrar's Requirements and the Victorian Cadastral Survey Practice Directives.

In time, ePlan will facilitate the updating of cadastral databases, including the Victorian Online Titles System (VOTS), the digital cadastre, and the survey control network, to achieve a higher level of integrity.

The SCFF is a defined structure of cadastral CAD layers in the Drawing Exchange Format (DXF) version 2010. The SCFF format was co-designed in 2020 through collaboration with the surveying industry.

The SCFF is used as the primary building block for creating an ePlan. There are 73 standard layers in the SCFF that are used to define boundary, textual and survey information. Most CAD drawings only require a small subset of these layers.

Applying the SCFF layering requirements enables a licensed surveyor to create an ePlan.

There are 73 cadastral layers in the SCFF that define boundary, textual and survey information. The data in these layers is validated in the ePlan Portal against a comprehensive set of rules.

The SCFF layers cover:

Boundary parcels and lines layers:

Lots, stage lots, reserves, roads, common properties, easements, Crown land services, restrictions, administrative boundaries, Crown allotments, Crown portions, building boundaries, building returns, connections, splays, offset, unsurveyed and natural boundaries.

Textual labels and descriptions layers:

Parcel identifier for lots, stage lots, reserves, roads, common properties, easements, Crown land services, restrictions, Crown allotments, Crown portions, and 9 figure number for Survey Control Network (SCN) marks.

Survey layers:

Traverse lines, radiations, traverse points, SCN marks and reference marks.

There is provision to include additional layers to the CAD file, however these should be used for internal purposes only, as they will not be validated and will not be shown on the final ePlan.

SCFF supports the creation of ePlan for plans under the Subdivision Act 1988. SCFF does not currently support:

• text only plans
• variations of restrictions
• curved overlapping easements unless the overlapping part is drawn as a separate geometry
• plans that require a cross section (e.g. multi-storey building subdivisions)

View drawing instructions for the supported plan types.

Although a subset of survey data can be included in the ePlan file, the full Abstract of Field Records and Licensed Surveyor's Report are not supported by the SCFF/ePlan process. The preparation and submission of the Abstract of Field Records and Licensed Surveyor's Reports in PDF format is still required in SPEAR.

While a PDF Abstract of Field Records (AFR) is still required to show all aspects of the survey including occupation offsets and chainages, the digital ePlan file can include and visualise most survey information required to re-establish a parcel and connect to surrounding surveys. As a result, surveyors must ensure that the survey data in their latest version of an ePlan (in SPEAR) is consistent with the survey information shown on the AFR PDF.

Currently, ePlan can show traverses between survey marks and instrument points, as well as radiations to survey marks, and boundary points. Datum labels can also be added to relevant control or reference marks. Radiations to occupation points will be supported starting in August 2025, with the ability to add datum occupation points from radiations from that time.

SPEAR and ePlan allow surveyors to update survey information in the digital file after certification without the need to re-certify, provided the plan components are unaffected. Please ensure that you provide the required survey information in the digital ePlan file from the Abstract of Field Records, including all traverse information and radiations to survey marks and adopts. This will ensure a more accurate and connected product for inclusion in the digital cadastre, allowing for maximum compatibility with new tools for checking and comparing digital plan and survey information in the Portal.

If the plan can satisfy non-survey requirements outlined on the Land Use Victoria website understanding plans of subdivision and consolidation, then an abstract of field records will not be required and the ePlan can be based on the 'Local' coordinate system rather than MGA. The ePlan Portal supports the creation, validation and visualisation of both Local and MGA ePlans.

If the plan does not satisfy non-survey requirements, while initial versions of the SCFF may be on a local coordinate system, the expectation is that the final version of the SCFF/ePlan will be connected to MGA. In the case of a partial survey subdivision, the appropriate datum should be used, in accordance with the Victorian Cadastral Surveys Practice Directives.

Surveyors must ensure that the survey data in their latest version of an ePlan (in SPEAR) is consistent with the survey information shown on the Abstract of Field Records (PDF).

No, dimensions are not required in the SCFF. They will be applied on the visualised PDF plan.

No, the Digital Survey Geometry (DSG) requirement is not applicable to ePlan applications in SPEAR, as the ePlan contains the necessary information to update Vicmap Property and the digital cadastre.

Layer names in the SCFF must not be changed.

Not adhering to the layer names will result in an invalid SCFF. Other changes to the layer structure are not recommended as they may result in validation issues.

There is provision to include additional layers to the CAD file, however these should be used for internal purposes only, as they will not be validated and will not be shown on the final ePlan. Layer colour, linetype, lineweight, etc. can be modified to suit the surveyor's preference.

There is no specific software requirement for producing an ePlan. The only prerequisite is that your software package can produce a DXF (version 2010) and that the DXF is complaint with the SCFF layering definitions. The DXF file is uploaded to the ePlan Portal, where it is validated and enriched to produce an ePlan.

The first step is to adopt the SCFF layering structure to produce a compliant DXF file. Please visit the 'Getting Started - Training Resources' section for further information including guidance notes, instructions, templates, and other training materials.

Once an SCFF-complaint DXF is produced, the file is uploaded to the ePlan Portal, where it is validated. Additional information is added to the file from existing cadastral services, to produce an ePlan. The ePlan Portal allows the surveyor to define additional plan information such as easement details, restriction information, notations, and other administrative data required of the plan.

Once an ePlan is finalised, surveyors can easily fit it to a new or existing SPEAR application by selecting it from a list of created ePlans stored against their organisation/site in SPEAR. Listed ePlans can also be viewed and edited in the ePlan Portal, as well as previewing the visualised PDF plan. The selected ePlan is attached to SPEAR application along with its visualised PDF and validation report, and digitally signed in-line with current SPEAR plan processes. The visualised PDF becomes the title diagram upon registration.

If an ePlan is supplied at the beginning of an application, the following information will be pre-populated in the 'create application' screen:

• Applicant reference number
• Application parcels
• Subdivision Act section/dealing type
• Plan number / stage number
• Number of lots

Accessible through the SPEAR system, the ePlan Portal is a single platform for all the services, functions, and tools needed to create, update, and manage an ePlan file.

The ePlan Dashboard is part of the ePlan Portal. It allows surveyors to view their ePlan activity including access to current and previous versions of their ePlans and associated files (SCFF, LandXML, Owners Corporation spreadsheet and Enhanced Diagram file).

Surveyors can also use the ePlan Dashboard to perform the following tasks:

• Upload new plan versions in SCFF
• Search for plans based on keywords, SPEAR Status, Applications Type or Dealing Type
• Remove ePlans that are not fitted to SPEAR applications
• Export Dashboard data to Excel
• Change the configuration of the Dashboard based on their preference

The ePlan Editor is accessible when the surveyor has uploaded an SCFF-compliant DXF file into the ePlan Portal.

Data in the SCFF is converted and pre-populated into the ePlan Editor for the creation of an ePlan. Required data relevant to the surveyor, administrative areas, subject parcels, and SCN marks is also pre-populated from cadastral systems and databases, such as SPEAR, SRBV, Vicmap and SMES.

All pre-populated data can be reviewed and edited, and new data can also be entered. The ePlan Editor also alerts the surveyor to incomplete data with validation warnings.

Once an ePlan is generated, it can be validated by the ePlan Validation Service, and a PDF plan automatically generated from the Plan Visualisation Service.

The SCFF Validation Service provides information to the surveyor on whether their CAD plan drawing has been prepared in compliance with SCFF requirements.

Several validation rules are checked and a 'Validation Status' report is provided showing whether the SCFF has passed or failed. Validation messages are displayed for any failed validation rules, and are accompanied by a preview of the SCFF using the SCFF Viewer. A link is provided between geometrical features causing errors within the report and SCFF elements to help the surveyor interpret the errors.

The SCFF Viewer is a tool to help surveyors understand and address validation issues with their SCFF.

The SCFF Viewer enables the surveyor to view the SCFF, interact with any CAD layer and select features of the CAD drawing, which are highlighted when selected. This tool provides two types of search:

1. a) DXF Feature ID
2. b) Coordinates

View the current list of SCFF validation rules.

The ePlan Validation Service is used to validate the ePlan file against a suite of business rules. This generates an ePlan Validation Report which identifies any errors and warnings that must either be addressed or justified by the surveyor.

View the current list of ePlan validation rules.

The ePlan Validation Report provides a summary of the ePlan validations that may be used to support plan lodgment and examination processes.

The validation rules are listed with a pass, error or warning result. Once an ePlan has been fitted to a SPEAR application, a justification or comment can be added to provide additional information about any errors or warnings that cannot be addressed.

The Plan Visualisation Service generates a PDF plan from the ePlan file. For small and simple plans, the visualisation may not require any further enhancements to satisfy plan presentation requirements.

For larger and more complex plans, the visualisation will require enhancement using the 'Visualisation Enhancement Tool' (VET). The tool enables improvements to be made to the plan presentation.

The VET enables the surveyor to enhance the presentation of the PDF plan that is automatically generated from the Plan Visualisation Service.

Enhancement to the plan presentation may be required, particularly for heavily detailed and complex plans. This can be achieved in the VET by editing labels/arrows, introducing key sheets, defining additional sheets, creating enlargement diagrams, and exaggerating features.

The enhanced plan is used as the visualised PDF plan for council certification, contracts of sale, and subsequently as the title diagram when the plan is registered by Land Use Victoria.

As per all cadastral surveys, ground distances should be used in the SCFF in line with the Victorian Cadastral Surveys Practice Directives.

Yes, provisional plans can be created using the SCFF/ePlan methodology and stored within the ePlan Dashboard.

ePlans can be maintained and modified (new versions) for as long as required before creating the application in SPEAR.

Yes, PDF based SPEAR applications can be converted to ePlan applications using the 'Modify' plan function in SPEAR.

If this is done before certification, the ePlan will be shown as the latest version of the plan. If this is done after certification, the applicant contact will need to apply for a re-certification. In this case, the ePlan would become the proposed plan until council accept the re-certification request.

Once accepted, the ePlan will become the latest version of the plan.

Plan versioning is supported by the ePlan Portal.

The ePlan Portal will retain the administrative data entered into the ePlan Editor and enhancements made using VET for the next version of an ePlan, provided the geometry of the parcels in the plan remains exactly the same.

The new version of the ePlan can then be fitted to the existing SPEAR application by modifying the plan, which is the same process as adding a new version of a PDF plan.

Your initial ePlan will require a version number to be supplied, this can be numeric and/or alphabetic. Subsequent ePlan versions will provide the option to update the version number or leave it unchanged.

The version number entered into the ePlan will be extracted automatically by SPEAR when the ePlan is fitted into SPEAR application. This will become the 'surveyor's plan version' in SPEAR.

The SPEAR Service Desk is supporting surveyors with the technical aspects associated with SCFF/ePlan adoption. Please email fcrne.vasb@genafcbeg.ivp.tbi.nh if you require assistance.