The State’s oldest department, originally known in 1829 as the Survey Office of the Swan River Colony, and most recently known as the Department of Land Administration (DOLA), has made the move to a statutory authority.
It officially has been the Department of Land Information (DLI) for two months.
Almost two years ago a restructure for DOLA was announced. The replacement statutory body, while performing the same core functions as DOLA – providing land information, titling and valuation services – is a commercial body with commercial powers.
The DLI will become self funding and is working towards providing the public with improved access to Government land and property information.
DLI CEO Grahame Searle said that the department had been working towards the change for more than 18 months.
“It recognises the emphasis the State Government places on land information and shows the important role we play as part of the emerging knowledge economy,” Mr Seale said.
“Work has commenced on drafting the legislation, which will outline the authority’s powers and responsibilities, and the business plan is being finalised.
“We are moving ahead with current business operations with new directions, which will facilitate increased access to integrated online services and the process of aligning the business with our new direction.
“As a statutory authority, we will be able to reinvest the revenue generated into customer services, which will help drive our on-line services and progressively improve the quality of our customer information.”
Mr Searle added that DOLA needed to change to a statutory authority for several reasons, including increasing the agency’s customer service needs by keeping up with changing technology and presenting data in new ways.
Mr Searle said that spatial and geographic information underpinned many of the Government’s current emergency response strategies and resource planning activities.
As part of the changes, support staff from the Crown Land Unit, consisting of the land administration services branch and the Pastoral Lands Board, will become part of the Department of Planning and Infrastructure.
The aim of this is to enable the Government to integrate the management of Crown land, which accounts for 93 per cent of the State’s surface, with its broader land use and transport planning objectives.
A new ministerial responsibility has also been created with the DLI, and is part of the portfolio of Land Information Minister Nick Griffiths.
