Feature and level surveying services
Before you can design, build or plan, you need to know exactly what’s already on site. A feature and level survey gives you a complete conditions plan, capturing terrain, building, above-ground services, vegetation and surface detail.
Also known as existing conditions surveys, topographic surveys or detail surveys, these are strategic datasets tailored to your specific project needs and technical requirements.
Why they matter to your project
If your project involves design or development, a feature and level survey is one of the first, and most important, surveys to complete. It captures and documents existing site conditions, including:
- Surface features: Kerbs, fences, driveways, retaining walls, surface pits and signage.
- Levels and topographic details: Contours and spot levels, with scale-appropriate intervals.
- Structures and buildings: Roof outlines, awnings, stairs, ramps and building footprints.
- Vegetation and environmental features: Tree locations, canopy spread, watercourses and embankments.
Need underground service locating?
The Landair team can locate underground utilities and integrate the findings into your existing conditions survey, giving you a complete picture above and below ground.
Need boundary or cadastral surveying?
Landair’s registered land surveyors can verify or re-establish title boundaries and easements, perfect for pairing with a feature and level survey in Melbourne or Sydney.
Who needs feature and level surveys?
Whether you’re designing a building, upgrading infrastructure or putting together planning documentation, feature and level surveys deliver a precise view of the existing conditions of your site. This is essential for:
Architects and heritage specialists
- Capture terrain, structures and constraints to inform design
- Prepare compliant designs supported by condition surveys
- Enable BIM-ready 3D models with real-world dimensions
Engineers and construction professionals
- Establish a base plan for design, excavation and setout
- Understand site constraints or risks before tendering
- Verify existing infrastructure and identify site access issues
Government and planning authorities
- Assess road, parkland or reserve upgrades
- Plan drainage, lighting, paths and infrastructure
- Coordinate existing assets and future capital works using verified feature and level survey data
Property developers
- Validate constraints before acquisition
- Prepare subdivision plans based on existing conditions
- Support utility and easement coordination
What do you get from feature and level surveys?
Our surveys deliver spatially accurate outputs ready for planning, approvals, and design. Common deliverables include:
- CAD-ready 2D plans (in DWG and PDF) showing accurate site representation
- 3D models and registered point clouds for integration into your software
- Surveyor-certified plans, where required for submission
- Optional georeferenced imagery overlays for additional context
How a feature and level survey works
Every feature and level survey is built around your end use, whether you are preparing a development application, a town planning report or a civil design.
- 1. Scope to your project. We confirm the detail, scale and level intervals your architect, engineer or authority needs.
- 2. Capture on site. We select the right method, from drone flyovers for broad site context to static laser scanning where the finer details matter.
- 3. Integrate above and below ground. Underground service locating and title boundary checks can be folded into the one existing conditions plan.
- 4. Deliver to your timeframe. We can stage delivery as parts of your site become accessible, in the formats your software expects.
Why choose Landair?
We’re not just here to document. We’re long-term partners who deliver clarity and certainty in the early stages of your project.
Sector experience
Our team has delivered feature surveys for architects, councils and construction firms across Vic, NSW and QLD.
Fast and reliable turnaround
We work to your timeframe, including staged delivery when parts of your site become accessible.
Flexible capture methods
From drone flyovers to internal laser scans, we select the right tool for the job, not just the most convenient one.
Understand your use case
Whether preparing a DA, town planning report or civil design, we provide data that’s purpose-built for your next step.
Explore our projects
Brighton Mansion
Landair Surveys undertook a detailed survey of a heritage-listed Brighton mansion, a grand example of 1920s Melbourne high society and one of the earliest Californian Bungalow-style homes designed by Cedric Ballantyne.
Werribee Park Mansion
Landair Surveys was chosen by heritage architects Lovell Chen to document the external conditions of the historic Werribee Park Mansion.
Victorian School Surveys
Since 2017, Landair Surveys has supported the Victorian School Building Authority (VSBA) to develop new government schools and upgrade existing infrastructure.
FAQs
It is a complete conditions plan of your site, capturing terrain, buildings, above-ground services, vegetation and surface detail. It is also known as an existing conditions survey, a topographic survey or a detail survey.
We select the right method for each site. Drone flyovers suit broad site context, while static laser scanning is used where the finer details are paramount. Many projects combine methods to balance coverage and precision.
Yes. We can locate underground utilities and integrate the findings into your existing conditions survey, and our registered land surveyors can verify or re-establish title boundaries and easements, so you have a complete picture above and below ground.
We deliver feature and level surveys from our Melbourne and Sydney offices, and have completed feature surveys for architects, councils and construction firms across Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland.