Full description
The Valuer General's Department was abolished by proclamation on 8 April 1999 and the responsibilities of the Department were added to the Department of Information Technology and Management (DITM). (1) The Valuer General's Office continued to operate with DITM until 1 July 2000 when it combined with the Surveyor General's Department, the Land Titles Office and the Land Infomation Centre to create Land and Property Information, New South Wales. The Valuer-General’s Office was renamed to the Office of the Valuer General. (2)
The Valuation Services division within Land and Property Information (LPI) provided the link between the Valuer General and the valuation service contractors, rate/taxpayers and the public. LPI provided a range of valuation services to the Valuer General, including valuation contract management, auditing of valuations, processing of objections, provision of property information and data to valuation service contractors and the day-to-day management of valuations completed under the Land Acquisition (Just Terms Compensation) Act 1991. LPI’s services to the Valuer General were formalised through an annual Service Level Agreement. (3)
The Office of the Valuer General provided day to day support to the Valuer General, including the setting of objectives, standards and policies for the operation of the valuation system, monitoring the performance of Valuation Services, providing support for the Valuer General in addressing ministerial and parliamentary enquiries, developing public information, responding to public enquiries and investigating complaints.(4)
The Parliamentary Committee on the Office of the Valuer General monitored and reviewed the exercise of the Valuer General's functions with respect to land valuations. (5)
The Valuer General was an independent statutory officer appointed by the Governor of NSW to oversee the valuation system which provided land values for rating and taxing and determinations of compensation when land is compulsory acquired by government. The independence of the Valuer General ensured a clear separation between the impartial land valuation process and how state and local government use the valuations for levying rates and taxes or for determining compensation following the compulsory acquisition of land. (6)
The functions of the Valuer-General include the following:
(a) to establish and maintain the Register of Land Values, and for this purpose to maintain such databases as the Valuer-General thinks appropriate,
(b) to enter valuations on the Register of Land Values on the basis of valuation recommendations made under this Act,
(c) to enter into, manage and monitor valuation service contracts,
(d) to make valuations of land as authorised or required by or under this or any other Act,
(e) to deal with objections and appeals against valuations under this Act. (7)
On 2 April 2003 the Department of Information Technology and Management was abolished and LPI (including the Office of the Valuer General) was transferred to the Department of Lands [III]. (8)
From 1 July 2009 the Department of Lands [III] was abolished and its functions were transferred to the newly established Land and Property Management Authority, a division of the Department of Services, Technology and Administration. (9) In 2010 the Office of the Valuer General comprised of the Valuer General and 4.6 permanent staff. (10)
On 1 July 2016, LPI ceased upon its separation into five business units, which were integrated into the Department of Finance, Services and Innovation (DFSI). The Office of the Valuer General became a separate business unit reporting to Parliament and the Secretary of DFSI. (11) The service level agreement continued with Valuation Services division sitting in the Property and Advisory Group within the Department of Finance, Services and Innovation. (12)
The Department of Finance, Services and Innovation was abolished on 1 July 2019. Its staff were transferred to the Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure. (13)
Until 19 January 2020 the Office of the Valuer General provided day to day support to the Valuer General (14), under the Valuation of Land Act 1916 No 2, (15) including the setting of objectives, standards and policies for the operation of the valuation system, monitoring the performance of Valuation Services, providing support for the Valuer General in addressing ministerial and parliamentary enquiries, developing public information, responding to public enquiries and investigating complaints.(16)
On 19 January 2020, the Office of the Valuer General and Valuation Services (a division of Property NSW) were merged to form Valuer General NSW. (17) Provisions of the Service Level Agreement continue to apply with services provided to the Valuer General by Valuer General NSW and Office of the Valuer General continuing under legislation. (18)
By 2023, Valuer General NSW was renamed to Valuation NSW. (19) and in 2024, it was renamed to Value NSW. (20) As of 2026, Value NSW sat within the Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure and reported to the Deputy Secretary of the Property, Development and Valuation Group within the Department. (21)
Endnotes
1. NSW Government Gazette 8 April 1999 p.2688.
2. Public Service Notices 21 June 2000 p.22.
3. Department of Lands [III], Annual Report 2003-2004, p.18.
4. Valuer General, Annual Report 2018-2019, p.13.
5. Valuer General NSW website, https://www.valuergeneral.nsw.gov.au/about_us, (accessed 23 November 2022).
6. Valuer General NSW Annual Report 2019-20, p. 7.
7. Valuation of Land Act 1916 (Act No.2, 1916), s.9.
8. NSW Government Gazette Special Supplement No. 67, 2 April 2003, p.4327.
9. Public Sector Employment and Management (Departmental Amalgamations) Order 2009 (2009 No 352), cl. 31; notified on NSW Legislation website, 27 July 2009.
10. Lands and Property Management Authority, Annual Report 2009-2010, p.38.
11. Department of Finance, Services and Innovation Annual Report 2015-2016, pp.13-14, 37, 75-76, 215-216; 'DFSI Organisational Chart as at 11 January 2017' from the Department of Finance, Services and Innovation Website, https://www.finance.nsw.gov.au/sites/default/files/policy-documents/DFSI-organisational-structure_1_0_0.pdf (accessed 31 January 2017).
12. The Property and Advisory Group, Year in Review 2017-2018, p.29.
13. Administrative Arrangements (Administrative Changes—Public Service Agencies) Order 2019 (2019 No 159), cl. 26; NSW Legislation Website, 2 April 2019 as amended by Administrative Arrangements (Administrative Changes—Public Service Agencies) Amendment Order 2019, NSW Legislation Website, 1 May 2019 (2019 No 180) Sch. [11].
14. Valuer General NSW Annual Report 2019-20, p. 8.
15. Valuation of Land Act 1916 (Act No.2, 1916).
16. Valuer General NSW Annual Report 2019-20, p. 8.
17. Valuer General, Annual Report 2020-2021, p.6.
18. Ibid, p.6.
19. Valuer General NSW website, About Us, https://www.valuergeneral.nsw.gov.au/about_us (accessed 16 May 2023).
20. Valuer General, Annual Report 2023-2024, p.7.
21. Value NSW website, https://www.nsw.gov.au/departments-and-agencies/department-of-planning-housing-and-infrastructure/nsw-valuer-general/about-value-nsw (accessed 13/08/2026).
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