As of 1st July 2024, Land Information New Zealand (LINZ) has announced that the new standard for vertical datum, NZVD2016, will be the unique official vertical datum to be used for all cadastral surveys. This means that surveyors will no longer be permitted to use local vertical datums for cadastral survey datasets (survey plans) lodged after 30th June 2024.
Therefore, any height data sent to Waitaki District Council from 1 July 2024 must use the NZVD2016 height standard. This vertical datum height standard, introduced by Toitū Te Whenua Land Information New Zealand (LINZ) in 2016, is the official way to measure heights across Aotearoa New Zealand. It is supported by a strong network of survey points managed by LINZ.
The NZVD2016 standard simplifies sharing height information for:
- geographic products (for example, elevation datasets)
- infrastructure
- planning
- consents
For now, the Waitaki District Council will not be updating the current geographical datasets that include height information (such as contours). However, we do request that any surveyed data being supplied to Waitaki District Council should comply with this new standard, as we will be storing the metadata, so we will be able to make use of the heights in the correct standard soon, complying with the national requirements.
If you are sending us geographical height data information for your projects, you’ll need to:
For projects which started before 1 July 2024, use the New Zealand Geodetic Datum 2000 (NZGD 2000) (unless our contract says differently).
- For projects starting after 1 July 2024, use NZVD2016 for elevation data.
- Stick to one height standard per project to avoid confusion.
- Note the height standard used in your project documents.
Elevation data from before 1 July 2024 for as-builts, building consents and resource consents will remain unchanged.
Please email us if you need help with the NZVD2016 height standard.
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