All governments face significant challenges managing asset and land/property data like lost confidence from inaccurate data and incomplete information. Also, siloed data across disparate systems further complicates data integrity, access and reliability. Governments must prioritise comprehensive data management strategies like robust integration and validation frameworks, ensuring dataset accuracy, completeness and coherence. Unfortunately, most organisations don’t have the resources to implement these strategies.
A fragmented data landscape is a significant risk for informed and effective decision-making—such as network outage planning to reactive asset maintenance for roads, stormwater infrastructure and schools. Similarly, for land data, inaccuracies in property details, land use information and tenement records complicate tax assessments, property development and strategic urban planning.
But what if we could find cost-effective and efficient Australian talent to make sense of this data?
Australian Spatial Analytics (ASA) helps deliver efficient public services by creating the right data to make the right decisions at the right time. We’ve done this with the Queensland Department of Resources (DoR) via a comprehensive roads and address data validation project, piloting new cadastral maintenance systems, and merging legacy datasets for Energy Queensland.
For DoR, we conducted updates for over 21,000 road features, 70,000 addresses and 100,000 access points within the Sunshine Coast Regional Council area in only 10 weeks with a <1% error rate—generating a vastly improved dataset for multiple end-users like emergency services, who rely on accurate data for mission-critical first response. For the cadastral maintenance project, our analysts produced reliable data using automated tools and processes fundamental to planning and decision-making across all infrastructure projects in Queensland. Both projects trained dozens of analysts, with many applying their newly learned GIS skills for the first time.
Our team has also worked on state-owned complex electrical networks with our award-winning Energy Queensland project, formed by the merger of two electricity entities, Energex and Ergon. As these were separate government entities, an enormous amount of highly technical work was required to merge multiple legacy systems. Our team undertook data cleaning, validation, and merging asset datasets into a unified ‘single source of truth’ using the Esri Utility Network, which is widely considered the utility management benchmark. Because of this project, ASA now has over 50 qualified users—one of the largest of any spatial consultancy in Australia.
This is one of the largest projects of its kind in the world, keeping track of the physical location and details of Queensland’s electrical infrastructure, consisting of a massive database of over 300,000 subnetworks. To date, our analysts have undertaken data checks and updates over 53,000 sites across 16,000 tasks and 68,000 hours. Our work was also recognised by the Geospatial Council of Australia Queensland division as this landmark project won the 2023 Technical Excellence Award.
We have also helped with spatial data enhancement projects for other local, state and federal government departments, including:
• Brisbane City Council – validating existing spatial datasets and creating new data for emergency management purposes
• Department of Regional NSW – creating georeferenced digital versions of paper-based and scanned historic mine survey plans
• Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade – building and maintaining travel advisory maps for the Smartraveller website
ASA provides a cost-effective alternative to offshore data services by matching a highly-skilled group of under-employed people to address severe workforce shortages in the Geospatial and Engineering professions. Our Australian-based neurodiverse team undertakes bulk data cleansing and validation for many government clients at all levels, using their award-winning technical capabilities and experience.
Hence, there are no data sovereignty or modern slavery risks as we pay above award rates to a group of disadvantaged Australians to deliver this work. Plus, our partners build enduring social impact via their supply chains, creating long-term, stable employment for neurodivergent young adults who face a staggering 34% unemployment rate.
Our valued government clients already embrace the unique spatial skills of neurodiversity for their data needs whilst having an enormous social impact on the lives of neurodivergent people.
Find out how your government organisation can deliver effective public services at our Data Services and Talent Services pages.