Updated: 23 Nov 2009

Schedule Maintenance

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Governance

The Spatial Data Policy Executive (SDPE) has delegated responsibility for management of the Schedule to the Schedule Data Management Group (SDMG). OSDM maintains the Schedule under the guidance of the Schedule Working Group (SWG), which reports to the SDMG.

Auditing the Schedule

Each year an audit of Australian Government spatial data is conducted to identify agency datasets that are available to the public under the terms of the Policy on Spatial Data Access and Pricing ('the Policy'), and ensure that records are complete and accurate. To be eligible for listing on the Schedule, a dataset must meet the following Policy conditions:

available at the marginal cost of transfer (e.g. free online or nominally $99 per CD);
free of restrictions on value-adding or third party transfer
intellectual property is vested in the Commonwealth
distributed under a licence (such as the OSDM standard licence) that acknowledges Commonwealth intellectual property and absolves the Commonwealth from any liability

Schedule audits focus on increasing the number of datasets made available under the terms of the Policy, and improving the quality of information recorded against each dataset to ensure that information is current and accurate, including:

confirmation of the title of datasets
removal of datasets that are no longer available
clarification of custodians of datasets
expansion of generic series into individual datasets where appropriate
contraction of datasets into a general series listing where appropriate
listing of new datasets
accurate dataset metadata
download locations on custodian web sites.

Improving access to the Schedule

Access to Schedule datasets has continuously improved since 2002. The increased visibility of Schedule datasets can be attributed to work undertaken by agencies to clarify the responsible custodian for each dataset, to identify the location of each dataset, to provide consistent and meaningful titles of datasets as well as presenting information in a form that allows users to assess the currency of a dataset and access the dataset via the Internet.

This trend is reflected in the Survey of Spatial Data Management of Australian Government agencies. This survey is conducted annually and forms the basis of the Spatial Data Policy Executive's (SDPE) Annual Report to the Minister of Industry, Tourism and Resources. The SDPE Annual Report 2004–5 revealed increased levels of activity during the reporting period: agencies delivered 220,000 copies of Schedule datasets (an increase of 318% from the previous year) and earned revenue of $2.4 million from sales of Schedule datasets.

Additionally, there is now a better understanding of Policy requirements which has encouraged agencies to list datasets, not previously listed, on the Schedule. This has resulted in a 155% increase in dataset listings in 2004, of which 77% were available online.

Standardising licence conditions

Establishment of the OSDM Licence Registration Service (OLRS) in 2005 facilitated direct online access to datasets though a standard licence. According to the SDPE Annual Report 2004–5, the most popular delivery medium for Schedule datasets was via the Internet: online downloads accounted for 48% of all deliveries. The ability to deliver these datasets under licence is central to the Policy.

The OLRS is offered to all Australian Government agencies that have datasets available for download under the terms of the Policy. This makes it possible for some datasets to be made available over the Internet for the first time under licence.

Standardisation of licence conditions through OLRS has also led to improved access to data by users. They now only need to register once in order to gain access to any dataset made available over the Internet under the terms of the Policy. From February 2005 to June 2006, 189,401 datasets were downloaded through OLRS.

OLRS uses the OSDM standard licence so that users only need to complete the licence once to gain access to any dataset listed on the Schedule. Geoscience Australia operates OLRS on behalf of OSDM and provides quarterly reports on data usage to custodian agencies. The service also minimises licence administration overheads for participating agencies.

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		Updated: 23 Nov 2009 Schedule Maintenance go to: [Schedule search] [About: Schedule \| Auxiliary List] [Schedule maintenance: governance \| audits \| access \| licensing ] [OSDM Licence Registration Service] Governance The Spatial Data Policy Executive (SDPE) has delegated responsibility for management of the Schedule to the Schedule Data Management Group (SDMG). OSDM maintains the Schedule under the guidance of the Schedule Working Group (SWG), which reports to the SDMG. Auditing the Schedule Each year an audit of Australian Government spatial data is conducted to identify agency datasets that are available to the public under the terms of the Policy on Spatial Data Access and Pricing ('the Policy'), and ensure that records are complete and accurate. To be eligible for listing on the Schedule, a dataset must meet the following Policy conditions: available at the marginal cost of transfer (e.g. free online or nominally $99 per CD); free of restrictions on value-adding or third party transfer intellectual property is vested in the Commonwealth distributed under a licence (such as the OSDM standard licence) that acknowledges Commonwealth intellectual property and absolves the Commonwealth from any liability Schedule audits focus on increasing the number of datasets made available under the terms of the Policy, and improving the quality of information recorded against each dataset to ensure that information is current and accurate, including: confirmation of the title of datasets removal of datasets that are no longer available clarification of custodians of datasets expansion of generic series into individual datasets where appropriate contraction of datasets into a general series listing where appropriate listing of new datasets accurate dataset metadata download locations on custodian web sites. Improving access to the Schedule Access to Schedule datasets has continuously improved since 2002. The increased visibility of Schedule datasets can be attributed to work undertaken by agencies to clarify the responsible custodian for each dataset, to identify the location of each dataset, to provide consistent and meaningful titles of datasets as well as presenting information in a form that allows users to assess the currency of a dataset and access the dataset via the Internet. This trend is reflected in the Survey of Spatial Data Management of Australian Government agencies. This survey is conducted annually and forms the basis of the Spatial Data Policy Executive's (SDPE) Annual Report to the Minister of Industry, Tourism and Resources. The SDPE Annual Report 2004–5 revealed increased levels of activity during the reporting period: agencies delivered 220,000 copies of Schedule datasets (an increase of 318% from the previous year) and earned revenue of $2.4 million from sales of Schedule datasets. Additionally, there is now a better understanding of Policy requirements which has encouraged agencies to list datasets, not previously listed, on the Schedule. This has resulted in a 155% increase in dataset listings in 2004, of which 77% were available online. Standardising licence conditions Establishment of the OSDM Licence Registration Service (OLRS) in 2005 facilitated direct online access to datasets though a standard licence. According to the SDPE Annual Report 2004–5, the most popular delivery medium for Schedule datasets was via the Internet: online downloads accounted for 48% of all deliveries. The ability to deliver these datasets under licence is central to the Policy. The OLRS is offered to all Australian Government agencies that have datasets available for download under the terms of the Policy. This makes it possible for some datasets to be made available over the Internet for the first time under licence. Standardisation of licence conditions through OLRS has also led to improved access to data by users. They now only need to register once in order to gain access to any dataset made available over the Internet under the terms of the Policy. From February 2005 to June 2006, 189,401 datasets were downloaded through OLRS. OLRS uses the OSDM standard licence so that users only need to complete the licence once to gain access to any dataset listed on the Schedule. Geoscience Australia operates OLRS on behalf of OSDM and provides quarterly reports on data usage to custodian agencies. The service also minimises licence administration overheads for participating agencies. [back to top]
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