DataPoints: the data news you need from the National Data Commissioner

Last chance to get tickets for the APS Data Awards Gala Dinner and Australian Government Data Forum

Tickets are limited for these two events being held at the Hotel Realm, Canberra on 13 and 14 November. Secure your spot today! Connect with data professionals, learn about the latest in data practices from leaders in the public and private sectors, and celebrate innovation and excellence in the Australian Government. Purchase your tickets here for the dinner and here for the Forum.

Facilitating your data sharing requests

We are seeing more requests for data, and more sharing of data held by Australian Government agencies, with an increased focus on key data assets such as the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, Medicare Benefits Schedule and Alife longitudinal data sets. The ONDC is working closely with accredited users and data custodians on developing and responding to data sharing requests. If you would like help making a request for data, please get in touch. We maintain a register of DATA Scheme data sharing agreements, which you can access here.

You can find data held by Australian Government agencies on the Australian Government Data Catalogue. The Catalogue is part of Dataplace, so once you have found data you want to obtain you can seamlessly make a request for it.

Australian Government agencies – we need you!

If you are an Australian Government agency, aka a custodian of public sector data, we need you to publish your data holdings in the Australian Government Data Catalogue. You can contact us and find resources and templates to help you here.

Our trusted, data sharing community continues to grow

There are now 34 organisations accredited to participate in the DATA Scheme. View the register of accredited entities here. The latest entities to join the data sharing scheme are the National Disability Insurance Agency who is accredited to request and obtain data from Commonwealth government agencies, and the first South Australia agency, the Department of Treasury and Finance, who is accredited to provide data services – data deidentification and integration as well as secure access. If you would like to participate in the DATA Scheme, here is our information on how to apply for accreditation.

Streamlining arrangements under the Scheme

The ONDC recently settled a working group project to better understand issues experienced by Scheme participants and identify solutions. As a result of this work, the ONDC has committed to 22 actions focused on streamlining arrangements under the Scheme and clarifying its operation. These actions include developing a simplified data sharing agreement template and publishing guidance on key issues, such as exits of data from the Scheme, indirect access by non-Scheme entities, and the scope of projects permitted under the Scheme. More details are on our website.

Want to learn more about the DATA Scheme?

We are hosting information sessions on Wednesday 20 November 2024. Join us to better understand how to respond to data requests, make data sharing agreements, and handle data breaches:

• Responding to data sharing requests – 10:00am AEDT – Register here.

Learn about your obligations when responding to data sharing requests, and how requests can be managed through Dataplace.

• Establishing a data sharing agreement – 11:30am AEDT - Register here.

Discover what a best practice data sharing agreement looks like and how you can use Dataplace to generate a data sharing agreement.

• Data breaches – 1:30pm AEDT - Register here.

Learn how to prevent and respond to data breaches.

Good uses of public data

Take a look at the finalists for the 2024 APS data awards. They demonstrate powerful applications for data, spanning several industries and use cases, such as the first national survey on dementia awareness, improving agriculture statistics, making place-based socio-economic data available with Digital Atlas, cybersecurity monitoring and reporting, the National Bushfire Boundaries Data Service, and modelling the benefits of increasing educational attachment levels.

Good reads for the data community

In October, the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner published guides for business about how Australian privacy law applies to AI. The guidance will make it easier for businesses to comply with privacy obligations when using commercially available AI products, and also provides guidance to developers using personal information to train generative AI models. Check out the guides here.

Take a look at our Annual Report for 2023-2024. It highlights the first data sharing agreements under the DATA Scheme and the progress we have made building a trusted data sharing community as well as the tools to support best practice data sharing – Dataplace and the Australian Government Data Catalogue.

If you have feedback or something to share in future editions of DataPoints, please get in touch. We are always interested to hear your stories, including how you have used data to deliver public benefit. Also, make sure to follow us on LinkedIn!

Gayle