PRODUCTS AND SERVICES (By Outcomes)

Access to Government Geographic Information

Contribution to the Strategic Planning Framework: Goal 2 - The Economy, Goal 4 - The Regions, Goal 5 - Governance

• Desired Outcome
• Knowledge Exchange
• Policy and Strategic Planning
• Data Quality, Infrastructure and Access
• Interragator and WA Atlas

Desired Outcome

Coordinated access to WA Land Information Systems (WALIS) community members' geographic information supports the management and development of the State.

The importance of land information in decision making in almost every aspect of the State's economy and lifestyle is increasingly being recognised. Access to high quality spatial information is facilitated and coordinated by the WALIS Office for the benefit of all Western Australians.

WALIS is a complex partnership of diverse participants from 27 public and private organisations. It coordinates management and delivery of geographically-related information held mostly by WA Government agencies. WALIS was created in 1981 to build networks of people and technology to share information and improve its usefulness and accessibility.

WALIS activities are coordinated through a governance structure and supported by the WALIS Office. The governance structure comprises:

• The Executive Policy Committee (EPC), on which the Directors General of the WALIS-member agencies sit, setting overall policy for WALIS and reporting to the Minister for Land Information.
• WALIS Council, focusing on operational coordination and information exchange.
• Core Management Group (CMG) to oversee policy and strategic direction.
• The WALIS Advisory Committee, a group of industry and community experts to provide advice on WALIS-related issues.

The primary aim of WALIS is to build networks of people and technology to share information and improve its usefulness and accessibility. Sharing information reduces costs, avoids duplication and helps build a consistent view of land and geographic information. This helps Government and business deliver better products and services and individuals make better decisions about their future.

WALIS facilitates WA Government input into national policy activities focused on the use of spatial information for natural resource management strategies, counter terrorism and emergency management activities.

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Knowledge Exchange

The WALIS Forum is the largest geographic information conference in Australia. The 2003 conference had a record attendance with over 530 delegates. Forum 2003 'Connecting Community with Spatial Information' focused on the benefits of spatial information and how the community can utilise it. The Forum highlighted innovations in new technology, how working together helps achieve outcomes, how emergency services are using information technology and provided lessons learned through conversions to web-based systems.

WALIS continues to provide educational opportunities for Western Australia and facilitated a workshop with the Australian and New Zealand Land Information Council on the Australian Spatial Data Infrastructure (ASDI). The workshop detailed what is happening nationally in the ASDI through user interaction established implementation options to incorporate the ASDI at a local level.

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Policy and Strategic Planning

In 2003 WALIS undertook a Performance Evaluation Project. A key outcome of that project was changes to the governance of WALIS. Through the WALIS Council and WALIS Advisory Committee, the governance structures were revised to enhance their effectiveness. The new structure established a Core Management Group for WALIS, which comprises a representative for six whole-of-government areas and a representative from the WALIS Advisory Committee.

The areas are:

• Fundamental Information Infrastructure;
• Environment and Economy;
• Utilities and Infrastructure;
• Community Services and Planning; and
• Local Government and Emergency Management.

The WALIS Council meets on alternate months, focussing on coordination of activities and exchange of information. The Core Management Group meets every other month with emphasis on the policy and planning for WALIS.

The development of the 2004-2007 WALIS Strategy involved two planning sessions with 30 WALIS stakeholders from across Government agencies and the community in December 2003 and February 2004. The new strategy incorporates six focus areas with WALIS agencies taking lead roles in the implementation of the plan. Implementation will be closely aligned with the Shared Land Information Platform (SLIP) initiative.

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Data Quality, Infrastructure and Access

WALIS continues to facilitate the improvement of access to Government Land Information and in doing so, has undertaken an intensive review of the State Land Information Capture Program (SLICP). The SLICP has always ensured that the State has a comprehensive archive of aerial photography across Western Australia. Review of the SLICP identified the need to upgrade the application process. The callout documents were upgraded and work has commenced to have an electronic process in place for submissions the next SLICP.

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Interragator and WA Atlas

Access to the WALIS Interragator service has been reviewed, identifying the need to enhance access and functionality of Interragator online. Interragator is a comprehensive index to over 12,000 records of Western Australia's Geographic Information held by public and private sector organisations. The service continues to expand and over 400 additional datasets were added during the past year including railway networks, fire districts, Tuart trees, indigenous sites and community monitoring areas.

The WA Atlas continues to provide a general reference map tool for the public. The Atlas allows users to access a range of data layers and generate their own maps. The Atlas server was upgraded earlier this year to improve access, and the time and search ability for the service.

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