Access to Corporate Land Information

POLICY

1.         Corporate land information and data are collected and managed on behalf of the community and NT Government agencies will adopt procedures designed to maximise access to and use of it by all sectors of the community

2.         Access to non-confidential Corporate land information and data between NT Government agencies will be either at no cost to the accessing agency or at a charge limited to the cost of providing access and converting the information to the form requested by the accessing agency

3.         Access to non-confidential Corporate land information and data by non-NT Government agencies and organisations will be on terms and conditions that balance the benefits of access with protection of the community’s interests

DEFINITIONS

•           Corporate land information consists of spatially referenced data sets that are essential to support the business operations of more than one agency and includes composite or derived data sets or products required for decision making.

A profile of information and data sets defined as Corporate has been defined by the NT Land Information Management Coordination Group. Other raw or fundamental data sets and value-added information products are outside the scope of this policy.

•           Access includes view, transfer, exchange, supply and other such terms but does not include the mechanisms by which access is provided.

•           Cost of providing access and conversion includes cost of media, of computer processing time and of any staff time required to re-format or otherwise modify the data.

RESPONSIBILITY

Chief Executive Officers will be accountable for the application of this policy to the land information and data sets for which they have accepted Custodianship responsibility.

The NT Land Information Management Coordination Group will coordinate the application of this policy with regard to consistency across agencies.

All NT Government officers involved in the management and use of corporate land information are responsible for the application of this policy.

IMPLEMENTATION

As part of their responsibilities Data Custodians must define the means by which and the terms and conditions on which data and information is made available. The NT Land Information Management Coordination Group will be advised of these conditions so that consistency across government is maintained.

Provision of data and information to NT Government agencies under this policy (ie at nil or minimal cost) is subject to the accessing agency formally accepting the responsibilities of data users as defined under the Land Information Custodianship Guidelines.

Terms and conditions for access by external organisations will be defined by Data Custodians within an NT Government policy framework and  will take into account:

                        •           bilateral access arrangements;
                        •           statutory requirements;
                        •           privacy and commercial confidentiality;
                        •           copyright and other intellectual property rights; and
                        •           the Northern Territory’s interests.

A Custodian agency is not required to provide information or data in a format requested if this format is inconsistent with the standards defined for the information or data set.

BACKGROUND

Purpose

The majority of land information and data collected and managed by NT Government agencies is publicly funded and can be regarded as “public interest” information to which other agencies and the community should have access.

However, a requirement to provide open access to all sources of land information and information products would adversely impact the operations of Custodian agencies, could breach commercial or personal confidentiality and, because a great deal of information and data has been collected for a specific purpose or needs interpretation, could raise serious issues of liability.

The NT Government’s profile of Corporate land information and data represents the key information resources required for agencies and the private sector to support their operations.

This information, complete with Metadata, should be accessible between NT Government agencies at or nil cost or at minimal cost of service to encourage its use.  Similarly, barriers to access by external organisations should be minimised while recognising that Custodians have a responsibility to protect the community’s interests in the information.

Principles

Government land information and data is collected and managed on behalf of the community and, in general, impediments to access to and use of it by the community should be minimised.In providing access to land information Custodian agencies have a responsibility to protect the community’s interests with regard to the subsequent use of the information and the benefits derived from such use.