A Local-State Government Spatial Data Sharing Partnership

Chapter 6 – Results of Partnership Case Studies at Local Government Level
metadata or were not aware of the need for metadata. These findings are supported by
other documented studies such the Local Government and the Australian Spatial Data
Infrastructure Project which identified that only 44% of LGAs stored metadata
(Hawkesbury-Nepean Catchment Management Trust 2000). Not surprisingly this study
also identified that the majority of the metadata collected by these LGAs was not
compliant with national metadata standards, which will inhibit future state and national
efforts to exchange data.
Difference in the Scale of Data
In the early investigations on the issues that concerned local government with respect to
the sharing of spatial data, the variability of the scale of information being exchanged was
identified as a potential issue. However, although the issue was highlighted as important
by approximately 34% of LGAs, a further 34% did not rate the variability of scale as an
important issue.
Level of Integration
The last area investigated within this part of the questionnaire was the level of integration
between the GIS and the other LGA systems. It was hypothesised that the level of
integration could be used to predict the level of interoperability, and hence the LGA’s
capacity to easily exchange information. As Figure 6.12 illustrates, the average level of
integration of the spatial information systems with other key systems across the LGAs was
generally quite high. The level of integration with three key systems, namely
property/rating system, asset management system and the financial management system
was examined. The property/rating system, is hub of most local government information
systems and is responsible for managing individual property taxes, services such as water
and sewerage, animal registration and planning controls. Asset management systems in
local government are now widely used to manage and maintain LGA infrastructure such as
roads, sewerage networks, water supply and reticulation, drainage systems, buildings and
facilities.
173