Data consulting services
Agencies in the Australian Public Service are important providers of specialised data and related consulting services.
These services support evidence-based insights and decision-making by government, industry and community organisations across Australia.
Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) – collects and combines data from many sources about sectors including the economy, labour, industry, health, and the environment. The ABS offers data access, integration and consultancy services. The Compare Data Services tool on its website helps users discover and select the best data services tailored to their needs.
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) – provides meaningful information and statistics on a wide range of health and welfare topics. It holds and arranges access to several linked data assets that are available for approved uses. Where project requirements cannot be met using existing linked data assets, the AIHW provides customised data linkage services.
Bureau of Meteorology – provides data services that give access to real-time and historical weather, climate, and ocean and water data. BOM services support emergency management, agriculture, aviation, land and marine transport, energy and resource operations, climate policy, water management, defence and foreign affairs. By enabling custom data requests, the bureau supports a wide range of applications from daily operations to long-term strategic planning.
Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts – offers a curated entry point to Australian infrastructure, regional and transport data. This is essential for researchers, consultants, and industry stakeholders. Its comprehensive database, the Data Catalogue, is especially valuable for sectors such as agriculture, construction, logistics and transport.
In addition to these consulting services, other APS agencies provide web-based tools for users to identify and access data that is relevant for their purposes. These agencies include Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water.
The Australian Climate Service and the Digital Atlas of Australia are examples of collaborations between APS agencies to develop and connect specialised data sets for government, business and communities.
The Data Availability and Transparency Act 2022 established the DATA Scheme for sharing Australian Government data. The National Data Commissioner is the regulator of the DATA Scheme and provides advice and guidance about its operation. The Commissioner’s other functions are to deliver education and tools to support best practice data handling and sharing.
See also in this report
Serving the community – Digital Atlas of Australia
Find out more
Australian Government (n.d.) Consultancy services, Australian Bureau of Statistics website, accessed 16 August 2024.
Australian Government (n.d.) AIHW linked data assets, Australian Institute of Health and Welfare website, accessed 16 August 2024.
Australian Government (n.d.) Data Services, Bureau of Meteorology website, accessed 16 August 2024.
Australian Government (n.d.) Data Catalogue, Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts website, accessed 16 August 2024.
Australian Government (2023) Australian Climate Service, Australian Climate Service website, accessed 16 August 2024.
Australian Government (n.d.) Office of the National Data Commissioner, Office of the National Data Commissioner Office of the National Data Commissioner website, accessed 22 October 2024.