Land Information Coordination Committee

Tasmania, Australia

Spatial Metadata Policy

July 2001

1. Purpose

The Spatial Metadata Policy has been established by the Land Information Coordination Committee (LICC) to provide a set of principles to assist with the management of Tasmanian spatial data.

This policy attempts to further develop the holistic approach to the integration of land information in Tasmania.

2. Background

Tasmania’s land information holdings represent a considerable resource for government, the community and the private sector. They also represent a considerable investment on the part of the State. To ensure that this resource is used to its fullest potential and for the benefit of the people of Tasmania, it is vital that all potential users are aware of what information is available. The key to the availability of this information is metadata. Without metadata, effective data management and access are not possible.

The principles in this policy have been developed based on the Australia and New Zealand Land Information Council (ANZLIC) metadata standards.

3. Scope

The scope of this policy is in relation to Tasmanian metadata. Metadata is data about data. It describes the content, quality, currency and availability of data. Metadata for land information provides:

Detailed information about data collection methods, integration and analysis techniques applied to source data, which is used to support the preparation of scientific reports,
Information about the accuracy of source datasets, processing history, and archival procedures to effectively manage and utilise data within custodianorganisations,
Projection specifications, scale, exchange format, compression and file systemformat information to accompany data transfers to other organisations, and
Adequate descriptions of the content, quality and geographic extent of datasets so potential users of existing data can assess its suitability for other purposes.

4. Principles

The following principles form the basis of this Spatial Metadata Policy:

The Land Information Coordination Committee will be custodian of the Tasmanian Spatial Data Directory.
Information and Land Services Division (ILS) as part of the Department of Primary Industries, Water and Environment (DPIWE) will host the Tasmanian Spatial Data Directory (TSDD)
The LICC will encourage compliance with these policies and liaise with custodians and users to ensure that the TSDD continues to meet their needs.
Metadata records in the TSDD will conform to the current ANZLIC standard to a minimum of Page 0 standard.
All land related datasets collected and maintained by custodians in Tasmania should have a complete and current entry in the TSDD.
All land related data sets available through The LIST will have a complete and current entry in the TSDD.
Where two data sets are substantially the same but are structured differently due to a specific use, they should each have a unique entry in the TSDD.
The data entry interface to the TSDD will be used for all entries into the system.
Data custodians are responsible for creating and maintaining metadata for their datasets.
Metadata records will be made available for inclusion in national spatial data directories supported by ANZLIC.
Metadata records will be made available through the TSDD at not cost to users.
Metadata records should form part of each data transfer.

5. Implementation

The LICC will implement this policy by;

Promoting the importance and awareness of metadata amongst data users and data Custodians,
Ensuring all current data sets available through The LIST have complete and current entries in the TSDD.
Amending existing LICC policies in relation to LIST data so that the entry of metadata in the TSDD is a pre-requisite for inclusion of the data set on The LIST.

6. Review

This policy is subject to review at the request of the Land Information Coordination Committee.

This page has been produced by the Department of Primary Industries, Water and Environment. Questions concerning its content may be directed to the Department on +61 3 6233 2183, by mail to GPO Box 44A, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia 7001, or by email to Michael.Varney@dpiwe.tas.gov.au

This page was last modified on 1 August 2001. The URL for this page is http://www.dpiwe.tas.gov.au/licc/spatialmetadatapolicy.html

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