NTLIS policies, standards and guidelines

This page has information for government agencies about data sets and metadata. 

Policy

1. Agencies will collect metadata for all land information and data collected and managed by them and make this metadata available to the lead agency for inclusion in the NT Land Information Directory.
2. Metadata collected will conform to the minimum standards defined by the Location Intelligence Group.
3. Agencies will provide metadata to all customers at no cost with the transfer of all land information and data sets.

Definitions

Metadata is information about data sets, describing such things as the content, quality, currency and availability.

At the date of adoption of this policy the lead agency is the Department of Lands, Planning and the Environment.

Responsibility

Chief executives will be accountable for the application of this policy.

The Location Intelligence Group will define and maintain metadata standards which are consistent with and at a minimum meet the Metadata standards defined by the Australia New Zealand Land Information Council (ANZLIC).

The lead agency will maintain and make available to all users the NT Land Information Directory.

Implementation

ANZLIC has developed guidelines for the collection of metadata that will be used in the creation of the Australian Spatial Data Directory (ASDD). 

The Territory is committed to contributing Metadata to the Australian Spatial Data Infrastructure (ASDI).

A process has been defined to enable Northern Territory Government agencies to maintain a metadata facility which can then be used to provide the required Metadata to ANZLIC and other national directories. 

Additional metadata elements required for the NT Land Information Directory have also been defined.

The lead agency will develop the directory and coordinate its maintenance through the Location Intelligence Group.

All metadata standards adopted will be consistent with NT Government metadata standards.

Background

Without metadata it is almost impossible for potential data users to discover whether a data set is available, who has it, which areas it covers and how accurate or complete it is.

One of the major causes of duplication of data collection across government agencies, and the associated additional cost, is the fact that adequate directories of what data has been collected, in what form and where it is either do not exist, are inadequately maintained or are not easily accessible.

Metadata policy is required to ensure that all agencies adopt a consistent approach to metadata collection so that a single directory to Northern Territory Government land information can be created and maintained.

Through this mechanism the Territory will also be able to meet its national commitments and to obtain the benefits of free access to national directories maintained to the same standards by other jurisdictions, local government and potentially the private sector.

Principles

Community access to land information and data can only be maximised if comprehensive and consistent descriptions of the data sets are available, are maintained and are easily accessible.