The value of spatial data to the Western Australian economy

Not often thought about by people outside of the geo-science community, but geospatial data (information about a place) is relied upon every day from the apps on our phones (think Google Maps, delivery tracking and Uber Eats), by industry (mining, agriculture, logistics) and of course by Government. It’s essential for decision making on major issues associated with environmental management, the mitigation of natural disasters, investment in infrastructure, planning and driving economic growth.

The Geospatial Council of Australia recently provided a landmark report to Parliament House revealing that geospatial technology is projected to deliver a cumulative economic impact of $689 billion to Australia by 2034¹.

In the report, Western Australia was identified as the largest potential beneficiary due to investment, development and adoption of GIS technology (such as digital twins) by Government and industry. Under the favourable scenario Western Australia has the highest impact on gross state product (GSP) in 2033-34 at $24.8 billion¹.

The value was largely driven by productivity impacts in the mining, Government services and construction industries. 

Some of the areas of opportunity identified in the report included:

• Potential for up to $202 million in savings over ten years for using a digital twin to demonstrate new school sites and assisting with business cases (based on a case study of NSW spatial digital twin for managing school infrastructure).²
• Planning approvals have the potential to gain efficiencies of up to 4 weeks per approval by streamlining access to digital data (based on Victoria’s eComply program that leverages Digital Twin Victoria).²
• Utility strikes on underground utility services costs the Australian public over $4 billion per annum in costs. Access to more accurate data on the location of underground utilities could better inform projects and reduce the damage during construction.²
• Average damage impacts from natural hazards have the potential to reduce the economic impacts. Just in 2017, it was calculated that flooding cost the Australian economy $8.8b.²

The full report, which includes a breakdown of the economic impact by state and industry, can be downloaded HERE.

^{1 Source: Economic impact of geospatial services in Australia A report prepared for the Geospatial Council of Australia
https://geospatialcouncil.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/GCA-Report-30-October-2024_Final.pdf}

^{2 Source: Case studies – A companion document to “The economic impact of geospatial information services in Australia”  https://geospatialcouncil.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/GCA-Companion-report-Final.pdf}