The Department of Finance and Deregulation has developed data.gov.au as a data catalogue of government information. The site provides an easy way to find, access and reuse public datasets from the federal and state and territory governments. The main purpose of the site is to encourage public access to and reuse of government data by providing it in useful formats and under open licences. It was created following the government’s Declaration of Open Government and response to the Government 2.0 Taskforce.
- Department of Finance and Deregulation Declaration of Open Government
- Department of Finance and Deregulation response to the Government 2.0 Taskforce
The site provides both downloadable datasets and, in some cases, links to other data catalogues or sources. Improving the quantity and quality of the site’s data will be an ongoing process. Members of the public can leave feedback on data by leaving a comment or rating on the data pages, and can also suggest data that they believe should be made available on the site. Other upgrades and new features will also be made to the site over time.
Mash-up contests and hack days are promoted via the site. Several of these have been held around the country, including the recent Libraryhack , a mash-up and apps competition designed to encourage the creative and innovative reuse of library data and digital content, and CodePlay, a competition run by the ABS to help drive collaboration between students, developers and national and international statistical agencies and reward innovative ways of making statistical data more appealing, relevant and useful.
