GDA2020
Transition

Australia sits on the fastest-moving tectonic plate in the world, resulting in a movement of approximately 7cm to the northeast each year.

Changes are being made to the system that underlies Australia’s location information. The changes will bring Australia’s national latitude and longitude coordinates into line with global satellite positioning systems, enabling smartphones and other positioning technologies to accurately locate features marked on our maps.

This modernisation of Australia's datum impacts all organisations that record the geographic location of their assets, boundaries and points of interest. Without managing your data risk in relation to the correct datum and map projection, field crews could find assets up to 1.8m away from where the data says they are, and organisations are at heightened risk of non-compliance and costly accidents.

The standard for identifying locations is a 'static' datum, meaning coordinates of features like roads, pipes and property boundaries, do not change with time. Yet Australia has moved 1.8 metres northeast of where it was in 1994 when the previous standard was adopted. With real-time access to precise satellite positioning at our fingertips, we’ll notice discrepancies with GDA94-mapped features. The upshot is that Australia’s datum needs updating so we can reap the benefits of 21st Century positioning technology.

The main advantage of GDA2020 is that the coordinates will be immediately compatible, at the decimetre level, with GNSS derived coordinates referenced to global coordinate. It will ensure Australians continue to have access to the most accurate location-based information and hence, a more efficient and confident exchange of spatial information between digital systems, meeting the requirements of the digital age. The transition to GDA2020 is particularly relevant for asset managers who maintain assets that are buried underground or exchange spatial data, like property boundaries, with external parties.

Clartia offers strategic advice to help organisations assess the impact of this datum change, and identify how best to manage the transformation. Work with us to:

Identify affected data and audit the datum currently in use
Identify and document system interdependencies:
– Web mapping interface
– Dial-Before-You-Dig
– Mobility
– Mapping capture
– Data schema/metadata
Inform decision making on the use of GDA2020 vs Australian Terrestrial Reference Frame
Develop a datum transformation methodology