Open data is information that can be freely accessed and used by anyone and should be published in ways and with licences that allow reuse. Open data does not include private information about individuals. It is non-personal unclassified and not confidential.

In making data freely accessible to citizens businesses entrepreneurs students academics and innovators new ideas applications and solutions can be generated. When cities and industry work together to develop consistent approaches to sharing real-time and resilient data big public problems can be solved. Open data is an integral way we’re becoming a smart city. Visit the Geelong Data Exchange.

• mapping (geospatial) data
• health data
• environmental data
• demographic data
• infrastructure & asset data
• transport data
• digital city model (3D data)

Conduct research develop an App make evidence-based decisions create a business case or gain knowledge and understanding of social economic and environmental trends.

The City of Greater Geelong is an open data champion in Victoria. Open data assists in the development of evidence-based decisions leading to better-informed policies research and social outcomes. Open data can also:

• contribute to a more transparent and accountable City
• support the development of new technologies services and innovations
• stimulate the local economy.

When City data is online it improves efficiencies as agencies can store share and update data across normal boundaries. Having a single source of truth reduces time and costs of doing regular business. Open data can be built upon and linked with other data building even greater insight. As the volume of open data increases so too does its value.

The Geelong Data Exchange does not contain information which can be attributed to any individual person. Not all data is suitable for release. Access to data may need to be restricted for reasons of privacy public safety security and law enforcement public health or pre-existing contractual arrangements. The City values the privacy of every individual and is committed to handling personal information by upholding the Privacy and Data Protection Act 2014 and the Health Records Act 2001. This is further articulated in the Privacy and Health Records Council Policy.

Before data is published a process is undertaken to remove any fields that provide references to individuals so that records cannot be connected to a person. This technique is called de-identification. Anonymous identifiers can also be used in the place of individual identifiers ensuring they are randomly generated and there is no possibility for systematic connection. If the data contains sensitive information the sensitive fields are generalised or the entries are removed entirely.

We offer a 3D data exchange to developers which is conditional on them sending their building model back to the City. This enables us to continue improving detail within the model. All data provided is supplied under the Creative Commons 3.0 Licensing. More about Geelong 3D data.