National Freight Data Hub
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Project summary
Improving national freight data and establishing a National Freight Data Hub is a high priority for industry and reflecting that, a priority action under the National Freight and Supply Chain Strategy.
Every Australian, everywhere, every day relies on freight, and the freight task is growing. Improved access to robust freight data will improve strategic planning, support day-to-day operations and enable evaluation of the freight system. A National Freight Data Hub will play a critical role in ensuring our freight sector is as efficient, productive, safe and resilient as possible so we can meet Australia’s growing freight task and keep Australia’s businesses globally competitive.
The National Freight Data Hub prototype website was launched in May 2021 as an early demonstration of the value of improved freight data. The website includes 125 datasets in the first curated and searchable national freight data catalogue.
| Details at a glance | |
|---|---|
| Action Area | Better freight location and performance data. |
| Delivery | Prototype website developed and launched by May 2021. Two Discussion Papers to inform the design of the Hub. |
| Location | National |
| Timeframe |
2019 - 2021 |
| Financial | $5.2 million to date. |
The Australian Government is investing $16.5 million from the 2021-22 Budget (over four years to 2024-25) in the National Freight Data Hub. This investment will build on and improve the prototype website, and the underlying data, across all freight modes and more supply chains. This work will include:
- setting up formal data sharing agreements and technology solutions, and joining complex datasets across all modes (including rail, which was not included in the prototype work),
- providing leadership and coordination to establish data standards to make it easier to compare and exchange freight data, and
- continuing to work with data owners and custodians to generate useful insights, and answer the ‘enduring questions’ for freight, which we established in close collaboration with stakeholders during the design stage.
Closer look
Impact on freight and supply chains
The National Freight Data Hub prototype website provides better access to existing government data and existing freight data initiatives.
The prototype website is designed to be incrementally innovative, providing a practical and technologically advanced solution for insights into Australia’s freight system. It features interactive insights with cutting-edge geospatial visualisation tools for industry and governments to gain a national picture of freight movements. It also showcases how to make better use of current data to answer enduring freight questions such as what freight is being moved, when, and where.
| Benefit | Extent realised | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Intended Strategy objective | ||
| Better freight location and performance data | Minor benefits realised |
The National Freight Data Hub will enhance collection of and access to freight data, across all transport modes, to
This will build on achievements to date with the prototype website |
| Project benefits | ||
| New insights and project information | Most benefits realised | The National Freight Data Hub prototype website showcases new interactive insights responding to stakeholders’ priorities, using new and existing freight data sources. |
| Data catalogue | Reasonable benefits realised | The National Freight Data Hub prototype website also provides the first curated, searchable freight data catalogue for Australia, including more accessible links to the Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Research Economics freight data, and a new release of Customs data prepared by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. |
Project delivery
To settle the design of the National Freight Data Hub, the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications (the Department) worked with industry and other governments over a number of years to understand their needs and data priorities. To inform the design of the Hub, the Department developed a prototype National Freight Data Hub website to demonstrate early benefits and build momentum, and undertook a business case to make the case to government.
| Input | Forecast | Actual | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Delivery time |
Business case: December 2020. Prototype website: Q1 2021. |
Business case: February 2021. Prototype website: Q2 2021. |
The design of the National Freight Data Hub has been informed by close collaboration between industry and government over two years and with the development of a business case. Over this period, use cases were assessed, together with options across five design elements: data, technology, governance, regulation and funding. |
| Project cost | $5.2 million | $5.2 million |
The 2019-20 Budget provided $5.2 million to settle the design of the Hub. The funding has been used as follows:
|
Delivery model
- Design, construct and release a prototype website.
- Pilot data projects to enhance the collection, harmonisation and publication of freight data and methods and protocols for data exchange.
- Development of a business case for government consideration.
Stakeholder engagement
Extensive stakeholder consultation and engagement has been vital to understand the needs of the freight industry in settling the design of the National Freight Data Hub. This included workshops, webinars, discussions with the Hub’s Industry Advisory Panel and submissions to two discussion papers. Through this process, industry and research stakeholders told us that they want:
- governments to make their data more accessible,
- information on all freight modes, infrastructure capacity and conditions,
- solutions to barriers such as dealing with raised include commercial confidentiality and trust; the cost and complexity of sharing data across systems; the need for data standards; and clear value propositions for sharing industry data, and
- leadership in establishing a sharing culture by building the relationships, establishing governance, standards, systems and value propositions needed to increase data sharing and act as a catalyst for innovation.
Lessons learned
Resourcing: The program benefited from working with contracted specialist business and technical consultants to rapidly develop the prototype website.
Governance: Internal governance and external advisory groups were important to the development process.
Communications and engagement: Industry engagement and consultation with stakeholders was key to successfully achieving the program outcome. Industry responded positively to both the demonstrations of the prototype website and consultation on the final design.
Data: Bringing historic data together is not always possible, with differences in time series, geography, categories and units. Developing data standards and promoting their use through the National Freight Data Hub will help to minimise data processing and reduce the manual steps for industry and governments alike.