National Freight Data Hub – Award Showcase

Today we're showcasing some of the outstanding work nominated for the ITS Australia Awards 2021. National Freight Data Hub by the Australian Government Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications is a finalist for the Excellence in Transport Data Award.

The National Freight Data Hub (‘the Hub’) prototype website features interactive insights and uses cutting-edge geospatial visualisation tools for industry and governments to gain a national picture of freight movements. It showcases how to make better use of current data to answer enduring freight questions such as what freight is being moved, when, and where. The website contains time-enabled maps and graphs, and is the first publicly-searchable freight data directory for Australia.

Every Australian, everywhere, relies on freight and barriers to efficient movement of freight can impact on Australia’s competitiveness. The Hub prototype website demonstrates the value of improved freight data to lift the efficiency, productivity, and competitiveness of Australia’s freight and supply chains. This is why the Australian Government is backing the prototype website and investing $16.5 million to provide a new way for industry and governments to share and use freight data.

By making high quality and timely freight data more widely available, the Hub will:

• improve strategic planning;
  
• support day-to-day operations; and
  
• evaluate how the freight system is performing

Establishing the Hub as a trusted source of national freight data provides a national picture of critical information to keep freight moving during uncertain times. Better access to government data and an efficient and safe data sharing system will enable businesses to share data for mutual benefit and solve real world problems. Collaborating partner, Geoplex, developed a robust, secure hosting platform using cloud infrastructure (Azure) and controlled security policies.