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Geoscape Australia has urged the Commonwealth Government to invest around $5 million a year to give all 538 local councils free access to nationally consistent location data, arguing the move would help councils better manage buildings, infrastructure and growing natural hazard risks including flooding.
The organisation’s Chief Executive Officer, Dean Capobianco, appeared before the Standing Committee on Regional Development, Infrastructure and Transport in Canberra as part of its inquiry into local government funding and fiscal sustainability.
Mr Capobianco called on the federal government to fund free and open access to standardised location data, including the National Buildings Dataset, contending that councils are being forced to make critical planning decisions without adequate information about the assets and communities they oversee.
“Councils cannot make better decisions about housing, infrastructure, climate resilience and scarce resources without better information about the assets and communities they manage,” Mr Capobianco told the committee.
National Buildings Dataset
Central to Geoscape’s pitch is the National Buildings Dataset, an AI-driven digital twin that delivers detailed insights on each of Australia’s 19 million buildings.
The dataset is designed to support infrastructure planning, emergency management, disaster recovery and building-level risk assessments for hazards such as flooding. It covers metropolitan, regional and remote areas across the country.
Mr Capobianco argued that a consistent, nationally standardised picture of Australia’s building stock could provide every council with foundational information about where buildings are located, their potential exposure to natural hazards and where investment is most needed.
“A consistent, nationally standardised picture of Australia’s buildings can give every council – metropolitan, regional and remote – foundational information about where buildings are, their potential exposure to natural hazards and where investment is most needed,” he told the inquiry.
A $5 million annual investment
The Geoscape chief put the price tag for granting all 538 councils free access to the national dataset at approximately $5 million per year.
“For a relatively modest investment, every council could have access to the same nationally consistent information,” Mr Capobianco explained.
“This would reduce duplication, strengthen council planning and help all governments direct limited public funding to where it can make the greatest difference.”
He argued the investment would address fragmentation in how councils currently source and manage location data, with many duplicating effort or relying on inconsistent information to guide planning and resource allocation decisions.
Capability already exists
Mr Capobianco stressed that the underlying national capability is already in place and does not need to be built from scratch.
“We already have this national capability. The opportunity now is to put it to work for all 538 councils so that every community across Australia can benefit,” he added.
The push comes amid growing pressure on local governments to manage competing demands around housing, climate adaptation and ageing infrastructure with constrained budgets. The parliamentary inquiry is examining the broader question of how local councils can remain financially sustainable while delivering services and maintaining assets for their communities.
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What is Geoscape Australia?
Geoscape Australia is a self-funded corporation owned by the nine governments of Australia. The organisation positions itself as the nation’s location intelligence body, using location data to deliver geospatial capabilities and insights aligned with government priorities.
Its flagship service is the Geocoded National Address File (G-NAF), which covers 16 million Australian addresses. The G-NAF underpins emergency services, census data quality, electoral roll management and service provision for both government and industry.
Geoscape has lodged a formal submission to the inquiry.
Last Updated on August 14, 2026 by Nick Ross
