Strategy for Victoria’s
positioning system
2016–2020
Foreword
Sustainable management of land and marine resources plays a critical role in Australia’s prosperity. Fundamental
to the task of managing land and marine resources is the availability of an accurate and reliable system of
positioning upon which information about those resources can be based.
Positioning has been identified by ANZLIC–the Spatial Information Council of Australia and New Zealand, as the
fundamental layer of common, foundation spatial information used by government, industry, science and
academic sectors. Positioning is underpinned by geodetic infrastructure, which includes Global Navigation
Satellite System (GNSS) Continuously Operating Reference Station (CORS) networks; survey control mark
networks; geodetic processing, analysis and modelling; and definitions of the geoid and bathymetric reference
surfaces.
The Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP) is responsible for maintaining Victoria’s
geodetic infrastructure, which provides the realisation of the Geocentric Datum of Australia 1994 (GDA94) and
the Australian Height Datum (AHD) in Victoria. This strategy documents the pathway for DELWP to maintain and
enhance Victoria’s geodetic infrastructure over the next four years so that Victoria’s public, commercial,
academic and scientific sectors have access to accurate and reliable positioning.
John Tulloch
Surveyor-General Victoria
Claire Foo
Executive Director, Information Services
ICSM Representative, Victoria
ANZLIC Representative, Victoria
© The State of Victoria Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning 2015
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you credit the State of Victoria as author. The licence does not apply to any images, photographs or branding, including the Victorian Coat of Arms, the
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Accessibility
If you would like to receive this publication in an alternative format, please telephone the DELWP Customer Service Centre on 136186, email
customer.service@delwp.vic.gov.au or via the National Relay Service on 133 677 www.relayservice.com.au.
Disclaimer
This publication may be of assistance to you but the State of Victoria and its employees do not guarantee that the publication is without flaw of any kind or
is wholly appropriate for your particular purposes and therefore disclaims all liability for any error, loss or other consequence which may arise from you
relying on any information in this publication.
Background
Positioning is an important aspect of Australia’s
economic development and sustainable
management of its land and marine resources. It
provides a capacity to precisely locate natural and
man-made features and determine their movement
over time. It also facilitates the seamless integration
of independently sourced spatial information. For
these reasons, positioning is critical to land
development, town planning, construction, sea level
monitoring, meteorology, climate change research,
marine resource management, air traffic control,
shipping, defence, resource exploration and mining.
This document describes DELWP’s strategic
approach to geodetic infrastructure maintenance,
which will ensure Victoria’s positioning system
continues to meet the needs of its users and the
broader geospatial community.
Positioning depends upon the existence of geodetic
infrastructure, which includes an integrated network
of GNSS CORS and survey control marks (the
Victorian Geodetic Network), information about
those marks; measurement information; processing
software; and systems for the analysis, management
and delivery of positioning information. Geodetic
infrastructure enables the precise measurement of
the real world, establishing a frame of reference for
all spatial information, quantifying the spatial
behaviour of the changing Earth, and identifying and
assessing geophysical events.
Victoria’s geodetic infrastructure has underpinned
state and national datums and positioning
applications since the establishment of a geodetic
network in the 1860s. With the relatively recent
establishment of AuScope and Vicmap Position –
GPSnet, Victoria’s geodetic infrastructure is based
upon and contributes to the International Terrestrial
Reference Frame (ITRF) and provides virtual, realtime and post-event positioning capability across
Victoria.
infrastructure needs to be maintained. Historically,
Victoria’s geodetic infrastructure’s maintenance has
been directed to supporting land development
activities such as planning, subdivision, building and
the development of urban and rural infrastructure.
Over the last two decades, maintenance has also
focussed on establishing positioning infrastructure
to overcome instabilities in the landscape and
leveraging developments in satellite navigation,
positioning technology and geodetic measuring
equipment.
While these efforts will continue for the foreseeable
future, it is recognised that the way people access
and use positioning information is changing.
Positioning technology continues to improve at a
rapid rate and high-precision positioning is becoming
more affordable. Location-based services and mobile
positioning applications are now critical to many
areas of business and personal life. Within the next
decade, users will be exposed to a range of
positioning devices that will have unprecedented
levels of accuracy.
With the onset of the open data era and user-driven
applications and services, users will simply expect
the integration of spatial information and
positioning obtained from mass-market devices to
be accurate, seamless and instantaneous. This will
drive the need for an accurate and reliable frame of
reference upon which spatial information can be
based.
All of these factors lead to the reality that Victoria’s
geodetic infrastructure must be maintained and
enhanced to satisfy the present and future needs of
all users.
DELWP, through the Office of Surveyor-General
Victoria (OSGV) and the Information Services
Division (ISD), has the governmental responsibility
for providing a reliable system of positioning that
supports spatial applications across Victoria.
For Victoria’s system of positioning to remain
accurate and reliable, the underlying geodetic
Positioning Strategy for Victoria 2015 – 2020
2
Strategic context
The vision and strategic goals for Victoria’s geodetic
infrastructure have been developed in the context of
Australia’s national spatial policy, the estimated
value of Victoria’s infrastructure to the broader
geospatial community, and Victoria’s strategic
priorities and anticipated positioning needs over the
next decade.
Spatial policy and statutory context
Australia is an independent country comprised of
federated states and territories. Each state and
territory government is responsible for
autonomously managing its own infrastructure. To
do so in a nationally consistent way, Victoria works
jointly with the Australian Government and other
state and territory governments to develop national
geodetic policy and standards, and maintain and
enhance national positioning and height datums.
This collaborative effort is conducted according to
national spatial policy and governance.
In addition, the Survey Coordination Act 1958 and
Surveying Act 2004 provide the statutory framework
for development and maintenance of Victoria’s
geodetic infrastructure. They also describe the
functions and powers of the Surveyor-General with
respect to this infrastructure.
Victoria’s geodetic infrastructure – a
valuable asset
Victoria’s geodetic infrastructure is integral to the
national infrastructure and includes world-class
GNSS CORS infrastructure and services, over 100,000
survey control marks and associated information, a
GNSS and terrestrial measurements archive, related
historical records, high-fidelity processing and
analysis software, and automated systems for
managing and delivering geodetic information. Since
Victoria’s first geodetic network was established in
the 1860s, Victoria has made a significant
investment in the development and maintenance of
geodetic infrastructure. This strategy seeks to
capitalise on that investment.
In addition, this strategy endeavours to maximise
the potential of Victoria’s geodetic infrastructure,
information, products and services through a
number of enterprise developments and
collaborative maintenance opportunities.
Victoria’s positioning system for
tomorrow’s needs
Over the last decade, the positioning and spatial
information user community has experienced
substantial technological change. A few examples of
these changes include the onset of multi-GNSS
constellations, mass-market positioning devices,
spatial data acquisition equipment and devices (in
terrestrial, airborne and space environments),
intelligent location-based services and applications,
in-car navigation, machine guidance and intelligent
transport systems. Increasingly, the acquisition of
spatial information in these applications is aligned to
the globally standardised reference frame, ITRF.
Precise positioning technology will continue to
develop over the next decade, providing increased
capability and spatial accuracy. Trends across
Australia to make government data open and free
and changes to the ways in which people use spatial
information mean that users will demand more
robust data management and delivery mechanisms.
While it is impossible to predict and respond to
every need, this strategy endeavours to support
positioning from the perspective of tomorrow’s
users’ needs.
This document also sets out a strategy for regular
maintenance of Victoria’s geodetic infrastructure so
that it is accurate, reliable and relevant to its users.
Positioning Strategy for Victoria 2015 – 2020
3
Vision
DELWP’s vision is accurate and reliable positioning for Victoria, now and in the future.
Strategic goals
To realise this vision for Victoria, DELWP has identified five strategic goals and related activities to achieve them.
1. Enable accurate and reliable three-dimensional positioning through the Victorian
Geodetic Network
This strategic goal focusses on maintaining and enhancing Victoria’s physical and technological infrastructure. It
will be achieved by:

ensuring the continuous operation of Victoria’s GNSS CORS network and streaming of raw data

maintaining Victoria’s GNSS equipment and processing capability to exploit multi-GNSS and other
developments in information and communications technology (ICT)

improving the survey control mark network in Victoria’s growth areas.
2. Deliver a seamless realisation of Australia’s positioning and height datums in
Victoria
This strategic goal focusses on providing a robust contribution to Australia’s datum modernisation activities and
seamless realisation of Australia’s positioning and height datums through the Victorian Geodetic Network. This
strategic goal will be achieved by:

strengthening the connections between the Victorian Geodetic Network and the ITRF through the AsiaPacific Reference Frame (APREF)

improving Victoria’s AUSGeoid contribution to support reliable AHD heighting using GNSS.
3. Optimise the quality and integrity of Victoria’s positioning system
The quality and integrity of Victoria’s positioning system depend upon vast amounts of information collected over
several decades. In view of achieving the highest possible positioning quality and integrity in Victoria, this
strategic goal will focus maintenance efforts on:

maintaining a high-quality raw GNSS data and metadata archive

removing or replacing low-quality measurements, and capturing new measurements to resolve anomalies
and poor positioning quality

maintaining a stable, contiguous state-wide adjustment to establish Australia’s modernised datums

reviewing the accuracy of the Victorian Geodetic Network information held in Victoria’s geodetic
databases on a regular basis.
Positioning Strategy for Victoria 2015 – 2020
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4. Maximise the potential of Victoria’s geodetic infrastructure, information, products
and services
This strategy is concerned with achieving the widest possible use of Victoria’s geodetic infrastructure, spatial data
and information and communications technology resources. This strategy will be achieved by:

developing and implementing systems for undertaking rigorous, automated reference frame maintenance

developing procedures for the rigorous propagation of uncertainty

contributing to ongoing development of eGeodesy – an emerging international standard for the exchange
of geodetic information – and its implementation in Victoria

modernising the Survey Marks Enquiry Service (SMES) and capability to exchange geodetic information
to support machine-to-machine automation and location-based services

developing new opportunities for collaborative maintenance of Victoria’s survey control mark network.
5. Strengthen our leadership and governance capacity
This strategy is focussed on strengthening DELWP’s capacity to provide leadership to Victoria’s geospatial
community on geodesy and positioning, and to manage Victoria’s system of positioning. This strategy will be
achieved by:

continually monitoring national and international geodetic and GNSS research agendas, standards and
practices

maintaining strong and responsive relationships with all stakeholders

actively participating in industry-led research projects, which improve DELWP’s capacity to deliver precise
positioning

supporting and influencing local and national educational research agendas.
Geodetic Strategy for Victoria 2015 – 2020
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www.delwp.vic.gov.au