SEED is making it easier for NSW Government teams to publish high-quality environmental data, supporting transparency, reuse and better decision-making across the state.
The need to publish
For the NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD), publishing the datasets behind the Climate Vulnerability Assessment was expected.
“Our decision to release the underlying data from our models was driven by scientific principles of transparency and by NSW Government open data policies. In short, it was a given that we would want to publish our data.”
David Allingham, Project Officer, Climate Vulnerability Assessment, DPIRD
Around 50 datasets underpin the NSW Government’s Climate Vulnerability Assessment Summary Report. Together, they form a substantial body of scientific evidence, including maps and models showing how climate change may affect primary industries across the state.
Even before the report was released, there were requests for access to the data. Some datasets were published earlier in response to demand, while planning continued for broader publication.
Choosing the right platform
When it came time to publish the full collection, DPIRD assessed available platforms. SEED emerged as the best fit for the data and its intended use.
“We went looking for suitable systems to publish the open data in, and it quickly became obvious that SEED was the only logical choice. It contains environmental open data from across the NSW Government…It allows us to fulfil the FAIR data principles (findability, accessibility, interoperability, and reusability), making it easy for others to obtain the data and analyse it.”
David Allingham
Publishing at scale
Each dataset came with five to six pages of documentation, making it clear that publishing nearly 53 datasets individually wouldn’t scale. After the SEED team published the first dataset and provided DPIRD with editor access, the team was able to manage publication themselves.
“From our point of view, this was ideal. We could quickly create datasets, fill in common metadata like project descriptions and timespans, customise individual fields such as model names, and upload the data.”
David Allingham
This self-service capability gave the team control over dataset creation and publishing, which was particularly valuable when working with large numbers of datasets.
“The self-service aspect was most appealing to us. It allowed us to work efficiently and at our own pace, while still ensuring every dataset met the required standards.”
David Allingham
Supporting confidence and reuse
Today, anyone can download the Climate Vulnerability Assessment datasets from SEED, see where the evidence came from, and apply it confidently in their own work. Making the full set of datasets openly available means users can explore the data behind the assessment, understand how it was produced, and reuse it alongside other information to ask new questions.
The datasets can support land use planning, agricultural adaptation and biosecurity planning as climate conditions change, helping decision‑makers respond using consistent, evidence-based information. By publishing trusted environmental data through SEED, agencies, researchers, and communities can work from the same evidence base, strengthening transparency and improving environmental decision-making across NSW.