Cadastre and Address Modernisation (CAM)

The existing DCDB is a custom-built (“bespoke”) technical environment that is over 30 years old, using systems and architectures that are outdated, not fit-for-purpose, and extremely expensive and difficult to support and maintain. Information technology systems fitting these criteria are referred to as “deprecated”.

• The DCDB is incapable of handling three-dimensional (3D) data, and is extremely limited in its ability to ingest, maintain, and represent the precise, timely and comprehensive spatial cadastral data that our users require.

• Data generated and provided by Queensland’s surveyors, such as distance and bearing information, which is required by the Survey and Mapping Infrastructure Act 2003 (PDF link), is effectively “lost” in the DCDB, which has no capability to store it.

• DCDB workflows are entirely manual, with no capacity for automation, and no ability for operators to customise their operating environments.

• The technology “stack” underpinning the DCDB is no longer supported by vendors, will be completely phased out by Queensland Government by mid-2026.

• Cumbersome, time-consuming data transfer processes, which shuttle DCDB data to other systems for a variety of purposes, are increasingly prone to failure due to the size and complexity of the dataset.

• Personnel with the highly specialised skills and experience necessary to operate and maintain the 30-year-old DCDB environment are becoming increasingly rare.

The new QSCF environment is built on a contemporary technical foundation that is widely recognised as the international standard. Queensland Government already makes extensive use of Esri Enterprise systems, and Parcel Fabric is available as part of these system at no additional cost to government. It is fully supported by Esri Inc. and Esri Australia as part of our ongoing Enterprise Agreement (EA).

• QSCF unlocks full 3D capability, allowing Queensland’s spatial cadastral data to better reflect and represent the real-world.

• Data generated and provided by surveyors, such as distance and bearing information, will not only be correctly stored by QSCF, but can be used to rapidly improve spatial cadastre accuracy over broad areas using a “least squares adjustment” process.

• QSCF allows for extensive automation of processes, and individual operators will be able to customise their own workflows and environments to better accommodate their preferred ways of working.

• QSCF is underpinned by a modern, widely used information architecture and technology stack, fully supported by the vendor.

• Allows for real-time transfer of data between systems via data streaming - no more overnight transfer of the entire database from one place to another. Instead, only the “deltas” - changes - are shared, saving time and bandwidth, and significantly decreasing risk.

• Nationally aligned with other jurisdictions and with ICSM’s Cadastre 2034 strategy and 3DCSDM.

• Standardised technologies that are widely understood, used, and taught.

Like the DCDB, the QAMF location address management and maintenance environment is built on deprecated legacy systems and architectures.

The primary challenge with QAMF is that it is unable to maintain “complex” addressing, in both senses of the word: addresses that are not straightforward (such as a separate address for a granny flat at the rear of a property, where the main house is for the primary occupants and the granny flat is leased to tenants), and addresses for complexes such as gated estates and townhouse complexes, retirement villages, universities, apartment buildings, shopping centres, and so forth.

In essence, the current QAMF environment treats each of these “complexes” as a single address. For example, a residential building of 30 separate apartments will be stored as a single address - 1 Smith Street - as only the parcel of land on which the building sits can be assigned an address.

QALI, again like QSCF, is built on standards-based and, in this case, fully open-source technologies. Open-source minimises the cost and support challenges faced by our other deprecated systems, while standards-based means that data can be rapidly enhanced, updated, and transferred, depending on the needs of our users.

QALI uses contemporary technologies such as semantic data and data streaming to not only ensure its readability and applicability to different use cases, but to make data updates near-instantaneous. Timely and accurate address data is absolutely vital, ensuring the delivery of goods, utilities, and services - most importantly emergency services - to locations.

The new semantic model underpinning QALI also unlocks the ability to easily manage and maintain complex addressing across all dimensions.