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DCS Spatial Services
Spatial Insights
April 2026
A milestone year for Spatial Services: Then, now and what’s next
This year represents a significant milestone for DCS Spatial Services as we commemorate 50 years of operations at our Bathurst site. The relocation of more than 300 Central Mapping Authority staff from Sydney to Bathurst in 1976 marked the largest regional decentralisation initiative undertaken by the NSW Government, establishing a presence that has shaped both the organisation and the local community over five decades.
Although our history extends well beyond this period and our footprint continues across Sydney and regional centres, our enduring commitment to delivering trusted spatial and mapping services for New South Wales remains unchanged.
This commitment is reflected in the strength of our 2025 performance.
- Engagement across our digital platforms continued to grow, with 696,500 Spatial Collaboration Portal pageviews demonstrating the sector’s reliance on accessible, authoritative spatial information.
- Delivered award-winning solutions: Digital Housing Pipeline prototype and Land Subdivision Pipeline dataset
- The Foundation Spatial Data Framework was recognised as a core State Digital Asset. This recognition means that agencies must use the FSDF spatial datasets rather than procuring, developing or utilising alternative datasets matching the themes noted in the Reuse mandate.
As we recognise this milestone year, planning is underway for a formal celebration to be held later in the year. Further details will be shared with stakeholders in due course.
We acknowledge the many individuals, past and present, who have contributed to our achievements, and we look forward to continuing to strengthen our services and capabilities in the years ahead.
Advancing Survey Control Management : A new era for SCIMS
The Office of the Surveyor General is delivering a major modernisation of the Survey Control Information Management System (SCIMS) to better support the operational, regulatory and data integration needs of the surveying and geospatial sectors across NSW.
As part of this work, DCS Spatial Services has partnered with Amazon Web Services to move SCIMS to a secure, modern cloud environment. This will improve system performance, resilience and scalability, while continuing to meet all relevant industry, regulatory and cyber security requirements.
Upgraded SCIMS is designed to provide a more intuitive and efficient user experience by bringing tools, data and supporting documentation together in a single, integrated platform. Strong security controls and improved data governance will ensure the ongoing integrity and appropriate management of survey control information.
Designed to support emerging technologies and evolving data requirements, the modernised system will continue to grow and adapt, with ongoing enhancements, training and user support to help the surveying community maximise its value.
What’s changing
- A modern, cloud‑based platform hosted on a secure AWS environment
- Improved performance, resilience and scalability
- A more intuitive user interface with integrated, map‑based visualisation
- Easier location, analysis and retrieval of survey control information
- Streamlined workflows through a single, integrated platform
- Stronger security controls and improved data governance
The new system is expected to go live next year, delivering long‑term value for industry and government.
Addressing team partners with Western Sydney Airport to support precinct growth
Another Spatial Services success story - this time from our Administrative Spatial Programs team.
We've partnered with Western Sydney Airport to provide reliable, accurate addressing for this significant site, ensuring emergency services and essential providers can navigate the airport precinct quickly and safely as it continues to grow.
Collaboration began with Western Sydney Airport representatives in May 2024, guided by the principles outlined in the NSW Addressing Policy and User Manual.
The team conducted a thorough assessment, engaging in detailed discussions and offering targeted recommendations to enhance the plan's effectiveness.
Over the past year, the ASP team has worked closely with Western Sydney Airport to refine road layouts and update addresses to reflect the evolving site. These updates are now visible on SDT explorer.
This is a strong example of the important need for logical and consistent addressing, underpinning improved safety, connectivity and efficiency.
It enables emergency responders to find locations quickly, support efficient navigation and logistics, and ensure services and deliveries reach their destinations.
As Western Sydney Airport grows into a major hub for commerce and travel, this addressing framework will play a vital role in supporting its success.
New high accuracy elevation data now available for NSW
DCS Spatial Services has released new high accuracy elevation data across 12 areas of NSW, adding more than 6000 square kilometres of detailed coverage to the state’s geospatial data resources. Available free through the ELVIS portal, this latest update supports government, industry and community organisations that rely on precise elevation information for planning, analysis and risk management.
Captured using advanced LiDAR technology, the data provides enhanced detail to support flood modelling, infrastructure and transport design, environmental management and emergency response planning. By expanding access to accurate terrain information, Spatial Services is helping stakeholders make better informed, evidence-based decisions.
Newly released areas:
- Blayney
- Richmond Valley
- Bourke
- Brewarrina
- Paroo
- Balonne
- Bega Valley
- Maitland
- Cessnock
- Cabonne
- Upper Hunter
- Liverpool Plains
- Walgett
- Narrabri
- Lismore
- Coffs Harbour.
The data is now available for download via the ELVIS portal.
Our role in delivering NSW’s first inclusive birth certificates
🔼 Children’s entertainer Emma Memma and her bestie, Elvie Melvie, proudly display two beautiful watercolour designs featuring the Auslan fingerspelling alphabet, created by Spatial Services.
DCS Spatial Services’ Digital Services team played an important role in bringing NSW’s new inclusive commemorative birth certificates to life.
Working closely with the Registry of Births, Deaths & Marriages, the team led the design and printing of the certificates, ensuring every detail supported accessibility and representation.
A key challenge was the creation of a full Auslan fingerspelling alphabet, which required
constructing each handshape graphically to ensure accuracy and clarity.
Spatial Services is proud of the impact this work will have for families across NSW, promoting diversity, inclusive communication from birth and the creativity of the artists involved.
Spatial Services' role in earthquake emergency readiness
Spatial Services' Emergency Information Coordination Unit (EICU) recently supported Exercise Deep Impact, a major multi‑agency exercise simulating a significant earthquake, mine emergency and structural collapses in the Hunter region.
To bring the scenario to life, the team created highly realistic scenario materials, including a situational awareness map rendered from the Spatial Services Imagery Cache and photorealistic CGI visuals showing simulated building collapses, infrastructure failures and impacts to a mine site.
These products gave participating agencies a
clear, shared picture of the unfolding simulated crisis and supported more effective decision‑making throughout the exercise.
Spatial Services received overwhelmingly positive feedback from agencies, including FRNSW Fire Safety and NSW Police Force.
Geoscience Australia highlighted the critical importance of our LiDAR data in earthquake science and post‑disaster assessment.
Exercises like this demonstrate the expertise and collaboration Spatial Services brings to NSW’s emergency management sector every day.
Simplifying FSDF services with GDA2020 as the standard
We’re making an important improvement to Foundation Spatial Data Framework (FSDF) services to give you a clearer, more reliable experience.
Our FSDF services are being modernised to support high quality GDA2020 delivery as the authoritative default, in line with NSW policy. This removes the need for complex workarounds such as “MultiCRS” services, which have sometimes caused confusion and inconsistencies.
What’s changing?
- GDA2020 services will be clearly identified as the primary, authoritative services.
- Legacy GDA94 services will be clearly tagged as retiring, with a managed transition period.
- Duplicate and overlapping services will be progressively simplified and retired.
What this means for you
- Clear guidance on which services to use.
- Fewer projection mismatches and perceived data issues.
- More consistent results across platforms and exports.
- Reduced disruption through staged changes and advance communication.
These improvements are designed to make FSDF easier to use, more trustworthy and better aligned to modern spatial standards, while giving customers time and support to transition smoothly.
🔼GDA2020 coordinates are approximately 1.8 metres to the northeast of GDA94 coordinates, which represents the tectonic motion of the Australian plate between 1994 and 2020. Image courtesy icsm.gov.au
Mapping the Budget: A case study of turning data into insight
🔼NSW Budget Capital Projects Map - the interactive tool for seeing where money from this Budget will be used for capital projects across the state.
Last year, NSW Treasury partnered with DCS Spatial Services to deliver Mapping the Budget 2025–26, an innovative interactive tool launched alongside the NSW Government’s annual budget. The project set out to make complex capital expenditure data easier to understand by presenting it through a clear, spatial lens.
Accessible via the My Budget website, the map allows users to explore planned infrastructure investment across New South Wales by region, Local Government Area, agency and project type.
By visualising $118.3 billion in capital expenditure over four years, the tool provides a transparent and intuitive way to see where public funds are being invested and how those investments are distributed across the state.
Spatial Services supported the initiative by applying spatial expertise to transform budget data into an accessible, map-based experience. The result is a powerful example of how spatial thinking can improve transparency, support informed decision‑making and help tell the story behind government investment.
The project has now been published as a case study, showcasing how collaboration between Treasury and Spatial Services delivered a practical, user-focused digital product with real public value.
Learn more about Mapping the Budget here:
Permanent Survey Marks: the backbone of spatial accuracy
What looks like a simple brass mark on a footpath or paddock represents a far more complex system underpinning spatial accuracy across New South Wales.
In a recently published technical paper, Michael London, DCS Spatial Services Manager of SCIMS and CORS, traces the complete life cycle of Permanent Survey Marks (PSMs) from manufacture and numbering through to their digital representation in the Survey Control Information Management System (SCIMS).
The paper offers rare insight into how PSMs are designed, produced, distributed, and tracked, and explains the important role of Locality Sketch Plans (LSPs) in establishing each mark’s first digital footprint.
It also explores the extensive metadata stored in SCIMS, revealing how physical infrastructure, legislative requirements and digital systems come together to support reliable survey control.
This paper is essential reading for anyone interested in survey systems, spatial data governance, or the often-unseen processes that maintain the integrity of NSW’s survey control framework.
Stay connected through our customer networks
Stay up to date with DCS Spatial Services by signing up to our customer networks. Signing up will ensure you don’t miss out on new product releases, service enhancements, important program announcements and upcoming engagement opportunities. The networks range across a variety of topics including the Foundational Spatial Data Framework, the Spatial Digital Twin, NSW Point and more – ensure our communication is targeted to your needs.
For example, signing up to the NSW Imagery and Elevation Network will give you the opportunity to learn more about DCS Spatial Services’ Imagery and Elevation Capture Program in our upcoming webinar. The session will unpack how the program works, the support available and the pathways for accessing airborne imagery and LiDAR data, including Spatial Services’ internal capture program and the Remote Sensing Services and Equipment (ReSSE) Prequalification Scheme.
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