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Salesforce Australia hosted its second Government Speaker Series event recently, welcoming CEO of the NSW Data Analytics Centre, Ian Oppermann.

The NSW Data Analytics Centre (DAC) is established to facilitate better data sharing between government agencies – with the objective of informing more efficient and evidence-based whole-of-government decision-making.

DAC functions include:

  • Delivering priority analytics projects using whole-of-government data, all within a secure environment;

  • Advising on NSW government challenges, and potential solutions, using data analytics;

  • Establishing and maintaining a register of data assets;

  • Advising on making de-identified* data open to the public; and

  • Delivering recommendations on best practice data analytics, cyber security and privacy measures.

One example of the DAC’s twelve, round-one projects is the NSW Fire and Rescue Services: addressing the problem that presently two trucks are typically respond to the 48,000 occasions a fire alarm goes off in NSW each year - 97 percent of which are false alarms.

If DAC's analysis shows a greater than 90 percent likelihood of a false alarm, a single truck might respond instead, unless the source were a hospital or aged care facility.

The DAC is currently considering a number of round two projects which include:

  • Current and projected health impact of heatwaves in NSW;

  • Evidence base for school enrolment projections;

  • Tackling non-compliance with the Hot Spots Program;

  • Identifying hazardous buildings;

  • Understanding contact with juvenile and adult justice system;

  • Reducing domestic violence;

  • The worth of Water;

  • Improving pedestrian safety;

  • Improving compliance with the Green Slip CTP scheme;

  • Reducing hospital admissions for workplace injury;

  • Streamlining the process of doing business in NSW; and

  • Building the dataset for child protection and out-of-home care.

Other areas covered by Oppermann included data analytics; privacy; DAC working with the private sector; technology within the DAC; and the centre’s cooperation with other State and Federal agencies.

*De-identification is the process used to prevent a person's identity from being connected with information