A GIS end-to-end (capture, manage, publish and report)solution for asset and tenancy management of dwellings in the remote lands of South Australia. 2008 South Australian winner of Spatial Innovation - People and the Community

1. The difference is what you see
SA Department for
Families & Communities
Nunga Wali Spatial
The Department for Families and Communities brings together a range of services for
those who are economically and socially vulnerable in the South Australian community
(children, young people, families, people with disabilities, the ageing and the homeless).
The Department’s strategic agenda charts the direction for the Minister’s portfolio areas
in housing, the care and protection of children and young people, disability and ageing.
The Department works in partnership with Federal, State and local governments and
with a range of community organisations to make a real difference to the wellbeing of
low income South Australians.
// Outcomes // Challenge // Solution
• DFC now has a single spatial With a strong commitment to improving A location intelligence solution called Nunga
repository of dwellings and service delivery to its clients and staff, the Wali Spatial was developed which uses
Department for Families and Communities the latest field capture technology with
properties for all remote Aboriginal
(DFC) identified the need to expand the integrated GPS, GIS tools, laser rangefinder
communities and settlements organisation’s enterprise Geographic and media capture. With professional
• Significant efficiency Information Systems (GIS) capabilities, as services assistance from ESRI Australia,
well as extending the services for non-GIS the asset auditing process, from capture
improvements have been professionals. Furthermore, the Department and storage to publication and reporting
achieved, with the asset audit was keen to improve business effectiveness has been completely transformed.
process reduced from taking through improved workflow and evidenced
A&RH field officers are now fully equipped
one hour to about ten minutes based decisions to achieve increased
to capture a wealth of information in
efficiencies throughout the organisation.
per dwelling real time, with asset information now
One area of the organisation that was only needing to be captured once, with
• All staff now have immediate identified as requiring GIS assistance was incremental updating and inbuilt data
and easy access to accurate the Aboriginal and Remote Housing (A&RH) validation ensuring complete data integrity
and timely information to meet unit, responsible for the remote indigenous and accuracy. With an easy to use interface,
reporting requirements, apply community housing program. In the past, well-designed data capture forms, efficiently
property details in the remote communities controlled data input boxes and hands-on
for funding & make decisions
were captured using a notepad and pen training provided, and the use of mobile, GIS
about future capital expenditure and then entered onto a laptop at the end has enjoyed great success and rapid uptake.
• Strategically, DFC is in a better of each day. While in the field, staff had
A&RH and Department staff back in the
no access to information about upgrades
position to understand what is that had previously been completed, any
office, regardless of their GIS knowledge,
required to meet its SA Strategic now have access to a GIS Web portal,
historical data or information about related
powered by ESRI Australia’s location
Plan targets in relation to assets. This audit process was not ideal
intelligence gateway solution Dekho. Using
Aboriginal housing due to the difficult environmental conditions
the location element within corporate data,
within these remote communities, with ad-
• With the improved knowledge of Dekho seamlessly links together information
hoc data collection creating obvious issues
from the Department’s multiple corporate
assets, the A&RH unit have been with data integrity and accuracy. Staff back
systems, including the COGNOS business
granted several million dollars of in the office also did not have easy access
intelligence system. This integration has
to the captured housing information, with no
federal funds to repair and build reporting tools available to enable decisions
new housing to be made on the captured data.

2. SA Department for
Families & Communities
With a simple mobile interface, standardised workflow processes,
rigorous data validation and integrated information dissemination,
the Department now has a sophisticated location and business
intelligence capability.
// Solution
enabled DFC staff to have immediate community owned dwellings in remote allocation of housing to families, and
and easy access to accurate and timely communities. Additionally, if officers believe vacancy rates within communities.
information to meet reporting requirements, that details relating to other infrastructure
Since the implementation of Nunga Wali
apply for Commonwealth Government in the community will assist in making
Spatial, the Department has been able
funding, and make decisions about future future decisions regarding infrastructure
to use the evidence collected in the
capital expenditure. upgrades, they can capture this
field, analyse it and demonstrate to the
information with a GPS point, boundary
Commonwealth Government a clear
or line. This information is tagged with
// Benefits a general description and photographed
knowledge of assets they are responsible
for in indigenous communities. As a
if required.
DFC now has a single spatial repository result, the A&RH unit have been granted
of dwellings and properties for all remote The information collected is pushed several million dollars of federal funds to
Aboriginal communities and settlements, back to the central server in Adelaide repair and build new housing within these
with location intelligence linking this and is available to all staff via the Web communities.
information to other asset details through portal within 24 hours. This improved
a series of business rules. With a simple data transfer and publishing system has
mobile interface, standardised workflow improved workflow management of asset
// The Future
processes, rigorous data validation and information and increased communication
integrated information dissemination, and understanding between central staff Since the delivery of this project, many
the Department now has a sophisticated and field officers. This is the first time agencies – both within and external to the
location and business intelligence that all data captured in the field can be Department - have recognised the benefits
capability. This intelligence enables distributed to all relevant Department staff, of cost effective capture and distribution
more informed decision making for including planners, policy makers and of geospatial and business information,
remote housing capital expenditure. external government agencies. and have expressed an interest in
implementing a similar location intelligence
Where the previous manual asset audit Strategically, DFC is in a better position solution. The Department’s Online and
process would take one hour for each to understand what is required to meet Geographic Services Unit is working to
dwelling, the use of mobile GIS has its South Australian Strategic Plan targets leverage the existing GIS technology to
reduced this to about ten minutes. During in relation to Aboriginal housing. The assist in completing Housing SA’s remote
this process, the officer collects everything A&RH unit can now provide evidence to indigenous tenant audit program, which
from photographs in and around the any level of government and/or agencies has been incorporated with the Remote
dwelling, to the condition of the dwelling, to justify the required funds to maintain Asset Audit program. Other projects on
including fixtures and linings inside and dwellings at an acceptable standard, or the horizon are Housing SA’s maintenance
out. At set stages of the asset audit to build new housing. Other business audit program for over 39,000 dwellings
process the application validates the details units from the Aboriginal sector in DFC distributed throughout South Australia, and
collected and informs the officer if any of have also identified opportunities using the State Recovery Office for post disaster
the minimum required details are missing. this information, including future planning data collection and real-time publication
This validation process provides A&RH of communities, maintenance programs, to agencies involved in the emergency
with a benchmark in data collection for all locating housing with disability accessibility, management and recovery process.
// 1800 447 111 // dekho@esriaustralia.com.au // www.esriaustralia.com.au/dekho
Version 1.09