2024 winners and finalists

The winners were announced on 13 November 2024 at the APS Data Awards Gala Dinner.

Data Leadership (Sponsored by Australian Institute of Health and Welfare)

D&A Capability Uplift – Smarter Data – Australian Taxation Office

The D&A Capability Uplift initiative addressed skill shortages and enhanced D&A capabilities. The team implemented tailored learning journeys and a rotational development program, benefiting over 350 participants. This approach promoted D&A career pathways, increased proficiency, and supported non-D&A roles in data usage. The initiative aligned with ATO’s strategic goals and fostered a data-centric culture, improved communication, and achieved significant uplift over 60% across targeted capabilities.

Civil Space Monitoring Pathfinder – Australian Space Agency

The CSMP project fuses varied data sources to create innovative dashboards for Space Traffic Management. It provides awareness of space assets through meaningful visualisations, including detecting unnotified spacecraft manoeuvres, changes in orbital parameters, tracking orbital decay and spacecraft re-entry. The CSMP offers a comprehensive view of the space environment relevant to Australia and assists in informing the Government’s role in regulating civil space activities.

Digital Atlas of Australia – Geoscience Australia (Winner)

The Digital Atlas of Australia is a ground-breaking geospatial capability, offering access to hundreds of curated, trusted national datasets in a central platform. With interactive, user-friendly maps and tools, users can explore, analyse and visualise data on Australia’s geography, people, economy, and environment by location. This powerful resource empowers smarter, place-based decisions that drive meaningful social, economic, and environmental benefits nationwide.

Data Sharing and Partnerships (Sponsored by Department of Industry, Science and Resources)

Agriculture Statistics Modernisation - Australian Bureau of Statistics and Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (Highly commended)

The Agriculture Statistics Modernisation project enhances Australian agricultural data collection by utilising existing public and private data sources (i.e. satellite derived crop mapping) instead of large traditional surveys – reducing farmers’ survey response time by over 97%, saving an average of 20,000 hours annually. This initiative fosters partnerships across government, industry, and academia to produce more timely and detailed statistics, supporting biosecurity, sustainability, and regional infrastructure.

ACCC-ASIC Data Sharing Partnership through the National Anti-Scam Centre – Australian Competition & Consumer Commission

Investment scams alone cost Australians $1.5B in a single year. To combat scamming, ACCC partnered with the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) to share scam data via an API, forming the National Anti-Scam Centre. The Centre has referred 19,989 scam websites for takedown. This partnership disrupts scams in near real-time, enhancing consumer protection and education, with plans to expand data sharing to other sectors.

National Bushfire Boundaries Data Services – Geoscience Australia (Winner)

The National Bushfire Boundaries Data Services provides harmonised national bushfire boundaries datasets from 19 state and territory sources in near real-time every 15 minutes, 3-hourly fire extents, and long-ranging historical records. Accessible via the Digital Atlas of Australia, it supports emergency services, government agencies, and the public by offering timely, accurate bushfire data for preparedness, response, and recovery efforts, enhancing cross-border decision-making and environmental resilience.

Data Science and Analytics (Sponsored by The Treasury)

Assessing palliative care in Australia – access, quality, and the impact on Australians - Australian Institute of Health and Welfare

The AIHW released three studies during Palliative Care Week, highlighting the state of palliative care in Australia (i.e. 80% of predictable deaths required palliative care but only 41% received). The project improved reporting, identified care gaps (i.e. median of 15 days of care before death vs ideal 3-4 months), introduced new measures, fostered partnerships, and informed policy – aiming to enhance Australian palliative care quality and accessibility.

International Mail Team, Data Science and Applied AI Branch – Department of Home Affairs (Winner)

Australia receives around 10M international mail consignments monthly. “HERMES” is an AI model targeting border-controlled drugs entering Australia through international mail consignments. Since July 2023, HERMES has detected 308 kg of drugs, contributing to 187 significant detections (71%). The approximate total street value of the drugs detected by HERMES is $240M, and the socio-economic harm prevented is estimated at $1.6B.

Demand Projection Models (DPM) & Demand Driven Funding Model (DDFM) – Department of Veterans' Affairs

Following a historical claims backlog and the 2022 Royal Commission’s recommendations, DVA created the Demand Projection and Demand Driven Funding Model to forecast service demand and optimise resource allocation. This evidence-based approach has secured $186M in funding across claims processing, invoicing, and downstream activities. These models have enhanced resource allocation, decision-making, cost efficiency, transparency, and service delivery, ensuring veterans receive timely and effective support.

Data Visualisation and Storytelling (Sponsored by Department of Employment and Workplace Relations)

Bringing Data to Life with the Australian Bureau of Statistics – Australian Bureau of Statistics (Winner)

The ABS has successfully used social media to make official data engaging and accessible. Their strategy includes visually creative, informative, and sometimes humorous pop-culture content to enhance statistical literacy and demonstrate the value of data. Their innovative approach has increased community engagement and media coverage. In 2024, the ABS social media following surpassed 430,000 users, making them one of the most followed statistical agencies globally.

Enhancing the availability, transparency, and use of place-based socio-economic data with the Digital Atlas – Australian Bureau of Statistics, Geoscience Australia, and Department of Social Services

This collaborative partnership uses the Digital Atlas of Australia to integrate income support and socio-economic data into interactive applications. This innovative approach to visualisation and storytelling presents data in maps, charts, tables and narratives, to enhance data literacy and accessibility. This initiative is empowering meaningful and actionable insights to inform tailored place-based policy interventions and to measure their impact and benefits for the Australian community.

Access to BreastScreen Australia screening services – Australian Institute of Health and Welfare

The dashboard, “Access to BreastScreen Australia screening services”, shows the drive time to the nearest service from every populated square kilometre in Australia. Users can choose a range of drive times, permanent or visiting services, and summary statistics for all women or First Nations women aged 50 to 74. The dashboard informs service delivery, ensuring better access and early detection of breast cancer.

Data Engineering (Sponsored by the Department of Home Affairs)

Australian National Data Integration Infrastructure (ANDII) - Technical delivery – Australian Bureau of Statistics, Australian Institute of Health and Welfare and Department of Social Services (Highly commended)

The Australian Government is investing more than $68M to deliver the National Disability Data Asset (NDDA) and the Australian National Data Integration Infrastructure (ANDII) by December 2025. The ANDII is the foundational infrastructure established to deliver the NDDA, enabling secure data linkage at scale. ANDII includes development of the National Linkage Spine and the National Linkage Map, as well as the ANDII ICT solution.

AAP Cloud – Australian Taxation Office (Winner)

The Advanced Analytics Platform (AAP Cloud) has driven innovation, compliance, fraud detection and treatment, and revenue recovery at the ATO to new heights. AAP Cloud provides a contemporary experience through the utilisation of Machine Learning Operations practices. Its versatile architecture provides users with access to modern tools to perform their jobs, while enabling scalability and supporting innovation to meet the future demands of the organisation.

Datathing – Australian Trade and Investment Commission

Datathing provides a single window for trade, investment, and education insights, using a user-centric, narrative-driven approach. This innovative tool enhances decision making by increasing understanding of export markets, providing economic snapshots, and analysing internal performance trends. Datathing’s architecture integrates emerging technologies ensuring security and scalability. It is delivering significant impacts i.e. supporting market selection for Australian businesses and aiding policymakers with insights on trade issues.

Early Data Career (Sponsored by Geoscience Australia)

Development of a Composite Indicator for Business Digital Intensity in Australia (Digital Intensity Index) – Australian Bureau of Statistics

The DII measures adoption and integration of digital resources by Australian businesses. Rocco Borino played a pivotal role in DII development; conducting a literature review, collaborating with experts, and synthesising research. The DII’s flexible framework and “Digital Frontier”, ABS publication, and integration with the Business Longitudinal Analysis Data Environment allow for detailed analysis, informing targeted initiatives for Australian businesses in the digital economy.

Modelling of economic and fiscal benefits of increasing educational attainment levels – Department of Education (Winner)

Nikita Ferguson developed the Benefits of Educational Attainment Model (BEAM) using advanced datasets and econometric techniques, demonstrating positive outcomes of higher educational attainment. This work quantified the benefits of the Australian Universities Accord’s tertiary education attainment target of 80% by 2050. Nikita’s findings were included in key public documents, influencing policy design and public debate, and providing a framework for ongoing economic and social benefit modelling.

Papua New Guinea Fuel Crisis Dashboard – Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

When the PNG Government declared a national emergency due to a fuel supply crisis caused by a dispute with Puma Energy, Ro McCrossin used geospatial data to map fuel retailers and depots, creating a dashboard visualising potential market exit impacts. This innovative approach informed government negotiations and policy interventions, helping to prevent further disruption. The dashboard provided timely insights, demonstrating a model for analysis in data-scarce regions.

Diversity and Inclusion in Data (Sponsored by the Department of Social Services)

Health of refugees and humanitarian entrants in Australia – Australian Institute of Health and Welfare

The project used linked data to reveal critical health challenges of refugees and humanitarian entrants in Australia (i.e. high rates of diabetes, kidney disease, accidental drownings, and liver cancer deaths, and humanitarian entrants being twice as likely to be hospitalised or use emergency services compared to permanent migrants). These insights will inform targeted preventive interventions and service delivery to enhance health outcomes of this vulnerable population.

First national survey on dementia awareness – Australian Institute of Health and Welfare

The Dementia Awareness Survey by AIHW revealed Australians lack knowledge about dementia and hold stereotypes about those living with it. The survey tracks changes over time and uses validated scales to compare with other populations. The Department of Health and Aged Care will use the findings to develop initiatives to reduce stigma and improve understanding, to create a more inclusive and supportive community for those affected.

Framework for Governance of Indigenous Data (GID) – National Indigenous Australians Agency (Winner)

The GID supports the National Agreement on Closing the Gap and aims to empower Indigenous Australians by ensuring their data is governed in ways that reflect their priorities. It emphasises meaningful access to government-held data and genuine partnership in decision-making. It sets guidelines for APS agencies to partner with Indigenous Australians, build capabilities, and create an inclusive data system, enhancing Indigenous self-determination and improving policy outcomes.

Innovative, Ethical and Responsible Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) (Sponsored by Office of the National Data Commissioner)

ANZSCO Review Innovations Team – Australian Bureau of Statistics

The ANZSCO Review project utilised generative AI to create initial task lists for occupations, saving an estimated 1600 analyst hours without compromising quality (evidenced by rigorous governance and high-quality results). The project ensured timely delivery for the 2026 Census occupation statistics and demonstrated the value of generative AI in updating classification definitions efficiently. The project will inform future AI policy and applications within the ABS.

Australian Taxation Office (ATO) Generative AI Working Group – Australian Taxation Office

The group was established to integrate AI tools effectively and responsibly. Over 1000 staff tested 15 categories of AI applications (i.e. content creation, code development, and data analytics). Results included a 30% reduction in task times, productivity gains in coding, and faster editing. The structured evaluation process, risk assessment framework, and strategic impact measurement have set a benchmark for AI adoption in the public sector.

Digital Delivery Capability - Innovation Team – Department of Employment and Workplace Relations (Winner)

ParliHelper, an AI-driven tool, has revolutionised the Department’s parliamentary processes by automating the summarisation of Senate estimate hearings. It processes 128 hours of live committee time in just 22 minutes, significantly reducing the manual effort required. The tool generates accurate summaries and insights, enabling timely distribution. Its success has led to considerations for production deployment, demonstrating its potential to enhance operational efficiency across the APS.

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