The Australian Government has committed $8.5 million to improve national freight data. Access to robust freight data will help industry and governments plan, make better operational and investment decisions and be more resilient and responsive. The commitment includes:

• $5.2 million to settle the design of a National Freight Data Hub (the Hub). The Hub will identify freight data priorities and host or link to data. It will include arrangements for data collection, protection, dissemination and hosting
• $3.3 million for the establishment of freight data exchange pilots to allow industry to access freight data in real time; and fund a National Survey of Motor Vehicle Use by the Australian Bureau of Statistics to provide national and state estimates of total and average vehicle travel, freight movements and fuel consumption

Designing the Hub

The Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications is working closely with industry, governments and other stakeholders on the Hub design. The focus for 2020 is preparing a roadmap for implementation and business case for Government consideration, and a prototype Hub website.

Timeline

• iMOVE Freight Data Requirements Study
  Early 2019
• 1st discussion paper: Data priorities
  Workshops
  Late 2019
• Procurement design: Business case and data preparation
  Early 2020
• 2nd discussion paper: Elements of the Hub
  Test prototype website
  Late 2020
• Business case for Government
  End 2020
• Launch prototype website
  Early 2021
• Government decision on Business Case
  Implementation*
  Rolling work program*
  2021

*contingent on Government consideration

Purpose

Three purposes of the Hub were agreed with stakeholders in 2019. They are to enhance collection of and access to freight data, across all modes, to:

1. Enable end-to-end performance evaluation for Australia's freight system
2. Improve planning for infrastructure and transport network investment decisions
3. Support day to day operations by fostering data standards and exchange, and provide timely insights about the freight system performance and bottlenecks to industry

Functions

Stakeholders want the Hub to have three main functions:

• Leadership and innovation
• Open data
• Data exchange

The business case will consider arrangements for data collection, protection, dissemination and hosting across these purposes and functions. The Hub will take a leadership position to facilitate agreed data standards which will enable the efficient sharing of data.

Prototype website

A prototype website is being developed to showcase existing freight data and projects. The prototype will demonstrate the value of better access to freight data.

The prototype will include:

• Guidance on freight data standards to facilitate the creation, sharing and integration of datasets
• Freight data projects providing original insights and visualisation tools to demonstrate the opportunities in freight data
• Macro insights into the changing demand for freight as a result of COVID-19

The prototype website will provide a current view of the freight data landscape. It will not have the full functionality of the National Freight Data Hub. The full functionality and roll-out of the Hub is dependent on the options put forward in the business case and Government consideration.

Pilot projects

Pilot projects are being supported to enhance the collection of freight data and test methods and protocols for data exchange.

• A series of Freight Data Exchange projects with industry will create the standards needed to track goods and demonstrate the use cases for sharing data in different supply chains. For a summary of the outcomes of the first round of pilot projects visit Freight Data Exchange pilot projects—Summary Report 2020
• A National Location Register Pilot to enable industry to share specific locations, for example where a truck needs to stop at a construction site or a livestock station. This data will reduce delays. Open to any business to join, the register will also contain opening hours, height and weight restrictions and driver amenities of different sites
• A Truck Telematics Pilot to showcase the opportunities of data for improving planning and policy decisions by road managers, as well as improving fleet optimisation

Discussion Papers

In 2019, the Department released an initial discussion paper seeking input to help settle the design of the Hub. The discussion paper asked a series of questions focused on the purposes of the Hub, priority datasets for inclusion, sharing principles and priority outputs.

• National Freight Data Hub: Discussion Paper #1 PDF: 112 KB 

Workshops were held in Melbourne and Brisbane in early December with around 50 people attending.

In 2020, the Department released a second discussion paper on elements of the Hub design across data, technology, governance, funding and regulation to inform the implementation roadmap, business case and prototype website.

• National Freight Data Hub Options Discussion Paper #2 DOCX: 1871 KB PDF: 8115 KB 

Two webinars were held during the consultation period with around 80 people attending.

Submissions

Submissions were received from a wide range of groups including the freight and logistics industries, governments, researchers, consultants and data specialists. Thank you to everyone who took the time to make a submission and to those who participated in the workshops and webinars. This rich feedback has helped greatly in shaping the design of the Hub.

Below is a list of non-confidential submissions received, in alphabetical order.

The Department is not responsible for the content of these submissions, which remains the responsibility of the original authors, and submissions do not represent the views of the Department.

To the extent permitted by law, the Commonwealth disclaims liability to any person or organisation in respect of anything done, or omitted to be done, in reliance upon information contained in any of the submissions.

Responses to Discussion paper #1

Author	Submission
1-Stop Connections	PDF: 574 KB
Australian Border Force	PDF: 546 KB
Australian Bureau of Statistics	PDF: 623 KB
Australian Local Government Association	PDF: 643 KB
Australian Logistics Council	PDF: 588 KB
Austroads	PDF: 827 KB
City of Canning	PDF: 617 KB
CQ Inland Port	PDF: 525 KB
Deakin University	PDF: 1238 KB
Delta Pearl Partners	PDF: 226 KB
Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure, South Australia	PDF: 645 KB
Department of Prime Minister & Cabinet	PDF: 142 KB
Department of Transport and Main Roads, Western Australia	PDF: 179 KB
GHD Advisory	PDF: 154 KB
Graincorp	PDF: 729 KB
GS1	PDF: 868 KB
INECO	PDF: 172 KB
Infrastructure Australia	PDF: 562 KB
Infrastructure Partnerships Australia	PDF: 292 KB
Local Government New South Wales	PDF: 165 KB
MisterMina Group	PDF: 233 KB
National Heavy Vehicle Regulator	PDF: 167 KB
Pedro Camargo	PDF: 138 KB
Planning Institute Australia	PDF: 547 KB
Port Authority of New South Wales	PDF: 482 KB
Prological Consulting	PDF: 159 KB
Roads Australia	PDF: 170 KB
SMEC Australia	PDF: 298 KB
Sydney Airports	PDF: 2669 KB
Tasmanian Logistics Committee	PDF: 667 KB
Telstra	PDF: 203 KB
Transport Certification Australia	PDF: 1344 KB
University of Melbourne	PDF: 1781 KB
University of New South Wales	PDF: 71 KB
York Street Digital	PDF: 100 KB

Responses to Options Discussion Paper #2

Author	Submission
Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry	PDF: 153 KB
Australian Logistics Council	PDF: 347 KB
Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC)	PDF: 211 KB
Australian Trucking Association (ATA) & NatRoad	PDF: 145 KB
Australasian Railway Association (ARA)	PDF: 195 KB
Data Republic Pty Ltd	PDF: 239 KB
Freight & Trade Alliance (FTA)	PDF: 402 KB
Freight Victoria	PDF: 208 KB
GHD Advisory	PDF: 553 KB
HARDT HYPERLOOP (Netherlands)	PDF: 98 KB
National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR)	PDF: 354 KB
iMove	PDF: 238 KB
INECO	PDF: 192 KB
International Forwarders & Customs Brokers Association of Australia Ltd	PDF: 1008 KB
Mediterranean Shipping Company	PDF: 195 KB
Ports Australia	PDF: 245 KB
Port of Brisbane Pty Ltd	PDF: 232 KB
Transport Certification Australia (TCA)	PDF: 192 KB

How to contribute or get more information

Email freightdatahub@infrastructure.gov.au to express your interest in contributing your views or getting progress updates on the hub design project.