A NSW Government website

Strategy implementation roadmap

The NSW Data Strategy roadmap shows how we will keep the strategy up to date and aligned to the NSW Government’s vision. Elements of the strategy, such as commitments and case studies, will help measure the progress of data transformation across NSW. The NSW Data Leadership Group oversees implementation of the Strategy.

On this page, we have outlined the plan for making sure the NSW Data Strategy remains relevant to the rapidly changing data landscape. This plan is broken up into ‘horizons’ that demonstrate what we will do and when.

The plan includes:

  1. Monitoring and evaluating the status and impact of Strategy commitments
  2. A major review and update of the Strategy in 18-24 months to reflect new data Department strategies, technologies and trends.

To further demonstrate progress on the strategy, we will track and measure the progress of commitments every year.

Horizon 1 - Commencing Year 2025-2026 
Data Priority Outcomes Related Commitment
Cross-sector data policies are current, clear, succinct and aligned 1 Review and refresh data policies and standards, starting with the Open Data Policy
It is easier for community users to find, access and use open data    2 Expand, enhance and standardise the open data offering on Data.NSW Open Data Portal
Increased efficiency and consistency in spatial and downstream datasets    3 Embed the Foundation Spatial Data Framework
Better insights are available about the lives of people with disability  6 NSW delivers on its commitments to national data reform initiatives including National Disability Data Asset and Australian National Integration Infrastructure
Make data sharing and collaboration easier and more efficient 8 Embed a cross-sector interconnected data system to inform government priorities
Increased data sharing, use and comparability across agencies  18 Adopt common, interoperable data standards for use across agencies and their contractors   
Increase in consistency and streamlined use of government platforms, assets and services 19 Increase use of cross-sector data governance and management tools, including Metadata.NSW and Data Passport, and adoption of State Digital Assets, including NSW Spatial Digital Twin
Data maturity uplift is measured. Information is available to inform maturity uplift initiatives. 20 Measure and report on data maturity across the sector
Data maturity increases across the sector  21 Share practice guides and capability resources to uplift data maturity
Opportunities identified for increased consistency in data governance 22 Evaluate the appropriateness of the spatial data governance framework for use in other domains   
Reduced cost to government    25 Coordinate procurement of data governance and management platforms and tools
Clarity of skill and knowledge requirements for data professionals and non-data roles  26 Define an Occupation Specific Capability Set for data professionals and data-related capabilities for non-technical roles   
Consistency and clarity across agencies that will promote data collaboration  29 Develop a shared understanding of Chief Data Officer functions and embed the functions across agencies 
Improved understanding of data needs and how they can be met  31 Increase coordination and engagement between data leaders and policy leaders to identify and deliver on information needs 
Increase in availability and use of data for decision-making  32 Identify and implement initiatives that build data driven decision-making culture
Horizon 2 - Commencing Year 2026-2027
Data Priority Outcomes Related Commitment
Increased access and use of data by Aboriginal people to address community needs  5 Deliver NSW Closing the Gap Priority Reform 4 in collaboration with the Coalition of Aboriginal Peak Organisations (CAPO) 
Data linking is more efficient    7 Enhance interoperability and coordination of state and national datasets and infrastructure
Government has a holistic view of performance and trends in community wellbeing  9 Agencies regularly report on Performance and Wellbeing Framework metrics via the Data.NSW Open Data Portal
All new data initiatives contribute to meeting the information needs of whole of government, agencies and/or communities 10 Data initiatives and proposal's identity how they meet the information needs of service-system or agency specific, whole-of-government, or community and place-based
Clarity on need for regulatory change  12 Monitor and assess the regulatory environment for data privacy and sharing, and assess the need for regulatory change   
Reduce duplication and support interoperability 23 Identify opportunities to leverage existing data architecture solutions to reduce duplication and support interoperability
Cross-sector uplift in foundational data literacy  27 Build foundational data literacy and other skill building programs 
Duplication of effort is reduced, and resources are easy to access  28 Share knowledge, expertise and resources across the sector via NSW Data Leadership Group
Uplift in data skills of senior executives that improves data culture  30 Identify opportunities for Senior Executive Data Leadership training   
Increase in alignment to digital reform priorities delivers a more streamlined process and user experience 33 Data initiatives align to digital reform program
Horizon 3 - Commencing Year 2027-2028 
Data Priority Outcomes Related Commitment
Increased capability in engaging with communities on data approaches 4 Build capability in engaging communities on data governance, access and use 
Strategies for safer data sharing identified 11 Explore privacy enhancing technologies that make data sharing safer
Transparency and trust built with community    13 Inform the community about how government uses, manages and protects data   
Social licence building and testing mechanisms are identified  14 Explore approaches to building and testing social licence 
Government data is more inclusive of NSW citizens regardless of abilities, backgrounds or identities 15 Develop and adopt cross-sector inclusion by design practices
Reduced duplication of effort and increased proactive planning    16 Collectively develop a cross-sector plan and register of use cases to leverage emerging technologies 
Clarity on requirements for AI data practice    17 The NSW AI strategy sets the direction for data management practices that support safe and ethical use of AI 
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet. 24 Recommend an approach to cross-sector investment in people, infrastructure and resources that enable data capability, capacity and quality uplift  

We will measure and track progress of commitments 

Key activities

  • The commitments published as part of the NSW Data Strategy will be measured and tracked. 
  • We will review and update the NSW Data Strategy within 18-24 months of this Strategy’s release to align with significant changes in the data landscape.
  • If you’re working on a major data related initiative or reform that you believe should be included in the strategy, we would love to hear from you at datansw@customerservice.nsw.gov.au.