In Great Britain most geodata that provides the reference and geographic context for more targeted user datasets created by individual organisations is issued by Ordnance Survey®. These user datasets may include Sites of Specifi c Scientifi c Interest or Basic Land and Property Units. Based on this reference data, users often integrate other datasets, such as statistical tables or their own geo-datasets, to support analysis and decision making. Others may collect geo-datasets by using Global Positioning System (GPS) equipment: the location of street furniture, for example. In all cases it is vital that data from different sources fi ts together spatially to enable the joint use and analysis.

While digital techniques were introduced to map production in the 1970’s, the driver for utilising digital tools to manage this wide range of activities was the land administration functions of the six states and two territories. Developed in concert by the legal and surveying professions, these state and territory based land administrations functions led to digital land valuation systems as early as 1968 in South Australia. Building upon such initiatives; government guaranteed computerised land registration and automated valuation systems have been built.