USER GROUP MANAGER'S REPORT		NEW TO THE ABS WEB SITE
NEW PATCH FOR USERS OF CDATA 96 WITH MAPINFO PROFESSIONAL V. 6.5*		CONTACT US
GEOCENTRIC DATUM OF AUSTRALIA AND CDATA 2001

USER GROUP MANAGER'S REPORT

Welcome to the CDATA User Group 'Newspoint' - we hope you find it valuable for keeping up to date with the development of CDATA 2001 and other Census electronic product developments. We encourage you to check the 'Messageboard' to track product issues raised by other CDATA User Group Members.

Since the inception of the CDATA User Group in June 2001, the number of members continues to grow. On the average, three people register to the CDATA User Group Site per day. We are getting some great feedback on the User Group Information database content.

We have also seen an increase in phone calls from clients wanting to know about the new CDATA 2001 products and other 2001 Census electronic products.

Members of the CDATA team are currently working on the different phases of the CDATA 2001 product development, which includes;
1. Checking all software functions and client useability testing;
2. Validation of data;
3. Validation of mapping: - Digital boundaries, basic and detailed topographic features and;
4. Preparing user documentation for release of the CDATA 2001 product (e.g. installation instructions, help files, etc).

Please remember that the easiest way to keep track of new information on the User Group is to either view the documents by date or look in the ‘What’s New’ category.

All the best in surfing the CDATA UG!

CDATA User Group Manager

NEW PATCH FOR USERS OF CDATA 96 WITH MAPINFO PROFESSIONAL V. 6.5*

Since the last issue of Newspoint there has been a new patch released for users of CDATA96 with MapInfo Professional v6.5. This patch upgrades users to MapInfo Professional 6.5.0.3100.

This patch can only be applied to the Release versions of MapInfo Professional 6.5 and MapInfo Professional Runtime 6.5 (including previously patched versions of 6.5). It is not valid for MapInfo Professional Beta 6.5, MapBasic 6.5 or ProViewer 6.5. There are no user interface changes and it can be safely applied to MapInfo Professional localized into any language.

The patch supersedes the previously available patches v6.5.0.1908 and v6.5.0.1909. You can safely install this patch even if you have not already downloaded and installed the v6.5.0.1908 patch and/or the v6.5.0.1909 patch.

Download this patch at

http://testdrive.mapinfo.com/

*Please note that if you have any problems with the MapInfo 6.5 patch please call the MapInfo Helpline on 1800 648 899 or email ozsupport@mapinfo.com

GEOCENTRIC DATUM OF AUSTRALIA AND CDATA 2001

BACKGROUND ON THE DATUM SHIFT

A datum is a mathematical surface on which a mapping or coordinate system is based. For over a century a variety of datums and coordinate systems have been used within Australia. The first national datum, the Australian Geodetic Datum (AGD66), was adopted in 1966. A revised and updated version of AGD66, based on more precise data, was later adopted in 1984 (AGD84).

In recent years, the increasing importance of satellite positioning systems has meant that there were benefits to Australia in adopting a new datum which was compatible with the geocentric (earth centred) datum used by satellite systems such as the Global Positioning System (GPS). In 1988 the Intergovernmental Committee on Surveying and Mapping (ICSM) decided to adopt a new geocentric datum as the basis for calculating locational coordinates. This new datum, known as the Geocentric Datum of Australia (GDA94), has been adopted progressively from 1994 with a target date of 2000 for general adoption.

The transformation of digital data to GDA94 involves a significant shift, of about 200 metres to the North East, when compared to coordinates based on the older AGD66.


DATUM SHIFT AND CDATA 96 USERS

CDATA 96 users who intend to purchase CDATA 2001 need to be aware of the boundary differences. There will be concordance files for users to check changes to boundaries between Censuses. Versions of MapInfo earlier than 6.0 cannot interpret GDA94 correctly. As well as the change with the Datum Shift, Census Boundaries also change from Census to Census.


A MESSAGE FOR CDATA 91 USERS

There have been significant changes in the Geography since CDATA 91 was released. Concordance files can be used to check changes to boundaries but data in CDATA 2001 will not be comparable in most cases. However, the 2001 Time Series Profile to be included in the Second Release of CDATA 2001 will provide comparable data for 1991, 1996 and 2001 Censuses, all based on 2001 SLA boundaries.

The map below shows the 2001 Census boundaries in blue and the 1996 Census boundaries in red showing the Datum Shift.


More information on the Datum Shift is available on the User Group Information Database under the following category,

CDATA 2001 Full GIS\Geography
NEW TO THE ABS WEB SITE

Directory of Census Statistics



The 2001 Directory of Census Statistics is a reference to the range of products and services developed from the information collected during the last Census, held on August 7, 2001. This Directory has been produced to help users find Census information easily and includes:

• Detailed product descriptions and prices where applicable
• Release dates for 2001 Census products
• An index of all Census data items available
• Explanations of common Census terms
• Contact details

The Directory of Census Statistics is available as a PDF file on the Web Site at www.abs.gov.au\census
or contact the ABS Office in your capital city for a printed version.
CONTACT US

Census Technical Helpline 1800 676 646
Email: census.software@abs.gov.au
(for help with CDATA96, SEIFA and CLIB96)

National Information Service 1300 135 070
(for all other ABS inquiries)

Newspoint Editor Cate Owen
Phone 02 6252 5122
catherine.owen@abs.gov.au

CDATA User Group Manager Simon Jarman
Ph 02 6252 6015
simon.jarman@abs.gov.au