About the Centre

Hello and welcome to the CSDILA website, the online home of the Centre for Spatial Data Infrastructures and Land Administration.

Centre logo

Our vision is to drive the evolving concept of spatial data infrastructures and modernization of land administration systems by developing an advanced 3D virtual information system, that integrate, model, and visualize data and make it accessible for solving the demands faced by modern society.

Our mission is to develop and promote spatial data infrastructures in the form of virtual information systems, enabling governments and societies to use their spatial resources as effectively as possible in a rapidly changing world.

We are committed to excellence in research, innovation, and training, with a strong focus on future-proofing research. If you are interested in studying with us please visit Study with us.

If you would like to keep up to date on our news and events, you can sign up for our newsletter and follow us on LinkedIn.

CSDILA 2023-2024 Facts and Features [PDF]

Professor Abbas Rajabifard
Centre Director


An introductory video to the Centre.

The Centre for Spatial Data Infrastructures and Land Administration (CSDILA) was established at the University of Melbourne in November 2001. The vision for the Centre was, and continues to be, to drive the evolving concept of spatial data infrastructures to develop virtual information systems that integrate data and make it accessible for solving the demands facing modern society. We achieve this by undertaking research in Land Administration Systems (LAS) and Spatial Data Infrastructures (SDI), particularly to pioneer ways of supporting sustainability of land uses and the alleviation of poverty.

In recognition of the Centre’s establishment, the Victorian State Government, through Land Use Victoria, provided the initial support to help establish the Centre. Since then, CSDILA has successfully maintained funding through different sources, including competitive research grants from the Australian Research Council, Australian Federal Government, State Governments, and international societies.

More about our history

CSDILA  Structure  &  Units

2024 key focus areas

Our Capabilities

D-LAB
THE MUSEUM OF FUTURE

CSDILA has developed Digital Lab (D-lab), a nationally unique space enabling industry collaboration and the development of new research areas. There has been significant investment in the D-Lab which brings together the latest visualisation technologies.

Read More About  D-lab

Our vital work has been facilitated and enhanced through:

  • The development of our world-class research program
  • A focused postgraduate training program
  • A prolific visiting scholar program.

Research Program

As world-class scholars in SDIs and Land Administration, CSDILA is able to encourage collaborative research projects with State and Federal governments in Australia, the private sector, and leading international universities and agencies such as the United Nations and the World Bank. We are also able to strengthen the University’s participation in the formation of public policy and community discussion in matters related to SDIs and Land Administration. We then disseminate research findings through internationally recognised academic publications, seminars, workshops, and conferences.

ResearchStudy with us

Formative activities

Our formative activities include:

  • The UN/FIG Bogor Declaration on Cadastral Reform in 1996
  • The International Workshop and Conference on Cadastral Infrastructures to Support Sustainable Development in 1999. The Workshop was supported by and attracted participation from State and Federal governments in Australia, five United Nations agencies including the Director of Sustainable Development in New York, and the World Bank
  • The UN/FIG Bathurst Declaration on Land Administration for Sustainable Development in 1999. The Declaration was presented to and endorsed by United Nations conferences in New York and Malaysia

Increased interest in spatial data and land administration infrastructures at State and Federal levels in Australia and internationally resulted in the establishment of the Centre for Spatial Data Infrastructure and Land Administration in the Department of Geomatics (now the Department of Infrastructure Engineering) in 2001.

Our research includes best practices in land administration, the SDI hierarchy, capacity building, marine environment spatial data and administration, decision support systems, evolution of land markets and tenure systems, and servicing of the complex commodities retailed in modern property markets.

Land Administration Systems (LAS)

Land administration is the process of administering the complex rights, restrictions, responsibilities and (increasingly) risks related to land and its use. Historically, land administration was focused on State Land Titles offices. The growing demands of land markets and government policy initiatives has stimulated the evolution of LAS into statewide land information systems concerned with all private and public rights, restrictions and responsibilities, including land use and land valuation components. The state of Victoria’s land administration system is administered through the Department of Sustainability and Environment, a department with a longstanding and close working relationship with CSDILA and the Geomatics discipline within the Department of Infrastructure Engineering.

Spatial Data Infrastructures (SDI)

Spatial Data Infrastructures are evolving concepts that provide the spatial or geographic base underpinning a state’s or a country’s economic, environmental, and social activities. Originally this was provided by a statewide mapping system, but now SDIs involve a complex digital environment. This environment includes a wide range of spatial databases and is concerned with standards and institutional structures and technologies, including the World Wide Web and Wireless Application Protocol (WAP). Spatial Data Infrastructures underpin an information-driven society, facilitating it in becoming spatially enabled. SDIs are an essential part of eGovernment strategies, and key to the provision of timely and relevant information about the land to the public, business, and government.

Digital Twin (DT)

A digital twin is a virtual representation of real-world entities and processes, synchronised at a specified frequency and fidelity.

  • Digital twin systems transform business by accelerating holistic understanding, optimal decision-making, and effective action
  • Digital twins use real-time and historical data to represent the past and present and simulate predicted futures
  • Digital twins are motivated by outcomes, tailored to use cases, powered by integration, built on data, guided by domain knowledge, and implemented in IT/OT systems.

The CSDILA team has developed leading-edge digital twin solutions with industry and government partners. Our agile in-house design and development team has the technical expertise and resources to implement quality digital twin solutions rapidly, and we are committed to research to evolve the maturity of digital twins. We build collaborative, interactive 3D, AR and VR visualisations incorporating 2D and 3D data and services to meet business and decision-making requirements.

The CSDILA-Digital Twin-platform is designed in response to requirements for finding, accessing, aggregating, and visualising different datasets maintained and hosted in disparate databases across state and local governments and other data custodians. To facilitate seamless integration of data and technology components, the open standards are adopted.

Further information