Every Australian address - yes yours, and even yours – just became open data

Australia's government has delivered on a promise to release the Geocoded National Address File (G-NAF) as open data. The 13-million-strong database of physical addresses, complete with latitude and longitudes, hit the web on Monday. The data is anonymous: while your house or place of business is almost certainly listed, your …

[Denarius]

more snooping

so every moral puritan greenie or gestapo council droid no longer needs a drone, they can spy on us with government encouragement. Since electoral rolls are readily available, thanks clots. Data matching made easier for spooks, sales shysters and more. And the IOT has just got much more threatening.

How about a camera bolted onto every politicians head with a public feed so we know what they get up to ?

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: more snooping

I'm guessing this is the source of address data for all those websites that have recently started asking me, "this address doesn't match our database.... are you sure you want to use it?", i.e. it's just a source of consistent address data which should reduce confusion and lost deliveries.

Since your name and address are already on the electoral roll, and anyone with a UBD or maps app can find their way there, I fail to see how this increases snooping. The data is already out there, G-NAF or not.

[Robert Graves]

Re: more snooping

I'd hope that G-NAF would reduce the "this address does not match our database" issues, which I suspect come from the Australia Post address data, which appears to be more interested in where post can be delivered than where you might live.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: more snooping

No - you can have your details removed from the electoral role, if there is a good reason. For example, women fleeing domestic violence can have their names on a confidential role. Other excuses belong to the police, &c.

Also the electoral roles are not as open as they used to be - the government itself must follow the Privacy Principles.

[Anonymous Coward]

Too late...

Every "gestapo" council already has this information, already tied to your name. Local councils in Victoria are the addressing authority, and help compile the voter roles for local council elections. It's already too late to hide, even if G-NAF was not released as open data.

[Winkypop]

Only one address to fear

-35.308000 149.125000

Beware

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Only one address to fear

From the G-NAF:

-35.30666832, 149.12578789, (Address Detail GAACT717685712)

[Phil Kingston]

I must have missed the letter asking me to opt-out.

Even then, it should have been an opt-in.

[John Tserkezis]

PSMA had been supplying data for GPS receivers for some time, the fact that average Joes can get it now is a good thing.

Not sure how to think of the paranoid slant, I mean, everyone has this data, it's no surprise.

[david 12]

No Aus Post DPID?

I guess Aus Post still charges if you want to find out the correct Delivery Point Identifier to barcode your mail.

"If you're using PreSort Letters, Charity Mail or Acquisition Mail, you'll need to barcode your items. For this, you need AMAS-approved software - or you'll need to find a mail house to help you. "