The Spatial Imagery Services Program

The Spatial Imagery Services Program (SISP) was established in 2008 by the Queensland Spatial Information Council’s Spatial Imagery Working Group as a means to provide a demand-driven funding source for the Queensland Spatial Imagery Acquisition Plan.

SISP has been a flagship of cross-government collaboration and has navigated significant industry changes in technology, information management, data access and use.

The State Imagery team within the Department of Resources actively manages the coordination, procurement, project management, data processing, quality checking and value-added services associated with the program.

Funding for SISP is coordinated through a variety of means including:

• membership contributions (SISP members)
• council co-funders (50/50 split)
• data sales
• SISP-as-a-service.

SISP-as-a-service is available to start-ups, small businesses and education (private primary and secondary, as well as tertiary). This service costs $5,280 including GST per year, and grants access to unlimited users to our state-wide imagery data services. Note: this service is freely available to public schools under an existing SISP subscription.

SISP members receive a number of benefits for their contributions, including:

• coordination of requirements, funding, and resources to reduce costs for all participants
• access to experts in procurement, contract management, project management, data processing, quality checking and service creation
• archive of all acquired imagery in a central repository, reducing archive costs for member agencies
• access to quality imagery acquired at range of resolutions, supplied with full metadata
• access to imagery services for use in GIS software at no extra cost (members only)
• improved budget planning through creation of a forward program (of which the Spatial Imagery Acquisition plan is the product), and support in writing business cases for funding.

In support of the Queensland Government’s Open Data Policy, all aerial imagery acquired through SISP is available for public viewing via the Queensland Globe. A time-series tool allows users to view the back catalogue of imagery over their area of interest. For help identifying available images email OpenData@resources.qld.gov.au.