Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
A Distinguished Geoscience Australia Lecture. Putting the ‘Geo’ into ‘Geospatial’: Shaping the future of Positioning Australia.
Presented by Dr. Martine Woolf, (Branch Head Positioning Australia), Ryan Ruddick (Director GNSS Informatics and infrastructure), Dr. Anna Riddell (Director GNSS Analysis), Dr. Lisa Hall (Director National Geodesy) and Phil Shears (Director PMO).
The future direction of the Positioning Australia program, reflecting on its past achievements and how it will meet future positioning demands.
Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) technologies are now integral to everyday life, driving productivity, efficiency, safety and innovation across Australia. Demand for higher accuracy, reliability and resilience in PNT continues to grow, underpinned by rapid technological advancement and widespread adoption. Geoscience Australia, as the national authority for positioning and geodesy, delivers foundations and services enabling access to PNT in Australia. This talk will discuss the future direction of the Positioning Australia program, reflecting on its past achievements and how it will meet future positioning demands.
Since 2018, the Positioning Australia program has delivered on significant government investment in civilian PNT, establishing the National Positioning Infrastructure Capability (NPIC), the ground breaking analytical tool kit, Ginan, and the satellite-based augmentation system known as SouthPAN. This augmented Geoscience Australia's world-class geodesy capability that provides Australians with the geospatial reference systems to position themselves on the fastest-moving continent on the globe. Independent estimates suggest these capabilities will generate over $6 billion dollars in the Australian economy in the coming decades. We review the significance of Positioning Australia’s role as a national integrated geodesy and positioning capability in delivering access to reliable sub-metre positioning across the Australian continent and offshore.
As it moves beyond the establishment phase, the Positioning Australia program will strengthen its capability for continued future relevance. The program builds on opportunities arising from Australia’s geographic location, its technological capabilities, strong partnerships and internationally significant positioning infrastructure. The adoption of PNT-based technologies is changing requirements for the systems delivering it, including Positioning Australia. There is increasing awareness that society’s increasing reliance on modern technologies brings potential risks from vulnerabilities in PNT systems. This talk highlights how Positioning Australia will address these issues, including an often invisible risk: the reliance of PNT systems on a global geodesy supply chain that is increasing vulnerable.
This talk will outline how Geoscience Australia aims to continue maximising return on Commonwealth investment in reliable positioning, modernising infrastructure, enhancing access and efficiency, and supporting national resilience and economic growth.
A Distinguished Geoscience Australia Lecture. Putting the ‘Geo’ into ‘Geospatial’: Shaping the future of Positioning Australia.
Presented by Dr. Martine Woolf, (Branch Head Positioning Australia), Ryan Ruddick (Director GNSS Informatics and infrastructure), Dr. Anna Riddell (Director GNSS Analysis), Dr. Lisa Hall (Director National Geodesy) and Phil Shears (Director PMO).
The future direction of the Positioning Australia program, reflecting on its past achievements and how it will meet future positioning demands.
Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) technologies are now integral to everyday life, driving productivity, efficiency, safety and innovation across Australia. Demand for higher accuracy, reliability and resilience in PNT continues to grow, underpinned by rapid technological advancement and widespread adoption. Geoscience Australia, as the national authority for positioning and geodesy, delivers foundations and services enabling access to PNT in Australia. This talk will discuss the future direction of the Positioning Australia program, reflecting on its past achievements and how it will meet future positioning demands.
Since 2018, the Positioning Australia program has delivered on significant government investment in civilian PNT, establishing the National Positioning Infrastructure Capability (NPIC), the ground breaking analytical tool kit, Ginan, and the satellite-based augmentation system known as SouthPAN. This augmented Geoscience Australia's world-class geodesy capability that provides Australians with the geospatial reference systems to position themselves on the fastest-moving continent on the globe. Independent estimates suggest these capabilities will generate over $6 billion dollars in the Australian economy in the coming decades. We review the significance of Positioning Australia’s role as a national integrated geodesy and positioning capability in delivering access to reliable sub-metre positioning across the Australian continent and offshore.
As it moves beyond the establishment phase, the Positioning Australia program will strengthen its capability for continued future relevance. The program builds on opportunities arising from Australia’s geographic location, its technological capabilities, strong partnerships and internationally significant positioning infrastructure. The adoption of PNT-based technologies is changing requirements for the systems delivering it, including Positioning Australia. There is increasing awareness that society’s increasing reliance on modern technologies brings potential risks from vulnerabilities in PNT systems. This talk highlights how Positioning Australia will address these issues, including an often invisible risk: the reliance of PNT systems on a global geodesy supply chain that is increasing vulnerable.
This talk will outline how Geoscience Australia aims to continue maximising return on Commonwealth investment in reliable positioning, modernising infrastructure, enhancing access and efficiency, and supporting national resilience and economic growth.
