Data Sources

Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS)

What it provides: Census data, SEIFA disadvantage indexes, demographic statistics, labour force data

Licence: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International

How we use it: RefDat postcodes.refdat.com uses ABS 2021 Census data and SEIFA 2021 indexes to build demographic profiles for all 17,410 Australian suburbs. Census data is the most authoritative source of demographic information in Australia.

Bureau of Meteorology (BOM)

What it provides: ACORN-SAT weather station network data, historical temperature records, climate observations

Licence: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International

How we use it: RefDat weather.refdat.com uses ACORN-SAT data for major Australian cities, providing the most reliable long-term temperature records available.

Queensland Government Department of Environment and Science

What it provides: SILO spatially interpolated climate database, rainfall data, solar radiation, humidity

Licence: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International

How we use it: SILO is RefDat's primary climate data source for spatial coverage across Australia. It infills gaps in station data using spatial interpolation methods.

Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ)

What it provides: Food standards, allergen declarations, ingredient regulations, gluten thresholds for Australia

Licence: Various (some public, some restricted)

How we use it: RefDat gluten.refdat.com uses FSANZ standards to rate foods and ingredients for gluten content in Australia.

US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

What it provides: Food standards, allergen declarations, US gluten-free definitions

Licence: Public domain

How we use it: RefDat gluten.refdat.com cross-references FDA standards to show how gluten ratings differ between Australia and the US.

NDIS Data Institute

What it provides: Quarterly NDIS provider payment data, service information, participant demographics

Licence: Public access via NDIS Data Institute

How we use it: RefDat ndis.refdat.com uses quarterly payment data to measure provider service activity and consistency.

Australian Business Register (ABR)

What it provides: ABN status, GST registration, business details, company history

Licence: Public access via ABR Lookup

How we use it: NDIS Trust Index uses ABN status and GST registration to score business legitimacy.

ASIC Company Register

What it provides: Company registrations, director information, financial reports, organisation structures

Licence: Public access

How we use it: NDIS Trust Index uses ASIC data to verify company registration and organisational structure.

Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC)

What it provides: Non-profit registrations, DGR status, charitable purposes, annual reports

Licence: Public access via ACNC Charity Register

How we use it: NDIS Trust Index uses ACNC registration to score organisational transparency and accountability.

Open-Meteo

What it provides: Global weather and climate data, historical observations, forecast data

Licence: Free (open source)

How we use it: RefDat weather.refdat.com uses Open-Meteo data for 500+ global cities to provide international climate comparisons.

Data Quality and Recency

RefDat sources are chosen for:

• Official status (government agencies, regulatory bodies)
• Open licences (Creative Commons, public domain)
• Regular updates (quarterly, annual, or as released)
• Transparency (methods documented, sources clear)

How We Handle Updates

RefDat pages are updated when source data is released:

• Census data: Updated every 5 years (next: 2026)
• NDIS data: Updated quarterly when Data Institute releases new reports
• Weather data: Updated daily for observations, weekly for climate analyses
• Business registrations: Updated as changes occur (via ABR, ASIC APIs)

For questions about data sources or updates, contact us.