On this page:

• Key stakeholders
• Data Custodian
• Data Owner
• Accredited Data Service Provider

Key stakeholders

Linkage and integration projects often involve the use of federal and/or state and territory data held by external data custodians or data owners. The relevant data custodian or owner must authorise all requests for access to data for linking purposes.  As the Accredited Integrating Authority and ADSP we can handle these data access negotiations on your behalf. Learn more about the services we offer [link] 

Data Custodian

A Data Custodian is an entity, often an agency, that is responsible for the safekeeping, use, and protection of data. They ensure the secure extraction and transmission of their data, including its transmission to an Accredited Data Service Provider. They remain accountable for the source data used in these projects.

Data Owner

A Data Owner is also an entity that ‘owns’ the data. In research, this is usually the commissioning agency or organisation of the research and data collection. Outside of research the data owner is the department that collected and/or generated the data. They are responsible for the quality and integrity of the data and are responsible for: 

• developing policies, protocols and guidelines in relation to the information asset, process and/or system
• approving the classification of information assets to ensure integrity
• ensuring data collections are adequately protected by implementing relevant security controls
• approving significant changes to the data collection, process and or system
• delegating responsibilities for decisions and tasks to custodians
• deciding who can access the data and for what purpose.

Accredited Data Service Provider

Accredited Data Service Providers (ADSP) are entities such as government bodies at the federal, state, and territory levels, and Australian universities, that can provide complex data integration, de-identification, and secure data access services to support data sharing. They serve as experts in the data sharing process, offering services that assist data custodians in sharing data with accredited users. By reducing risks associated with the data sharing project, they enable the data custodian to fulfill their obligations under the Data Availability and Transparency Act 2022.