Australia’s capacity to deliver impactful marine science increasingly depends on the strength of its shared data and information infrastructure, institutional partnerships, and workforce capability. This presentation outlines a vision for an Australian “digital marine commons” - a federated, standards-based ecosystem that connects marine data, analytical workflows, and decision-support systems across research, government, industry, and Indigenous-led initiatives.
Drawing on the National Marine Science Strategy white paper Data through to Information, we examine how coordinated investment in repositories, observing systems, standard operating procedures, and trusted data supply chains can transform fragmented datasets into analysis-ready, model-ready, and assessment-ready information. We highlight the role of national infrastructure and collaborative programs that enable FAIR marine data to support environmental reporting, marine park management, offshore renewable energy assessment, and sustainable ocean planning.
The presentation will discuss key barriers to progress - including governance, workforce capability, interoperability, and management of sensitive and Indigenous data - and propose practical pathways to build enduring institutional capacity for evidence-based marine decision making in Australia.